388 A HISTORY OP THE PERCHERON HORSE 



continued depression of the '90 's that they were 

 timid even when prices began to rise and they did 

 not immediately grasp the opportunities which lay 

 before them. 



The actual experience of one well-known Percher- 

 on breeder is a case in point. He attended a sale 

 of well-bred Percherons in 1900. The stud was one 

 of the oldest in the United States, the management 

 had been good, and the mares sold were excellent. 

 Yet this breeder, fearing the outcome, bought only 

 a few. For those he did buy he paid from $95 to 

 $175 each, and within 5 years mares of the same 

 breeding and quality brought 5 times that price. 

 Large as was the increase in the number of Per- 

 cherons between 1901 and 1910, it was by no means 

 so great as it would have been had breeders had a 

 clear conception of the extent and far-reaching 

 character of the commercial demand for draft 

 horses. 



Pedigree Publication Suspended. — The decade 

 beginning with the panic of 1893 was characterized, 

 as has already been indicated, by a depression in 

 the Percheron importing and breeding industry so 

 profound and so widespread in its operation that 

 the association which, up to that period had control 

 of pedigree registration in the United States, was 

 unable to maintain itself. Meetings were poorly 

 attended. Funds ran low. The salary of the Sec- 

 retary, Mr. S. D. Thompson, was in arrears, and 

 finally through a forced sale of the assets of the 

 bankrupt organization he acquired legal title to the 



