71 



One mile, Bethune's races : La Grise, 4 min. 2 sec. 



Two miles, Illiers' races, 1865 : Achille, 7 min. 17 sec. 



Two miles and a-half, lUiers' races, Viqoureux, 8 min. 30 sec. 



Two raiies and three-quarters, Rouen's races : Decid6e, with a 

 load of 400 lbs., 10 min. 49 sec. 



At Fleury-sur-Andelle, Eure, M. Courturier's grey mare made 54 

 miles and a-half the first day in 4 hours, i min. and 35 sec, and the 

 second day in 4 hours, i min. and 30 sec, without whip, on the 

 public road between Lyons-la- Forest and Pont Audemer. 



For performing the race, she had, when coming back to pass her 

 stables and leave them behind without stopping. 



i>t 



■ THE FRENCH COACH HORSE. 



HIS ORIGIN, breeding, AND EXCELLENCIES. 



No animal so nearly approaches the human family in its intelli- 

 gence as the highly-bred horse, and none so strongly appeals to the 

 heart of man when suffering or misfortne overtake him. The love 

 of his horse is the controlling power that governs the Bedouin of the 

 desert, and in another form it exerts almost as much influeuce upon 

 men in all ages and conditions. From the king to the jieasant the 

 love of a perfect horse is a bond of sympathy. 



The beautiful French Coach horse of France, so recently intro- 

 duced here is a revelation to the educated eyes of American horse- 

 men ; and they bow in admiration of the far-seeing policy of their 

 sister republic, which, under the direction of its Government has 

 devised so thorough a plan for uniting and developing all the valuable 

 and most desirable qualities of the very best breeds, until it ha*given 

 to the world a race of horses that possess to a degree of perfection 

 never before attained, size, style, and action. For more than a 

 thousand years the history of the French horse has been identical 

 with the history of the nation, and amid all the turmoil of its political 

 strife, the safety and improvement of the horse has been a prevailing 

 sentiment. No other nation has taken so much interest in the im. 

 provement 01 this noble animal, and this generation is reaping the 

 reward of the " bread cast upon the waters " by its predecessors. 



As early as 1(^65 the Government studs were permanently estab- 

 lished, and from that time down to the present day the horse-breeding 



