iv PREFACE. 



In order to compress within the limits of one volume the informa- 

 tion which has hitherto been spread over so many, it has been neces- 

 sary to forego all attempts at illustration by anecdote or by records of 

 cases 5 and the several chapters, therefore, will be found to contain 

 only what is absolutely necessary for the elucidation of each subject, 

 with the aid of numerous engravings, accurately drawn and carefully 

 engraved after drawings by Barraud, H. Weir, Zwecker, Scott, &c., &c. 



THE AUTHOR. 



In bringing before the American public, this edition of a work 

 which has long been acknowledged as the ablest authority on the 

 subject in England, the publishers have spared neither time nor 

 expense in adapting it in every particular to the requirements of the 

 American Farmer and Amateur. There is not a page in the English 

 edition but has been carefully revised, some local and purely 

 scientific matter of no interest whatever to the American owner of a 

 horse has been omitted, late authorities consulted, and every page 

 brought down to the present state of knowledge on the subject. This 

 was intrusted to the skilful hands of DR. MCLURE, the well-known 

 author of "The American Gentleman's Stable Guide." 



The Essay on the American Trotting Horse, by DR. ELLWOOD 

 HARVEY, a gentleman thoroughly conversant with his theme, was 

 written at the urgent request of the publishers, and embodying, as 

 it does, the study and research of years, will be found a valuable 

 addition to the work. 



Our thanks are due to Gen. Welch, Chestnut Hill, Philada. ; Robert 

 Bonner, Esq., New York; C. P. Relf, Esq., Norristown, Pa.; and 

 D. Swigert, Esq., of Spring Station, Ky. ; for their kindness in permit- 

 ting us to obtain correct likenesses of the noble animals whose portraits 

 appear in these pages, and for the interest they have shown in the 

 success of this work ; and to Messrs. Schreiber & Son, and Wenderoth, 

 Taylor & Brown, of Philada., and Mr. George G. Rockwood, of New 

 York, for the excellent photographs they have taken of the celebrated 

 horses they represent ; and especially to Messrs. Currer & Ives, of New 

 York, for permission to copy the original of the steel frontispiece, so 

 splendidly engraved by Whitechurch, and to Messrs. James R. Os- 

 good & Co. for permission to reprint Mr. Elderkin's article from the 

 " Atlantic Monthly." 



THE AMERICAN PUBLISHERS. 



