130 A TREATISE ON HORSE-BREEDING. 



erage percentage of live foals that a given stal- 

 lion will get under average circumstances? In 

 other words: What percentage of foals must 

 a stallion get to entitle him to be classed as a 

 reasonably sure foal -getter? And upon this 

 there is often much loose assertion without 

 any real array of facts to back it up. It is to 

 the interest of stallion-keepers to make the 

 largest possible showing in this respect; hence 

 they often talk at random, and not un fre- 

 quently pervert facts. Perhaps in most cases 

 actual falsehoods are not stated; but the par- 

 ties do not care to knoiv the exact truth lest 

 they may be led by self-interest to state an un- 

 truth. Hence they find it convenient never to 

 know the exact truth, and content themselves 

 by saying: "Oh, he got nearly everything with 

 foal." Now, from a very extensive correspond- 

 ence with reliable breeders who keep accurate 

 accounts of results, as well as from my own 

 observation, based upon an experience of thirty 

 years with many different horses, I am decid- 

 edly of opinion that the average indicated in 

 the table of the get of Rysdyk's Hambletonian 

 is considerably above the general average of 

 stallions in this country. 



But this question is removed beyond the 

 realms of conjecture by the recorded results in 

 the government breeding studs of Germany. I 

 give herewith a table which was compiled by 



