178 THE HORSE 



There is no such thing as chance, in the sense in 

 which the word is often used. Laws, or modes of 

 operation, reign supreme in the natural world, ever 

 the same when subject to the same conditions. And 

 this is not all. Every effect produced by the operation 

 of a law is registered in some form, and somewhere. 

 The vibration of the earth's particles produced by the 

 eruption of Mount Pelee, in the Island of Martinique, 

 were recorded in England by a most delicate and in- 

 genious instrument. The particles of earth half way 

 around the globe could not vibrate or hit each other 

 without affecting all other particles of which the earth 

 is composed. As breeders of horses, we are first to 

 discover, if possible, Nature's modes of action and the 

 effects of them. Failing in this, we attempt to decipher 

 what has been registered, in order that something may 

 be learned of the laws which produced the effects. 



The American bison (Bos Americanus) illustrates 

 well the power of a species to perpetuate a very close 

 resemblance in the individuals. This is partly due to 

 the similarity of the parents, partly to similarity of 

 food and conditions, and partly to indiscriminate 

 breeding. If variation from any cause appeared in one 

 locality during a single generation, it would not be 

 likely to be perpetuated. The bison roams over a large 

 territory and mixes with other herds, so that the 

 conditions which produced the variation would not be 

 likely to be present again, neither would the parents 

 of the animal in which the variation appeared be 

 likely to breed together again. The variation would, 

 therefore, almost certainly disappear, or, at the most, 



