THE NEW CENTURY DAWNS AUSPICIOUSLY 393 



This loss was compensated in large degree by the 

 general improvement wrought upon the grade 

 horses of the country. The progeny of these sires 

 proved so much more valuable in farm work and 

 sold for so much higher prices that farmers were 

 awakened to the worth of Percheron sires. This in- 

 creased the demand for Percheron stallions, whether 

 bred in America or imported from France, and led 

 many other men to establish small studs of Percheron 

 mares. The work of the importers, therefore, re- 

 sulted in a widespread and marked improvement in 

 the character and value of the common horses bred in 

 the United States, and also caused a general expan- 

 sion in Percheron breeding on this side of the water. 



The large exhibits of Percherons made at the 

 leading fairs by importers and dealers also proved 

 a potent factor in educating farmers in Percheron 

 type and aided materially in popularizing the breed. 



The Development by States. — Illinois, as was to 

 be expected, showed the greatest increase in the ■ 

 number of breeders during this period, there being 

 1,476 by 1910. Iowa was second with 860, Ohio third 

 with 471, Kansas fourth with 319, Indiana fifth with 

 284, Minnesota sixth with 279, Wisconsin seventh 

 with 269, Nebraska eighth with 229, South Dakota 

 ninth with 171, and North Dakota tenth with 16.0 

 breeders. A 



Illinois, Iowa and Ohio, the pioneer states in Per- 

 cheron breeding, had more than half of the Percher- 

 ons in the United States by 1910. Percheron breed- 

 ing naturally increased most rapidly where the 



