204 A TREATISE ON HORSE-BREEDING. 



which has been practiced by the breeders of 

 thoroughbred horses in England and America 

 for the last hundred years has given us a race 

 that is generally considered to be far superior 

 to the Oriental horse of to-day in speed, size 

 and stoutness. The compiler of the stud book 

 for thoroughbred horses in this country has re- 

 laxed the English rule somewhat, and admits 

 to registry animals that show an unmixed de- 

 scent for five generations of pure blood; and 

 while under this rule many animals may be 

 admitted that are not in the strict sense of the 

 word thoroughbreds, yet if for five generations 

 nothing but thoroughbred sires are to be found 

 in the pedigree the quantity of alien blood re- 

 maining must necessarily be infinitesimally 

 small; and by usage the animal so bred is in 

 this country ranked as a thoroughbred. The 

 American Stud Book for thoroughbred horses, 

 five volumes of which have been issued, is 

 edited and published by Col. S. D. Bruce, of the 

 Turf, Field and Farm, New York. 



If our agricultural societies would bear in 

 mind that none of our American trotters, no 

 matter how long the pedigree, and none of our 

 imported or native draft horses, are eligible 

 to compete for premiums offered for thor- 

 oughbreds, they would spare themselves much 

 trouble. No pedigree that has Rysdyk's Ham 

 bletonian, Abdallah, Morgan, Bellfounder, Hia- 



