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Reporlof the Special Committee Appointed by the 

 Illinois State Board of AKrIcnItnre. 



The following letter, in which is incorporated the original questions 

 prepared by the Committee, was addressed to Monsieur Eugene 

 Tisserand, the Director of Agriculture of France, who has been at 

 the head of agricultural affairs in that country for the past twenty-five 

 years, and is probably one of the best informed men in all France 

 upon matters of this nature : 



The Illinois State Board of Agriculture, of which I am President, 

 at a recent meeting appointed a committee — of which I was made 

 Chairman — for^ the purpose of ascertaining some facts (about which 

 there has been some dispute in our country) concerning the draft 

 horses of France. 



It has been claimed by some that France has no separate or distinct 

 breeds of draft horses with characteristic differences ; while on the 

 other hand many persons engaged in the business of importing horses 

 from France to America have claimed, and still claim, that in your 

 country there are several distinct, well-established, and well-defined 

 breeds of draft horses, long recognized as such, and known in your 

 country as Percherons, Boulonnais, etc. Others claim that the draft 

 breeds, so called, of France trace substantially to the same original 

 elements ; that they have all been reared under similar conditions, for 

 similar purposes, and that there are no distinct breeds ; that provincial 

 names indicate provincial families of the same genera' breed, rather 

 than distinct breeds. I would thank you, therefore, if you will give 

 me explicit and definite information in response to the following 

 questions : 



I St. Are there any distinct, clearly-defined, and well-established 

 breeds of draft horses in France ? If so, in what parts of France are 

 they chiefly bred, and by what means are they known in your country ? 

 2d. If you have any distinct and well-defined breeds, in addition 

 to naming them please name the order in which they each stand in 

 popular estimation among the French people. 



3d. State, if you can, tor how long a period each of these breeds 

 have been recognized as such in your country. 



4th. Is there now a division of opinion among those persons in 

 France who may be considered authority upon such matters as to 

 whether there are one or more breeds of draft horses in your country, 

 and what is the state of public opinion on the subject among the 

 press and people of France ? 



