100 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHEEON HORSE 



seen from this that there were big drafty mares in 

 The Perche even in those days. M. Richard won the 

 first prize on fillies with a brown bay of about 15.2 

 hands, and second prize went to M. Pnidhomme on 

 a filly of similar color, about the same height. 



In stallions first prize went to M. Pennetier, and 

 second to M. Fleurida. These stallions had no com- 

 petition, as evidenced by the following: 



"Although these stallions had no competitors, the 

 judges nevertheless thought they ought to be 

 awarded prizes as presenting in the highest degree 

 the qualities which constitute a stallion suitable for 

 the production of draft colts, and it is probably owing 

 to the superiority of these two individuals that one 

 must attribute the absence of competitors." 



At the show in the same town in 1842 M. Pennetier 

 again won first prize in stallions with a horse of 

 16.3 hands, dapple-gray, six years old. In the fol- 

 lowing year M. Tacheau, probably the grandfather of 

 the present noted stallioner and breeder, won first 

 prize in fillies. 



Outcrossing Exaggerated. — Had the Percheron, 

 then, during this evolution, received no crosses from 

 other breeds? Very likely experiments were tried, 

 but it is entirely clear that misguided alliances with 

 extraneous blood were never permitted specially to 

 influence the race in its entirety. The specific and 

 inherent qualities of the type were always conserved 

 intact. Unsatisfactory colts, the product of occa- 

 sional infusions of blood from other breeds, wore 

 promptly set aside as work horses and not al- 

 lowed to reproduce their kind. No men are more 



