ANNALS OF THE TURF. 209 



of Medley or Citizen would cross well upon the present numerous 

 stock of Sir Archy, and it would perhaps have been a fortunate cir- 

 cumstance, could the celebrated horse Pocolet, (who was bred and 

 raised in Virginia,) have been retained in that state. 



The subject of breeding is the next which claims our attention. 



The business of breeding is divided into the systematic and 

 chance medley ; the formation of regular studs and observing some 

 fixed principles, characterize the former ; while the latter is a kind 

 of random arrair, common to the whole country where foals are 

 raised for a man's pleasure or convenience, for which no extra pre- 

 parations are made, or much reflection bestowed, further than to 

 make use of any mare that may chance to be in possession, and of 

 any horse which the vicinity affords or custom may present. 



In the formation of studs, the object generally had in view is 

 breeding for the turf, and one of the first principles is to breed from 

 no stallions unless they be thorough bred; in plain terms, both 

 their sires and dams must be of the purest of the Turkish, Barb or 

 Arabian coursers exclusively, and this must be tested in an authentic 

 pedigree, throughout whatever number of descents or crosses.* 

 The brood mare should be equally pure or thorough bred, arid par- 

 ticular attention should be paid to her form, as one of the prime 

 causes of failure of most breeders is confining their attention solely 

 to the horse, without paying sufficient attention to the form of the 

 rnare, and permitting fashionable blood and the supposed necessity 

 of a cross to have too decided a preference to correctness of shape. 

 To constitute a thorough bred animal, and to assure the attainment 

 of every desired quality or perfection, both the male and iViiu.le 

 ought to possess it. Experience has proven the correctness of the 

 principle that " like produces like ;" acting upon this principle, we 

 have the best assurances to expect success from a junction of the 

 best shapes or the greater number of good points we can combine, 

 both in the horse and the mare, from such junction the average 

 will be favourable, true form will result from the union of true form 

 in both sire and dam ; and the next general result will be, that every 

 horse sufficiently well formed, and furnished in the material points, 

 will excel either in speed or continuance, or will possess an advan- 

 tageous mixture of both. 



Blood is blood, but form is superiority. 



In rearing of turf horses, the following principles are recom- 

 mended by the most successful breeders : the land to be dry and 

 sound, the harder the better, provided it be fertile : irregularity of 

 surface a recommendation. Fresh springs or streams, shade and 

 shelter, and extensive range. Sufficient number of inclosures, 

 both for each species, which it is necessary to keep apart, and to 

 prevent too great a number of any being crowded together. Houses 



^There is a practice in Virginia and North Carolina, in giving the pedi 

 gree of a stallion, to name only one or two crosses, particularly on the dani'i 

 side, and then pronounce him "the finest bred horse in the world." Who 

 can pronounce on a horse's good or bad blood unless we know the whola 

 of it? He may trace to the common dray breed of the country for aught 

 we know. 



