MERIT PLUS BREEDING 161 



Stud -Book Association, changed it to "Percheron 

 Norman," which name was afterward ratified by the 

 Association. This was unsatisfactory to some of the 

 importers and breeders of the French draft-horses, 

 since the distinguishing breed -name which had been 

 used was of value, being in the nature of a trade -mark. 

 So other stud-book societies were formed, and we now 

 have three of them. (See Live Stock Registry Associa- 

 tions, Appendix.) 



All this is unfortunate, since these books, as well as 

 the French Stud -Book, record but one breed of horses. 

 Then, too, these various registers have different stan- 

 dards for admissions to registration. The Percheron 

 society requires that all animals imported after January 

 1, 1884, must be recorded in the Percheron Stud-Book 

 of France. The National Register of Norman Horses 

 admits all draft-horses of French draft-blood, no 

 matter to what family they belong. There is also a 

 stud-book published in the United States known as the 

 National Register of French Draft- Horses, with some- 

 what elastic rules for registration. 



It is unfortunate that the breeders of the noble 

 Percheron should have become divided into three some- 

 what hostile camps, and still more unfortunate that 

 horses should, at this late date, be admitted to regis- 

 tration without full guarantee of breeding and of merit. 

 Far better make the rules, even of the Percheron Stud- 

 Book, still more rigid, and allow colts only a provisional 

 registration; which could be changed to permanent 

 registration when they reached five years of age; if, 

 after examination, they were found to be worthy of 



