THE AMERICAN TROTTING HORSE. 



489 



object in view. The practice is good, and will improve the breed 

 of trotters in the long run ; but for immediate results, more trot- 

 ting speed may be expected when trotting mares are bred to trot- 

 ting stallions. It should not be disregarded that we already have 

 trotting families quite equal to thorough-brcds in spirit and bot- 

 tom ; and though these may have been inherited from a thorough- 

 bred ancestry, that is not a reason why we should breed again to 

 thorough-breds and risk the loss of the trotting quality. The 

 famous trotter Flora Temple was frequently put to Mambrino 



Pilot without success, but she became with foal by a two-year old. 

 Old mares will often breed to a colt when they will not to a ma- 

 tured horse. The colt selected on this occasion was Rysdyk, by 

 Rysdyk's Hambletonian, out of a thorough-bred mare by Lexing- 

 ton. Now, this dam of Rysdyk had no trotting quality, and he is 

 just as likely to inherit running speed from his dam as trotting 

 speed from his sire. Or be may take the trotting action from his 

 sire and have that action made good by the Lexington side of his 

 pedigree — Lexington being the sire of more winners in running 



