THE ENGLISH RACE HORSE. 
183 
what every one should aim at. If we crop our 
lands without enriching them, we are robbing 
posterity. The present generation should leave 
the soil better, instead of worse, than they found 
it. P. 
Milford, N. H., April, 1850. 
-»- 
THE ENGLISH RACE HORSE. 
The English race horse boasts of a pure de- 
scent from the Arabian, and under whatever 
denomination the original stock of our thorough- 
bred horses have been imported — viz : as Turks, 
Barbs, or royal mares, there can be no doubt 
they were selected by the patrons of the turf, 
and by their agents during the reigns of James 
I. the two Charleses, James II. and the common- 
wealth ; and whether they were brought from 
Barbary, Turkey, or the continent of Europe, 
they were considered as the true sons and 
daughters of the dessert. The first Ai-abian 
ever seen in England was imported by Mr. Mark- 
ham, in the reign of James I., and the first for- 
eign mares of any note were brought over by 
the agents of Charles II., under the denomina- 
tion of royal mares. The change of climate, 
the pasture, and extreme care and attention in 
breeding by the best stallions, (and never for- 
getting the maxim that, " From the brave descend 
the brave,") have wonderfully increased their 
size, their strength, and their powers of endurance; 
and it is generally believed, by the most learned 
men of the turf, that a first-class English race horse 
would give 84 lbs. to the best Arabian which 
can be found, for any distance under ten miles. 
In 1828, a match was made at Calcutta between 
the English horse Recruit, carrying, 148 lbs., and 
the best Arab at the time in India, Pyramus, 
carrying 115 lbs., two miles. Recruit had been a 
very short time in India, and had tender feet, 
which disabled him from taking strong work, 
notwithstanding which, he won in a trot. 
The clearest proof of the improvement which 
has taken place in the English race horse, is the 
fact that no first nor second cross from the im- 
ported Arab, with the exception of the produce 
of one mare by the Wellesley Arabian, (Fair 
Ellen,) is good enough to win a £50-plate in 
the present day ; whereas, in 1740, our best 
horses were the second and third crosses from 
the original stock ; and we have no reason to 
assume that the Arabian horse of 1850 has de- 
generated from his ancestor of 1730. The most 
distinguished progenitors of the English race 
horse are the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, 
Curwen's bay Barb, and the Codolphin Arabian ; 
and no horse of any eminence has appeared in 
England, in the last hundred years which 
does not inherit their blood. Of the two former, 
we know very little ; they were the sires of 
Basto, and of Flying Childers; but the blood of 
the Godolphin Arabian is in every great stable 
in England. He was a thick-necked, heavy- 
shouldered, over-topped horse, without appar- 
ently a single good point adapted to racing 
qualifications. Goldfinder and Eclipse, both 
foaled in 1764, were considered the most extra- 
ordinary horses in the last century — Sir C. 
Bunbury always asserted that Goldfinder was 
the best horse. The celebrity of Eclipse, as a 
stallion, has contributed to his fame far more 
than his public running, which only lasted two 
years. Horses of this era were rarely put into 
training before they were thi*ee years old ; some 
never appeared until five years old ; and all the 
great matches and sweepstakes were made for 
long distances, four, six, and eight miles. Many 
writers have, therefore, imagined that the horses, 
in olden times, were more adapted to stay a dis- 
tance, than our present breeds ; but it does not 
follow, because it was the fashion to run long 
distances, in 1750, that the horses of that day 
had greater powers of endurance. Heavy 
weights and long courses were in vogue, be- 
cause it was the custom for owners and ama- 
teurs to ride in the last half mile with the lead- 
ing horses ; a feat not very difficult of attain- 
ment, considering that the race horses had run 
four miles before they joined the party. Our 
experience teaches us that the first cross from 
the Arab frequently show speed ; but there are 
very few instances of the first or second cross 
which can run beyond the distance of one mile 
in good company. I, therefore, suspect that the 
form of the best race horse, of 1750, is inferior to 
that of a common plater of the present day. 
It is computed that there are upwards of two 
hundred thorough-bred stallions, and one thou- 
sand one hundred brood mares, which produce 
about eight hundred and thirty foals annually ; 
of these, are generally three in the first class 
of race horses, seven in second class ; and they 
descend gradually in the scale to the amount of 
480, one half of which never catch the judge's 
eye ; the remainder are either not trained or are 
found unworthy at an early period. 
Referring again to shape and condition, a good 
judge may be deceived as to the individual con- 
dition of a particular horse. There are horses 
which run best apparently lusty, and others 
are only up to the mark when they carry no 
flesh, and with very slight muscular develop- 
ments. There are very few horses which re- 
j quire the same work, the same food, and the same 
i physic. Thick-winded horses, with strong con- 
| stitutions, may be sweated every five days dur- 
| ing their preparation, and will take three times 
j as much work as some delicate mares and geld- 
ings, of which there are many that never 
j want a sweat. One horse cannot gallop when 
: the ground is deep ; another, with thin feet, can- 
not move if the ground is hard ; and a heavy 
fall of rain will often upset scientific calcula- 
tions. Mares seldom run in their best form be- 
fore the month of August ; and geldings are 
considered to be best in the spring. — Rous. 
_<►-. 
Wasting Manures. — We once knew a large 
quantity of night soil deposited on a stiff clay 
sod. This was gradually washed down by the 
rains and carried to a rivulet close by. Very 
little effect was perceptible the first season, and 
scarcely a vestige of it remained the second; 
yet there was sufficient ammonia and nitrogen 
in this heap, had it been rightly managed, to 
have manured a five-acre field, and produced 
200 bushels of wheat. 
