AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
213 
1878.] 
American Roadsters. 
It is claimed by many advocates of the “ trotting 
ring,” that the renowned American race of road¬ 
sters or wotting horses owes its existence, or at 
least its excellence, to 
the so-called “ trials of 
speed ” in the ring, and 
that the interest in these 
trials or races is main¬ 
tained by betting. It is 
also claimed that with¬ 
out the excitement of 
the betting all the in¬ 
terest in the race-course 
•would subside; that 
there would be no races, 
no trials of speed; as 
a consequence there 
would be no demand for 
speedy horses,and there 
would be no efforts on 
the part of breeders to 
improve the race. In¬ 
deed, it is asserted that 
the business of breed¬ 
ing, whether profes¬ 
sional or amateur, would 
cease to exist were races 
and betting abolished. 
It is only sufficient to 
broadly state this claim 
in this manner to show 
its absurdity and falsity. 
There is enough interest- 
in the horse to make 
its improvement and in¬ 
creased value aud usefulness, an object not only of 
profit, but of pleasure and excitement. There is 
nothing more agreeable or exciting to any one, old or 
young, than rapid motion. The savage and the most 
cultivated man alike enjoy riding upon or behind a 
fleet horse. So long as there are numbers of men 
who can afford to pay largely for their pleasures, 
the breeding of fast horses will ever be a profitable 
pursuit, and so long as men delight to skim over 
the road as fast as possible, there will be a demand 
for the best roadsters. Besides, this class of horses 
may be of great value in case of war, because, for 
attack or defence, well 
mounted cavalry is of 
the greatest moment. 
Decisive battles have 
been lost for want of 
good horses, and have 
been won by the over¬ 
powering force of well 
mounted cavalry. No 
nation possesses a bet¬ 
ter supply of horses 
than the United States, 
and the time may come 
when the maintenance 
of our excellent races 
of trotting horses may 
be of the greatest ser 
vice to us. Much has 
been said by some few 
American writers,to dis¬ 
parage American trot¬ 
ters in favor of the Eng¬ 
lish running horses; 
but not to speak of the 
uselessness of a gallop¬ 
ing horse upon the 
road, the evidence is 
all in favor of the en¬ 
durance, strength, and 
hardiness of our trot¬ 
ters, and against the 
qualities in these re¬ 
spects of the running horse. As a specimen 
of an American brood-mare, we give the above 
portrait with which we have been favored by Mr. 
Thomas Fitch, of New London, Conn. It is a copy 
of a photograph taken by Messrs. Schreiber, of 
Philadelphia. Mr. Fitch has been engaged in 
breeding roadsters and family carriage horses for 
many years, and we have seen some fine specimens 
in his stables. This mare, “Lady Buckingham,” 
was bred in Canada West, and was sired by “Tip- 
poo,” out of a “Reindeer” mare. She has been 
driven faster than 2.30, but has never been trained, 
‘'LADY BUCKINGHAM.” 
although speeded occasionally. Mr. Schreiber, 
the well Known animal photographer, when he 
took this picture, thought it to resemble that of 
“ Lady Thome ” more than any other be had taken, 
and the resemblance is certainly very striking. The 
produce of this mare so far, in Mr. Fitch’s hands, 
has been two fillies, one 5 years old, named 
“ Pneuma," by “Young Hambletonian ; ” she is 
over 16 hands high ; in color, a dark-brown, with 
white hind feet, and has fine action. The other, 3 
years old, named “Tacheia,” by Rev. M. Murray’s 
“ Live Oak,” is of large size, chestnut in color, 
NORFOLK POLLED OOW. 
with white hmd feet, and is also very fast. The 
mare, is now in foal, as are all Mr. Fitch’s brood¬ 
mares, to “ Toronto Abdallah.” Mr. Fitch has 60 
far been very successful in breeding this class of 
horses for family use, devoting much care to secure 
a fearless and docile disposition. All his animals, 
both cows and horses, are pets, and remarkably 
gentle, as must always be the case, when the 
breeder is kind and gentle to them, never uses 
the whip, and has a natural inclination towards his 
occupation. This style of training is especially 
valuable for driving horses, in which docility, gentle¬ 
ness, and fearlessness 
add so much to the 
value. Mr. Fitch’s 
method of breeding is 
worth notice. He 
writes, “ I never breed 
from a mare of less 
weight than 1,000 lbs., 
nor more than 1,150, 
bight 15.2 to 16.1; 
choosing good form, 
color, and action. Both 
sire and dam should be 
as nearly perfect as 
possible; but a defect 
on the side of the 6ire 
is not so injurious as 
on the part of the dam. , 
The dam produces and 
rears the colt, and she 
should be as near per¬ 
fect as possible.”— 
While all breeders do 
not hold this opinion, 
there is, nevertheless, 
much truth in it, and 
doubtless much injury 
has been caused by 
neglecting proper pre¬ 
cautions in selecting 
mares for breeding. 
There has been far too 
much stress laid upon the importance of the sire 
and his power of overcoming defects in the dam. 
The Norfolk Polled Cattle. 
One of the most useful efforts of a gentleman, 
who has interested himself greatly in the further¬ 
ance of an improved agriculture—Mr. A. B. Allen, 
of New Jersey, and one of the founders of the 
American Agriculturist —has been the attempt to 
popularize in America the polled Norfolk cattle. 
For some unaccounta¬ 
ble reason there is a 
common prejudice 
against hornless cows. 
There is something in a 
name, and if these 
cows were not called 
“mooleys,” but simply 
“polled” or “horn¬ 
less,” it is possible that 
the prejudice would 
not exist. Cattle that 
have no horns are more 
quiet, inoffensive, aud 
comparatively harm¬ 
less, and in case of 
animals that are to be 
shipped by rail, there is 
great economy in the 
freight, as a larger num¬ 
ber of hornless animals 
can be carried in a car, 
than there can be of 
those with spreading 
horns, and there is no 
risk of injury from the 
horns of the quarrel¬ 
some beasts. Of the 
three varieties of polled 
cattle, the Galloway, 
the Angus, and the 
Norfolk, the last is 
the best for the dairy; the others being excellent 
beef cattle. The Norfolk cattle are red, and the 
above engraving, a portrait from a photograph 
given in the “ Agricultural Gazette,” London, ac¬ 
curately shows the form of a good specimen of this 
class of cows. The fine fore-quarters, deep hind- 
