HORSES. 199 



quarters thoroughbred, and each one cost three hundred pounds 

 sterling. 



It is not every one that knows wliat " thoroughbred," as used 

 in this country means. Ours came from the thorough-bred of 

 England, and England got them from the Desert of Arabia. 

 They are the children of the Arabian horse improved in Eng- 

 land. Tliere are no trotters among them. They are all run- 

 ning horses. Well, we have none of these, but we have their 

 bloody crossed to be sure, but bettered for all- work. The Morgan 

 horses of Maine are part thoroughbred. The Black Hawks are 

 part thoroughbred. The Messengers are part thoroughbred 

 also. If you can have a stallion that comes from some Ham- 

 bletonian mare, and so gives you the Messenger, and from a 

 Black Hawk sire and so get the Morgan, which is part thorough- 

 bred, you will have colts that will make the best horses of all- 

 work, provided your mare is a good one. 



A. D. Makepeace, Chairman. 



NANTUCKET. 



From the Report of the Committee. 

 It is getting to be understood that the mare has very much to 

 do with the quality of the offspring. There was a time when 

 little scraggy, pot-bellied mares that had arrived at an age when 

 they were nearly useless to labor were selected for raising the 

 colts. While there was any work in them the owner could not 

 spare them for this purpose. Now there is a better state of 

 things. There were mares and colts presented this year that 

 appeared in every way as well as the best specimens of other 

 counties. To be sure, as in many other Massachusetts counties, 

 there were no specimens of distinct breeds, but still there were 

 those which combined enough of each of the famous kinds to 

 make them very desirable for horses of " all-work." A prac- 

 tised eye could see most admirably mixed the good qualities 

 of the Andalufeian that ran away from his Spanish master while 

 he was carousing in the halls of the Montezumas, the charger 

 tliat escaped from the romantic expedition of De Soto, the war- 

 horse that was stolen from General De Lancy at King's Bridge, 

 and barb of the Moor and Arab. The horse now reared here is 

 the product of Southern and Northern horses, Western and 



