600 
VERTEBRATA. 
except Eussia. Great pains have been taken, as well by the government as by individuals, to 
produce improved breeds. Napoleon imported over two hundred of pure Arabian blood for this 
purpose. Yet, though France has a great variety of local breeds, she has none of general celeb- 
rity, and is obhged constantly to import considerable numbers. A great many for the saddle and 
light harness are obtained from England ; a still larger number for the cavalry are procured in 
Germany and Denmark. The most noted French breeds are the Limousin^ good for the saddle ; 
the Normandy especially those from the district of Cotentin, a vigorous and hardy race, excellent 
for the cart, wagon, hack, and diligence; and the Boulogne, a noble breed, large, powerful, and 
adapted to heavy draught. Small but serviceable Nags, called Bidets, are produced in Auvergne, 
Poitou, and Birrgundy. 
The Horses of Holland, especially those of Friesland, have long been valued for light draught 
work. 
The Flemish Horses, though they have been much used for cavalry in Europe, have heavy 
heads, large necks, and large, flat feet. 
The German Horses are of various kinds. The native breeds are heavy and ill-formed, but 
the introduction of Arabian, Turkish, Barbary, and Spanish horses have produced some finer va- 
rieties. The MecMenberg Horses are largely exported to France, where they are used as well for 
carriage as for cavalry service. 
Denmark, with Holstein and Oldenherg, boast a large variety of horses, greatly esteemed and 
extensively nsed for cavalry, though they fail in elegance and symmetry. 
The Norway and Sioedish Horses are small, but strong, active, and hardy. Those of Lapland 
are similar, but still more diminutive. 
Prussia has many horses, but the only breed of note is one resembling that of Friesland, pro- 
duced in. the low country near the mouth of the Vistula. 
The native horses of Poland are of middling stature, and peculiarly hardy, strong, and useful. 
The Transylvanians have good horses, and are accustomed to slit the nostrils of those used for 
war, under the idea that, as the horse only breathes through its nose, this gives him a freer breath. 
It also renders him incapable of neighing, which is often inconvenient in the field. 
The Hungarian Horses resemble the Cossack breeds, and are noted for spirit and endurance. 
In Russia the horses are of various breeds, but they have no general celebrity. Trotting-horses, 
for matches on the snow and ice, are much valued and cultivated. The Turkish breed, which is 
finely formed, light, and graceful, is in use. The Kalmuck breed, which is the same as the Cos- 
sack, is of prodigious hardiness. Loudon says they will travel three hundred to four hundred 
miles in three days ; they subsist, summer and winter, solely upon the grass of the great plains 
between the Don, Volga, and Yaik Rivers. Here they abound, the herds numbering from two 
hundred to a thousand. They are excellent swimmers, and often cross the Volga where it is a 
mile or even two miles in width. 
The Spanish Horses have long been celebrated, especially those of Andalusia. They are the 
result of a strong influx of Eastern blood, at the time of the conquest of Spain by the Moors or 
Saracens, at the beginning of the eighth century, operating upon breeds already highly improved. 
The occupation of the country by these invaders for nearly eight hundred years, during which 
time a constant intercourse with the East was maintained, caused the horses of Spain, especially 
in the south, near the center of the Moorish kingdom, to become highly Arabianized. This 
blood still remains, and hence the Spanish horse is greatly valued. For two or three hundred 
years this breed has been frequently taken to England, France, Holland, and Germany, and has 
largely contributed by mixture to improve the horses of these countries. 
The Portuguese Mares were once celebrated for being fleet and long-winded, but they are said 
to have degenerated. 
Italy at present produces no breed of note ; the Horses of Naples were once highly valued, but 
have lost their celebrity. The country, however, produces a large number of these animals. 
