188 How THE FARM PAYS. 



The breeding of horses as a special pursuit upon farms has been 

 found very profitable. Men of wealth have greatly increased the 

 value of their property, and have had the enjoyment of a pleasant 

 and healthful occupation at the same time, in the midst of their stud. 

 This has been frequently the case in Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri, 

 "but more especially where the names of Alexander, Harper, and sev- 

 eral other noted breeders, and of such horses as Lexington, Long- 

 fellow, Leamington, and other remarkable sires, will always be 

 remembered. The class of horses thus bred, however, have been 

 used for pleasure and sport, for the turf or for driving, and for useful 

 roadsters. The demand for such horses is not likely to become less, 

 but, on the contrary, to increase greatly, and the steady and profitable 

 business which has been built up will, beyond a doubt, become very 

 much extended. The race of American trotting horses is now known 

 and admired all over the world; our carriage horses are sought for 

 Tsy wealthy Europeans, and even for business purposes our light, 

 active, but strong and serviceable draft horses are in large and 

 increasing demand. Thus a large opening exists for enterprise in 

 this direction, which may be profitably filled, not only by men of 

 wealth, who invest their capital in agriculture for pleasure as well as 

 profit, but also by those who follow the pursuit of farming for a 

 living. The breeds above referred to are for draft and farm purposes 

 chiefly, excepting the Cleveland Bay, which is in demand, also, for 

 large carriage or coupe horses, and some animals of this strain have 

 been exported for this purpose, notably several fine ones, which were 

 purchased for the Emperor Napoleon III. when he was in the height 

 of his good fortune. But the horses mostly desired for roadsters are 

 of the English thoroughbred strains, and from these have been bred 

 the race known as American trotting horses. These animals are cer- 

 tainly far more useful than the running horses used for sporting 

 purposes, and come directly under notice in a work devoted to the 

 subject of profitable farming, because they are mostly bred and reared 

 upon farms, and the better class of farm mares, crossed by thorough- 

 bred horses, are largely used for their production. The Morgan 

 strains, which have been of such great service in this respect, have 

 furnished hundreds of sires, which have been scattered all over the 

 country, and have put thousands of dollars into farmers' pockets. 

 Another noted instance was the horse Hambletonian, whose blood now 

 runs in numerous strains, each of which had its source in a farm mare. 



The profit of horse breeding may be easily shown by the study of 

 the reports of the market values of horses, of which a specimen is 

 here given, copied from a leading paper. 



In these it may be found that a horse of 1,100 or 1,200 pounds sells 



