1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



227 



folk were no doubt of large thorough blood, and 

 the effect of Morgan on his stock is also proof of 

 this. He spoke of the natural gait of the horse, 

 which was a canter. When a horse is made to 

 trot he goes diagonally, two feet up at once, and 

 then changes. Flora Temple sometimes had no 

 foot on the ground. She earned $50,000. He 

 gave her pedigree. Good thorough blood was on 

 both sides. [Dr. Loring said Lancet beat her.] 

 Mr. W. replied that horses win that are made to. 

 Trustee was three-fourths thorough-blood, and 

 Bob Logic, a thorough-bred stallion, could also 

 trot his 20 miles an hour. Shaw's Balrownie, look 

 at him, how fine ! In fact, the thorough-bred 

 horse is to the farmer of the utmost importance. 

 Mr. Alexander, of Kentucky, is trying to raise 

 some for trotters, or for roadsters. 



Education has much to do with the horse, as he 

 can be taught to trot, run or amble. Our Puritan 

 forefathers religiously opposed race horses, but 

 learned their own to trot. If the farmer would 

 improve his horses, let him take thorough breeds 

 — breeding from the best, as in cattle. 



Dr. LoRiNG inquired of the last speaker, if he 

 didn't understand him to say that "no Morgan or 

 Black Hawk blood was found in a good trotter ?" 

 Mr. Wetherell admitted that the Morgan can 

 trot pretty well, even good. He said, when up 

 before, that the best trotters have no Morgan 

 blood in them. 



Dr. LoRiNG wanted to show that we have a 

 roadster that had developed the best stock of 

 horses. He thought we had got ahead of thorough- 

 breeds. We have a farming and travelling horse 

 which is capable of transmitting his formation, 

 and this has been encouraged. 



Mr. Wetherell responded, and observed that 

 he advocated the Morgan, and that these horses 

 were excellent because of their thorough blood. 



Mr. Howard, of the Boston Cultivator, said 

 the great question is, "What are the best traits of 

 the horse ?" The thorough-breed in England is a 

 runner and nothing else. The term "thorough- 

 breed" is liable to mislead. It was one of conve- 

 nience. The so-called thorough-breed is much 

 mixed by the Spanish, the Persian, the Arabian 

 and the English stock. "Thorough-breed" is in- 

 definite — a clap-trap. Let us look at the mech- 

 anism of the English horse. He is not so good as 

 some others. The Morgan is different in confor- 

 mation from the race horse. If the Morgan is full 

 blood, let it be shown. Will the colts of Mr. Al- 

 exander become good trotters by breeding ? He 

 owned the Lexington, and no one would change a 

 farm horse for him. Mr. A. was a breeder of 

 horses for the turf; shall we breed from such, or in- 

 troduce the foreign ? Let us see if good trotters 

 can spring from Balrownie. In this matter we 

 should not forget fundamental principles. 



Mr. Wetherell asked if there was any differ- 

 ence in the shoulders of Flora Temple and Lex- 

 ington. 



Mr. Howard replied that the scapula is not 

 so long in Lexington. 



Dr. LoRlNG here gave a description of the scap- 

 ula and humerus of the horse, showing the differ- 

 ence between those of the racer and the trotter. 



Hon. Amasa Walker, of North Brookfield, 

 spoke of the effect of climate on men and ani- 

 mals. We have horses fitted to our country and 

 circumstances, yet some foreign stock may be well. 

 Four similar horses placed in different parts of 

 the world would all become different. We have, 

 however, in New England, the best horses known ; 

 they are Yankee, like the population. The Mor- 

 gan horse was a Yankee horse, and liis influence 

 on his progeny was marked. He is well adapted 

 to us and our wants. 



Mr. N. Richardson, of Winchester, spoke at 

 some length upon the subject, and thought that if 

 foreign blood, or thorough blood, was useful, it 

 M'as to give greater endurance to our horses. He 

 alluded to many of our fast trotters, and thought 

 that colts should be fed well the first year, and 

 not forced much afterwards. We should be care- 

 ful, also, not to overdo our horses. 



Mr. Stedmax, of Chicopee, thought that by in- 

 troducing thorough-breeds we should be much 

 disappointed, and concun-ed with the chaii-man. 

 The Morgan was the best for New England, and 

 he believed he had not much thorough blood in 

 him. 



Mr. Walker again alluded to the power of the 

 Morgan horse of transmitting himself. He has a 

 mare which is said to be afac simile of the old 

 Morgan. 



The subject for the next discussion was now 

 announced — How can our Agricultural Exhibi- 

 tions be made most benejicial to the interests oj 

 the Commonwealth 7 



HOTV THE CHnSTESE MAKE DWARF 

 TREES. 



We have all known from childhood how the 

 Chinese cramp their women's feet, and so manage 

 to make them "keepers at home ;" but how they 

 contrive to grow miniature pines and oaks in flow- 

 er pots for half a century, has always been much 

 of a secret. It is the product chiefly of skilful, 

 long-continued root pruning. They aim, first and 

 last, at the seat of vigorous gi'owth, endeavoring 

 to weaken it as far as may consist with the preser- 

 vation of life. They begin at the beginning. 

 Taking a young plant (say a seedling or cutting of 

 a cedar,) when only two or three inches high, they 

 cut off its tap-root as soon as it has other rootlets 

 enough to live upon, and re-plant it in a shallow 

 earthem pot or pan. The end of the tap-root is 

 generally made to rest on the bottom of the pan, 

 or on a flat stone within it. Alluvial clay is then 



