17 



the accomplishment of a long journey at 

 the gallop would obviously bring the horse 

 to an early standstill. We have bred to 

 secure these paces in their highest perfection, 

 and havinor established distinct breeds, each 

 as nearly perfect for its purpose as is 

 humanly possible, we must measure each by 

 its appropriate standard of merit. 



William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, 

 put this point in simple language in a work 

 published by Thomas Melbourne in the 

 year 1667. His Grace was a great authority 

 on equine matters in his day, and we cannot 

 do better than quote him on the subject. 

 " On the perfect shape of a horse," he says, 

 "in a word I will show you the ridiculous- 

 ness of setting down the perfect shape of a 

 dog ! A mastiff is not a greyhound ; nor 

 a greyhound a Lancashire hound ; nor a 

 Lancashire hound a Little Beagle ; and yet 

 all very fine dogs in their kind." 



Precisely : the English race-horse, hunter, 

 and cart-horse are "all very fine horses in 

 their kind," because with each we have for 

 generations taken the utmost pains to develop 

 it and breed it true to type; but we have 

 left it to the foreigner to supply us with 

 high-class harness-horses, and he has shown 

 us that it is equally possible to produce 



