294 CLAY HAMBLETONIAlSrS. 



part. He has great strength, and the finest muscle over his back and 

 loin I have seen anywhere. In form he is as faultless as perfection 

 itself. His iront leg measure is 11 and 20, and he exhibits plenty of 

 what they call knee action. His colts trot with light shoes, requiring 

 no extra weight. He has a thigh only 22 inches in length, but he has 

 a very muscular and finely formed quarter and gaskin. He is as clean 

 cut and blood-like as any stallion in the land. 



The evidences relating to the pedigree of the dam of George 

 Wilkes have only been brought out recently through the efforts of the 

 editor of the Trotting Hegister, and have been the occasion of some 

 controversy, although I may say that the proofs are of such a character 

 as to leave little room for controversy, and the pedigree given is one 

 of such conceded merit as to give no occasion for exception on that 

 score. Since the discovery of the facts relating to the main question 

 many others have come to light which furnish strong corroboration of 

 the reputed blood of the dam of this noted stallion. 



I may here mention one or two matters bearing on this question. 

 When the facts came out recently tending to show that the mare was 

 a daughter of Henry Clay, I wrote to a gentleman at Lexington to 

 give me full particulars relating to the color and markings of the colts 

 of Wilkes. I had seen them on one or two occasions in small num- 

 bers, but preferred a statement from one who had knoAvn many of 

 them since his going to Kentucky. His reply was that many of his 

 colts are black, and many have white in their faces and white feet and 

 leo-s when the mares had no such marks, and were of other colors — 

 even bays and chestnuts. Of the correctness of this matter there can 

 be no question. He has two performers in the 2:30 list, both entered 

 as blacks. His fast three-year-old performer. Girlie, that won the 

 stake for three-year-olds, was a beautiful black filly. He not only 

 shows a leaning toward the Clay color, but it would seem that superi- 

 ority in his produce ran in the same direction. I may say that horses 

 of the Hambletonian families do not breed after such colors unless 

 there is some good reason for it near at hand. 



The editor of Hiram Woodruff's Trotting Horse of America., iu 

 his appendix, describing Wilkes, speaks of him thus: 



He was dark brown in color, fifteen hands high, of good length and sub- 

 stance, and very high' behind. Hit liind leg when nfmigJiteiied out in action as 

 he went at his best pace, reminded me of that of a duck in swimming. 



This latter sort of action in a Hambletonian is very suggestive of a 

 Clav cross. The same writer, in speaking of Wilkes' match against 



