430 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



did the work now done by railways. In 1812, the fare from Philadel- 

 phia to Pittsburgh over the national turnpike, 297 miles, was $20 by 

 coach, and it required six days to cover the distance. Crosses of the 

 Flemish horse of New York and Pennsylvania with the little saddle 

 horse gave the well-knit, sizeable horses required on these early coaches. 

 With the growth of towns and cities, carriages became common, but 

 the horses used would not today be classed as carriage horses although 

 they were of a serviceable kind. Driving for pleasure and pastime, 

 which in later years became so popular with city people, did not begin 

 until after the Civil War, in fact it was not until 1880 that the modern 

 type of carriage horse came into use. From that date forward, there 

 was a large and increasing demand for smoothly-turned, high-stepping, 

 well-mannered horses, weighing from 1,000 to 1,200' pounds. The 

 animals which supplied this demand were for the most part recruited 

 from the ranks of the Standardbred and American Saddle Horse, al- 

 though our very choicest carriage animals have been English Hack- 

 neys. Since 1900 the automobile has displaced a great many carriage 

 horses, especially those of mediocre quality, but there still exists a 

 demand for animals of show-yard quality for which good prices are paid. 



Efifects of mechanical inventions on horse types. — The invention 

 of firearms resulted in a change in the type of the cavalry horse from 

 the old-time heavy war horse to a lighter animal with more speed. 

 The displaced type did not become extinct, but was put to use in the 

 fields. The invention of the railway and steamboat and the building 

 of canals restricted the horse's field of usefulness by displacing the 

 stage coaches and the Conestoga horses and wagons. The Conestoga 

 type then became extinct, being mingled and absorbed into the common 

 stock of the country. In France the diligence horse was gradually 

 developed into the Percheron breed. The application of electric power 

 to street railways in 1888 closed a channel of disposal for thousands 

 of cheap horses such as were used on the old-time horse cars, and the 

 perfection of the bicycle and the fad for cycling which followed led 

 many to believe a horseless age was at hand. But the street-car horse 

 was not a profitable animal to produce, and many who took up the 

 bicycle never owned a horse anyway. Horses came into greater de- 

 mand and brought higher prices than ever before. 



Next came the automobile, the motor truck, and the tractor and 

 again a horseless age was predicted. It is a fact that the motor is the 

 strongest mechanical competitor the horse has had to meet, and while 

 it is impossible at this time to say with exactness what the effects will 

 be on horse production, enough time has elapsed to show that the 

 horse yet has an important place on city streets and on roadways, as 

 well as on the farm. The automobile, motor truck, and tractor are 



