18 A HISTORY OP THE PEBCHEEON HORSE 



small region. The lowest point of the territory is 

 at Theil on the Huisne, about 270 feet above sea level, 

 and the highest town is Mortagne, at an altitude of 

 about 750 feet. The shape of The Perche is that of 

 an ellipse, the dimensions about 53 by 66 miles. 

 Within this elliptical tract there are now fifty can- 

 tons. Only foals which are the progeny of regis- 

 tered dams and sires of the Percheron breed and 

 born in one of these cantons are eligible for registra- 

 tion at the present time in the Percheron Stud Book 

 of France. 



Geological Formation. — Geologically speaking, 

 this territory is characterized essentially by creta- 

 ceous formations of the Cenomanian Stage, and is a 

 part of the Secondary Aureole Period, circumscribed 

 by the Tertiary deposits of the Paris Basin. This 

 Cenomanian Stage, which dominates all over The 

 Perche, is subdivided into sand and Rouen chalk. It 

 is the Rouen chalk that plays so important a role 

 in the geological formation of the region. It forms 

 all the length of the broad valley of the Huisne, as 

 well as that of the Sarthe in its upper reaches. Of 

 course the bottom-lands of all the valleys are com- 

 posed of alluvial soils and are very fertile. Going 

 westward from Mortagne and Belleme, Jurassic for- 

 mations are encountered, and it is a curious fact that 

 on these soils we are apt to meet with Percheron 

 horses having lighter frames than those raised in the 

 Huisne and Sarthe valleys. "While the soils of The 

 Perche vary somewhat in the various districts, they 

 are chiefly of clayey and clayey-loam texture. Sandy 



