THE TROTTER 77 



rule that like produces like! I answer, No. The 

 trotter lacked certain qualities, or did not have them 

 to the degree found in the thoroughbred, among which 

 were courage, or never -say -die gameness, such as has 

 made a racer run out a finish on a broken leg, sound- 

 ness of limb, the perfection of lung and heart action 

 and intelligence. 



All these are essential in the make-up of the fast 

 trotter, and the resort to the blood of the thoroughbred 

 to get them was but an intelligent application of the 

 great rule in breeding. The rule to guide the average 

 breeder in the production of a trotter is to breed a 

 fast trotting-mare to a fast trotting-stallion. Many 

 other things should be considered to insure desirable 

 qualities aside from mere speed, among which are purity 

 of gait, size, beauty, color, soundness, disposition, etc. 

 It is but stating the rule in another form to say,' have 

 in the sire and dam the qualities you wish in the foal. 

 Unsoundness of every form should be avoided, as in 

 nine cases out of ten the unsoundness is hereditary and 

 will reappear in the progeny, and in the tenth case the 

 weakness that produced it is probably due to inheri- 

 tance. Contracted feet, in a given case, may be im- 

 mediately due to neglect or bad shoeing, while the 

 primary cause is a natural tendency to that infirmity, 

 inherited from sire or dam. The same may be said of 

 crooked or curby hocks, spavins, ring-bones and other 

 forms of unsoundness. No one can afford to use 

 animals so affected for breeding purposes, no matter 

 how desirable they may be in other respects; as vices 

 and defects are more easily reproduced than good 



