32 



THE FERCHERON. 



I could make of M. St. Marc's medicine-chest, and his very judicious Jireo 

 tions for the treatment of the horses under this anticipated state of affairs, 

 I could not prevent the death of the stallion from inflammation of the lungs, 

 before reaching New York. The mares were landed safely, but too much 

 stiffened by the voyage and their sickness, to make the journey at once across 

 the Jerseys on foot. I procured a trusty man to accompany them, and sent 

 them by railroad for Burlington. The next morning I had the mortifica- 

 tion to see my man returned with the sad news that the finest mare had 

 hroken through the bottom of the car, and fractured one of her liind legs 

 Thus left with one horse out of four selected, the only alternative was to 

 give up, or go back for more. I did not hesitate about the latter, and in 

 three weeks I was steaming it on board the Great Western. My next pur- 

 chase was " Diligence," another stallion, and two mares. This time I was 

 more fortunate, and procured an excellent groom to accompany them, who 

 succeeded in getting them safely to New York and to Moorestown, carefully 

 shunning the railroad. I have, since that time, lost one of the mares, and 

 the other stallion went blind after making one season. Not wishing to run 

 the risk of perpetuating a race of horses with weak eyes, I have not since 

 permitted him to cover mares ; though I must say for hira that his colts 

 nave all good eyes, and stand high in public favor. 



Those who are acquainted with the thorough-bred Canadian horse, TviU 

 see in him a perfect model, on a small scale, of the Pebcheeon horse. This 

 IS the peculiar breed of Normandy which are used so extensively through 

 out the northern half of France for diligence and post-horses, and from the 

 best French authorities I could command (I cannot now quote the precise 

 authorities), I learned that they were produced by the cross of the Andalu 

 sian horse upon the old heavy Norman horse, whose portrait may still be 

 seen as a war-horse on the painted windows of the. cathedral of Rouen, sev- 

 eral centuries old. At the time of the occupation of the Netherlands by 

 the Spaniards, the Audalusian was the favorite stallion of the north of Ku 

 rope, and thus a stamp of the true Barb was implanted, which remains to 

 the present day. If you will allow me to digress a moment, I will give 

 you a short description of the old Norman draught-horse on which the cross 

 was made. They average full sixteen hands in height, with head short, 

 thick, wide and hollow between the eyes ; jaws heavy ; ears short and 

 pointed well forwards ; neck very short and thick ; mane heavy ; shoulder 

 well inclined backwards; back extremely short; rump steep; quarters 

 very broad ; chest deep and wide ; tendons large ; muscles excessively de- 

 veloped ; legs very short, particularly from the knee and hock to the fet- 

 lock, and thence to the coronet, which is covered with long hair, hiding half 

 the hoof; much hair on the legs. 



The bone and muscle, and much of the form of the Percheron is derived 

 from tliis horse, and he gets his spirit and action from tht Andalusian. Do- 

 cility comes from both sides. On the expulsion of the Spaniards from the 

 north, the supply of Andalusian stallions was cut off, and since that time 

 in the Perche district in Normandy, their progeny has doubtless been bred 

 in-and-in ; henco the remarkable uniformity of the breed, and the di.oposi- 

 tion to impart their form to their progeny beyond any breed of domestic 

 animals within my knowledge. Another circumstance which I think has 

 tended to perpetuate the good qualities of these horses, is the fact of all 

 their males being kept entire ; a gelding is, I believe, unknown among the 

 rural horses of Erance. You may be startled at this notion of mine, but if 

 you reflect a moment, yon must perceive that in such a state of things (so 

 contrary to our practice and that of the English) the farmer will always 

 breed from the best horse, and he will have an opportunity of judging, be- 

 ".ause the horse has been broken to harness and liis quahties known before 



