60 THE HORSE. 



terest of the State, and especially concerning the Conestoga 

 horse, I received the subjoined letter, from a gentleman, wliom 

 he considered the most likely to assist me ; in which, I ])re- 

 sume, all is embodied, that can be now ascertained. 



Near New Providence, Lancaster Co., Penn., June ^th, 1856. 



Hon. James Gowan, 

 President of the Pennmjhania State Agricultiiral Society ; 



Dear Sir — In looking over Mr. Herbert's letter, which yoii 

 placed in my hands, requiring information, in relation to the 

 different stock and breeds of horses in our State, I lind nothing 

 to which I can give any thing like a satisfactory answer, having 

 never paid much attention to the subject, and having no statis- 

 tics or records that will throw any light on it. 



Having been brought up, however, in the immediate vicinity 

 of the Conestoga Yalley, I will impart what knowledge I have 

 of the Co7iestoga horse, or horses. The valley of the Conestoga 

 having been originally settled by Germans, who took a great 

 deal of pride in keejjing fine, large, fat horses, and — before rail- 

 roads were constructed — their large heavy teams being em- 

 ]3loyed in transporting their surplus produce to market, and in 

 conveying merchandise from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, those 

 teams attracted attention and admiration, wherever they went ; 

 and the region, whence they came, became noted and exten- 

 sively known, as producing the finest horses in the country. 

 But there was not, I think, any distinctive, original stock to 

 which the appellation of Conestoga could, with propriety, be 

 applied. Some sixty or seventy years ago, a horse was intro- 

 duced in this county called the " Chester County Lion," and a 

 great many horses have been raised from that stock. About 

 the same time, or perhaps a little later, another was brought 

 hither called the " English Bull," a large, heavy, clumsy horse, 

 probably of Flemish stock, apparently well calculated for heavy 

 draft. This horse struck the fancy of our German farmers, and 

 that stock was extensively bred for some time ; but experience 

 proved that they were sluggish, slow in their movements, and 

 incapable of performing as much service, or standing as much 

 hardship, as a smaller and more active breed. There have 

 been also several blooded or English horses brought into Cones- 



