128 THE HORSE. 



of a foreigner, and written down, at home, as a prejudiced, 

 narrow-minded, ignorant ass. 



Another reason, inferior in practical truth to the others 

 adduced, but physically superior, is this — that before American 

 trotters could be generally used in Great Britain, the whole 

 system of British road-making must be altered; whicli is not 

 very likely to occur. On an ordinary English Macadamized 

 turnpike, which is exactly the same as the hardest central part 

 of tiie New York Third Avenue, without any soft track along 

 side of it, an American trotter would pound his slioes off in an 

 hour's trot, and his feet off in a week's driving; and this is 

 doubtless, whatever may be said of the objections heretofore 

 offered, one which must operate for ever against tlie general use 

 of trotters after the American fashion ; unless they be trained 

 and kept exclusively for sporting purposes. This, however, is 

 no more, but even less, likely to occur, than the total alteration 

 of the whole system of English road-making, and the entire 

 change of the tastes and habits of the English people. Since 

 the point, whicli renders the trotting horse so popular here, 

 would there be wanting, namely, his equal adaptability to or- 

 dinary road-driving and purposes of general utility, and to 

 occasional matching and turf-amusements of a peculiar, though 

 inferior description. 



Considering, however, the American trotting-liorse, as he 

 now exists, in the light of an animal possessing extraordinary 

 qualities in a most extraordinary degree, and of one singularly 

 adapted to the state of society in this country — in the eastern 

 and western portions of it more especially — to the condition, 

 tastes and wants of the population, it will be necessary to look a 

 little to what he is, to his origin, to the means by wdiich he has 

 been produced, and lastly, to his character and characteristic 

 qualities, viewed as stationary or progressive. 



And tirst, we shall find that the time-trotter, in America, is 

 neither an original animal of a peculiar and distinct breed, nor 

 even an animal of very long existence, since his first creation. 



Secondly, we shall find, that in an almost incredibly short 

 space of time, owing to the great demand for and universal po- 

 pularity of the animal, united to a perfectly devised, and now 

 ubiquitously understood, system of breaking, training and driv- 



