46 THE HOUSE 



work and environment as well as the saddle-horse and 

 the trotter are to theirs, should have been produced; 

 for good material in abundance has been at hand during 

 the last half of this century. 1 



Notwithstanding the neglect and want of apprecia- 

 tion of the material at hand for forming breeds, vast 

 numbers of good nondescript horses are raised each 

 year. The great city markets and the expert pur- 

 chasers of cavalry -horses attest to the quality of one 

 class of our horses at least when rapid movement and 

 endurance are desired. The climate, food and environ- 

 ment of the American -bred horse must certainly be 

 superior, since, ; in a majority of cases, but little science 

 has been observed or pains taken in mating the parents 

 with a vie\Y to the production of definite results. 



The breeders who are improving the horses of the 

 country by breeding with one or more distinct pur- 

 poses in view, and who are securing definite results of 

 great value, are so few as compared with those who 

 breed to the cheapest or the most convenient stallion, 

 that the improvement of the great mass of horses 

 is very slow. From 1890 to 1900, poor and common 

 horses brought low and unremunerative prices; while 

 the prices of good horses, though sales were a little 

 slow, fell but slightly. The mistake should not again 

 be made of breeding vast herds of third-rate animals. 

 It has been discovered that Europe stands ready to 

 purchase at fair prices large numbers of horses, pro- 

 vided they have some style, are sound, active, sym- 

 metrical, of good color and of about nine to twelve 



1 See Chapters IV to VIII for details of breeds. 



