A PERIOD OF PROFOUND DEPRESSION 339 



very few with means and courage bred persistently 

 on, exercising the same careful selection of sires as 

 in. better days.. 



In this period the registration of the colts pro- 

 duced was neglected. The American Percheron 

 Horse Breeders' Association recorded but 479 ani- 

 mals in 1894, 539, in 1895 and 392 in 1896. Only 

 8,807 American-bred Percherons and- 1,490 imported 

 animals were recorded in the entire decade, or about 

 as many as were recorded in the single fiscal year of 

 1914. A large proportion of those which were re- 

 corded were foaled or imported before 1890. More 

 than 1,000 American-bred animals foaled in this 

 period were not placed on the records until many 

 years later. 



The depression in value of horses was due to the 

 general tie-up in manufactures and in general busi- 

 ness which began developing about 1890. This 

 culminated in the panic of 1893, when the loss, of 

 confidence among money holders was so great that 

 it was virtually impossible to raise money on first 

 farm mortgages or approved bonds. Building and 

 manufacturing were stagnant and prices dropped to 

 abnormally low levels. 



The most noticeable direct effect of all this 

 was a widespread distribution of Percheron mares. 

 Wealthy owners, lacking knowledge of and confi- 

 dence, in the business, sold out for whatever price 

 could be obtained. Others, forced to sell something 

 to raise funds on which to live, sold all or part of 

 their Percherons. Prices were so low that hundreds 



