620 THE HORSE. 



land from Normandy, which yet possesses many fine horses 

 of this variety, introduced, it may be believed, by the Scan- 

 dinavian invaders. 



The Suffolk Punch breed of England, it has been said, has 

 been crossed with other varieties. These are chiefly the 

 larger horses of Yorkshire and Durham. By this mixture 

 individuals have been improved in figure and action, but that 

 uniformity of the breed, which enabled the breeder to repro- 

 duce with certainty the characters of the parents in the pro- 

 geny, has been to a certain degree taken away, with some- 

 thing, too, of the hardiness and peculiar temperament of the 

 older family. Fashion and taste have had more to do with 

 this change than considerations of utility. The dun colour 

 is in less request than the darker brown or bay, although the 

 former is characteristic of the hardiest breeds of horses in 

 Europe. Of recent years a considerable demand has arisen 

 for Suffolk Punches, for the purposes of the dray and wag- 

 gon. Many fine teams of this variety are to be seen in Lon- 

 don, where, amid the tumult of the crowded streets, the 

 massy forms and bright manes and tails of the horses pre- 

 sent a striking appearance. The modern Suffolk Punch is 

 certainly superior to the Black Horse in activity and endur- 

 ance, and is at least equally well suited to the continued ser- 

 vices of the dray ; but the demand for large horses has the 

 effect, as in the case of the Black Horse, of inducing atten- 

 tion to size rather than the useful properties. Sometimes 

 the Suffolk Punch has been crossed with horses of high 

 breeding. In this way good horses may occasionally be pro- 

 duced adapted to the chariot and coach ; but unless a breed 

 were formed, as in Cleveland, by progressive intermixture, 

 no permanent supply of superior horses could be calculated 

 upon from this source. 



Other varieties of the larger horses suited for labour exist 

 in different parts of England, but, for the most part, they are 

 either of too mixed and varying characters to be regarded as 



