BLACKWOOD AS A SIRE. 483 



In the blood of these two stallions is found all the ti'otting force 

 and ready adaptation of the Duroc- Messenger elements, I may say, 

 intensely enriched by the direct, immediate and unrivaled richness of 

 so many currents of the blood of Messenger. 



I do not wish to be regarded as exaggerative in any regard, but 

 when I discover in a family what does not come up to my standard of 

 excellence, I call it by the plain term of faulty, and when I discover 

 those qualities which are rich in all that constitutes our American 

 trotter, I as plainly and positively pronounce in their favor. These 

 stallions far surpass their sire, the horse Norman. He lacked the ex- 

 cellences of the Mambrino Chief strain, but carried with him enough 

 of the pure currents of the Messenger blood to purify and, perhaps, 

 to eradicate the tainted and infectious tendencies which the Mambrino 

 Chief blood had derived from Duroc. This addition, however, of that 

 element, enables Blackwood and Swigert to impress trotting tenden- 

 cies far more strongly on highly bred and non-trotting organisms than 

 Norman could have done. But another reason for their superiority 

 over him is found in the reunion of so many valuable strains of this 

 marvelous blood of old Messenger. 



The Mambrino Chief, or Duroc-Messenger sires, have not attained 

 the success with the highly bred Abdallah or Hambletonian dams 

 which has attended the reverse order of breeding. My preference 

 will still be for the same system in breeding, although I think I should 

 send an Abdallah or a Hambletonian mare, if highly bred (and not 

 coming through the Star family), to Blackwood, with the highest 

 expectations of satisfactory results. I can only add, that I look 

 forward to the reunion of the blood of Messenger through these 

 channels with confidence that the standard of our American trotter 

 will thereby be elevated and advanced. 



BLACKWOOD AS A SIRE. 



Blackwood has been a very successful stallion, and has fully justi- 

 fied the high expectations that were entertained of him in the begin- 

 ning of his career. He is the sire of Blackwood Jr., with record of 

 2:32^, and sixteen heats in 2:30 or better; Protine, 2:24^, and eight 

 heats in 2:30 or better; Rosewood, 2:27, and three heats in 2:30 or 

 better; and Wildwood, 2:30. 



Blackwood Jr. has been one of the most prominent trotters on the 

 trotting turf for the past two years. He beat Governor Sprague, for 

 the Centennial cup, in 187G, and was the close competitor of Thorn- 

 dale for the championship of 1B77, but was beaten by the latter. 



