PEECHERON PROTOTYPES 45 



de Chevaux Percherons," we find the question intro- 

 duced as follows: 



"M. de Caumont having put questions concerning 

 the breeds, and respecting the Percheron breed in 

 particular, a discussion took place upon this subject. 



' ' M. Oliver, veterinarian, has the floor. He pointed 

 out that formerly the Percheron breed comprised 

 two well defined varieties or types; the lighter type 

 was known as a 'light draft horse,' and the other, 

 which was larger and more material, was called a 

 ' draft horse. ' He complained that the introduction of 

 Picardy mares in the neighborhod of Montdoubleau, 

 about 1815, had altered the primitive type of the 

 Percheron. He thought that by making the breed 

 larger in size they had closed one of their most im- 

 portant outlets, viz., the sale of army horses, which 

 had been, under the Empire, their most assured out- 

 let. He thought also that even the service of dili- 

 gences must suffer from the alteration in type which 

 he had mentioned, and he expressed a wish that the 

 government would take the necessary steps to estab- 

 lish the ancient Percheron breed in all its purity. 



"M. Gautier, veterinarian, replying to M. Oliver 

 thought that the changes complained of had not 

 brought about differences so important in the Per- 

 cheron breed as he (M. Oliver) had supposed, be- 

 cause if the breed really had become heavier by 

 means of the mares of Montdoubleau, these mares 

 are none the less Percherons. M. Gautier thought 

 that the railroads would cause great modifications 

 in the horse trade, and that in the future the number 

 of horses required for diligence purposes would 

 diminish according to the development of new rail- 

 ways, and that it was necessary for the farmers of 

 that region to apply themselves to the production of 

 army horses. 



