THE BREEDS OF HORSES, 273 



mon with all the colors. They have been ex- 

 tensively imported into the United States and 

 Canada, and have exercised a very powerful in- 

 fluence upon the horse stock of our country. 

 ,No other breed of draft horses, saving the Per- 

 cheron, has been so extensively introduced, and 

 between these two breeds the contest for popu- 

 lar favor has been waged upon very nearly 

 equal terms for several years past. The ques- 

 tion of color has always been a strong point in 

 favor of the Clydesdales with American breed- 

 ers as against their French rivals, the latter 

 being usually grey, while with the former dark 

 colors are the prevailing ones. 



The Clydesdale Society of America was or- 

 ganized in 1877. The first volume of the Amer- 

 ican Clydesdale Stud Book was issued in 1882, 

 and six volumes of the work have been printed. 

 Col. Chas. F. Mills of Springfield, 111., has been 

 Secretary of the Society from its organization, 

 and has done a valuable service to the Clydes- 

 dale interest in America by compiling the rec- 

 ords of the early importations and preparing 

 for publication the volumes of the stud book 

 that have been issued. 



PERCHERONS. 



The Percheron is an ancient French breed, 

 originally famed for its capacity for rapid lo- 

 comotion with a heavy load, and especially 



