MID-WEST PIONEERS 177 



This horse lived to a ripe old age, and did more for 

 the improvement of the farm horses of Keokuk and 

 adjoining counties than any other stallion of his time. 

 A Campaign of Education. — Mr. Sanders was not 

 only one of the pioneer introducers of Percheron 

 blood west of the Mississippi River, but he set in 

 motion educational influences that greatly facilitated 

 the subsequent successes of the Percheron through- 

 out the United States. He was first of all a student. 

 In his library were the works of Charles Darwin, 

 Herbert Spencer, Huxley, Francis Galton, and other 

 scientists specializing on the laws governing the 

 transmission of hereditary qualities. He read every- 

 thing he could find in print relating to animal breed- 

 ing. He felt the rising of the great tide of live stock 

 improvement that swept through the mid-west 

 states during the years immediately following the 

 close of the Civil War. The state fairs were begin- 

 ning to attract good exhibits. Shorthorn cattle, 

 "Norman" and trotting horses, as well as "Magie" 

 swine, were seen and talked about. Nobody knew 

 much about any of the "new" breeds, but many 

 were interested and were seeking light. There was 

 no medium of communication between those who 

 awned or were considering the purchase of better 

 animals to replace the native types. Little informa- 

 tion was available. Why not a newspaper, a peri- 

 odical devoted especially to the discussion of animal 

 breeding and management, and the news of the busi- 

 ness in general? With J. H. Sanders to think was 

 to act. 



