Peoceedings of the Farmer s* Club. 679 



of an Arab is proportionately heavier tlian that of any other race of 

 horse ; its texture is ahnost that of ivory, so dense is it. The Arab 

 is of varied colors ; flea-bitten gray the most common ; next, chest- 

 nut ; then black, and sometimes dapple brown, and rarely, indeed, a 

 deep bay. The temper of the Arab is generous and fiery ; reliable 

 "under the gentle rule of his nomadic owner, but he becomes, in 

 unworthy hands, a yqvj fiend in ferocity. His powers of endurance 

 are almost incredible. He will gallop on, hour after hour, fetlock deep 

 in the burning sands of the Sahara, without other food than a few 

 dates, a swallow or two of camel's milk, and a handful of parched corn. 

 But then, as soon as he reaches his master's tent, no care is too much 

 for him. He is a pet of the family ; he sleeps under the warmest 

 blankets ; he drinks of the most choice, and eats of the best that lov- 

 ing hands can give him ; he is what the horse should ever be, the 

 friend and companion of man. Now, let us consider his descendants. 

 As all English authorities regard the English thorough-breds as the 

 direct descendents of the Godolphin and Derby Arabians, bred from 

 with English mares, I will particularize a few of the changes that 

 food and climate have eftected. The English thorough-bred is larger, 

 swifter, less lovely, but more beautiful than its progenitor. He 

 stands from 16.1 to sixteen hands in height ; he is capable of immense 

 things ; at two j-ears old he wins a Derby, and does it in less than 

 no time; if he carries oft' the blue ribbon, he goes in for the Ascot 

 with increased weight and distance, where, if he wins, he goes in for 

 handicaps ; weighted again and again ou eveiy fresh victory, until, 

 having proved his worth, he retires from the turf to transmit his 

 name to future ages. Blair Athol is now the most fashionable of 

 English sires. He stands fifteen hands scarcely three inches ; he • 

 is a golden chestnut, and is as fiery as horses of that color generally 

 are. He was a most successful race horse, and, as I have no doubt 

 you all recollect, he is the fourth son of Blink Bonny, by Stockwell. 

 His wonderful mother won the Derby and Oaks, and did so, though, 

 at the moment her health was so feeble that she had three veterinary 

 surgeons in hourly -attendance upon her, and gold fish were made to 

 swiu:i in the water she drank of, lest the crystal element should contain 

 anything noxious to the delicate aristocrat. Another glorious descend- 

 ant of the same noble line was Faugh-a-Ballagh, and never did the 

 battle-cry of the Connanght Rangers ring to a more hearty cheer 

 than when Ireland's dashing race-horse carried his colors to the 

 front, and the almost fearless Faugh-a-Ballagh was declared the 



