140 A HISTOET OF THE PERCHEBON HOKSE 



of the five was a Belgian which proved so utterly un- 

 reliable in the stud that he never succeeded in get- 

 ting a mare with foal. In consequence he was never 

 recorded. Another member of this importation, 

 Black Leopard 50, had considerable Belgian blood 

 in his veins; he was of medium stature and a fine 

 mover. It was this horse that killed Mr. Bigelow. 

 With the expansion of the business westward and 

 the development of the fillies by earlier imported 

 stallions, there arose an insistent demand in some 

 quarters for more weight. Importers found it also 

 to their advantage to be choice in the matter of in- 

 dividuality when making their selections abroad. 

 Profits were very satisfactory. Sales were quite gen- 

 erally for cash and guarantees of reasonable sure- 

 ness as foal-getters had not yet been exacted by pur- 

 chasers. Service fees had reached a remunerative 

 level and were going higher. In short the whole 

 business had begun to take on that air of prosperity 

 in which it .was swathed a decade later. 



Activity in Ohio.— In almost all of the importa- 

 tions of 1868 one or more stallions of outstanding 

 merit were included. For instance, in the Galion 

 company's lot of half-a-dozen, the largest importa- 

 tion brought over that year, no less than three- 

 Napoleon 733, Puelo 752, and the oddly named Pluri- 

 bustah 747 — gained something more than local re- 

 nown in the stud. While most of the imported stal- 

 lions still ranged in weight between 1,600 and 1,700 

 pounds several imported that year were much 

 heavier. 



