COT^I'ORMATlOTir. 413 



I may s^ay that the average of the sons and daughters of Hambleto- 

 nian run about 23 — 39, and this seems also something near the collat- 

 eral branches of the Abdallah and Messenger family, when the horses 

 are about 15 hands 2 inches in height. I have found that trotters 

 which carry about this proportion move with a smooth, easy gait; do 

 not straddle; do not interfere nor strike; go wide enough to jDass, but 

 with no excess, and set their feet squarely under their body, and move 

 in rig-ht line. I have also found that those that have a front cannon 

 longer in proportion to the length of the forearm than 11 to 21, lift 

 the knees higher, and bring the front feet down with a shaqD, chop- 

 ping stroke, reaching out less, and striking the feet on the ground 

 with greater force — all in direct proportion to the difference. Those 

 of the Henry cross, and most thoroughbreds, are defective in this 

 respect; and it is the great and serious defect with Smuggler, as 

 already pointed out. On the other hand, when the front cannon is 

 shorter than as 11 is to 21 in relation to the forearm, the horse will be 

 inclined to be calf-kneed- — will not raise his feet or knees high enough, 

 and will dig or point with his front feet — a very serious defect. The 

 same writer 1 have quoted says, in another place: " I believe this 

 excessive knee-action to be always the accompaniment of a straight, 

 upright shoulder, and, as such, an evidence of low breeding." This 

 is a grave error. The very opposite of this is the truth. .The Mes- 

 senger horse, and particularly the Abdallahs, are noted for their upright 

 and straight shoulders, and for their lack of knee-action, and certainly 

 not for low breeding. And so marked is this the fact, that it presents 

 the query, whether the straight shoulder is not for the trotter and the 

 sloping shoulder for the galloper. The latter is certainly true, and I 

 suspect, also, the former is. It is my expectation to treat this ques- 

 tion more fully elsewhere. I say, therefore, that there is a perfect 

 proportion for a trotter; but, in saying this, I do not utter the absur- 

 dity to declare that the measure itself will declare the trotter; for 

 the perfect trotter must have some other qualities besides perfect pro- 

 portion. The measure will decide whether he has the right propor- 

 tion; and if he has not that, he can not be the perfect trotter. 



There was an evenness of conformation in the sire and dam of Gov- 

 ernor Sprague that completely harmonized in the son. The most 

 important trotting factor in his sire was a remote Duroc-Messenger 

 cross; and this is one of the rare instances where great success has 

 been achieved by the union of the sire thus bred on the in-bred Mes- 

 senger dam. The reverse order of breeding — that is, the Hamble- 



