AMEPaCAN AGRTCUETERIST. 
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PORTRAITS OF HORSES OF VARIOUS BREEDS. — Dr awn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist 
ating, and dry for the greater part of the year 
These races of sheep also seem fitted by nature 
for those Western pastures. Their hardy con¬ 
stitutions, and their close compact fleeces, im¬ 
penetrable by storms either of snow, rain, or 
wind, render them able to withstand with per¬ 
fect ease those sudden but short periods of 
more than usual severity which sometimes oc¬ 
cur. There are also the black-faced Scotch 
sheep, which would be perfectly at home upon 
the most northerly of the Western prairies. 
Western Kansas and Nebraska possess millions 
of acres which can be purchased for a nominal 
price that should never be disturbed by the 
plow, but should be populated by thousands of 
flocks of sheep who would there find a con¬ 
venient and congenial home. From thence Ihc 
wool and mutton could readily be transported 
to profitable markets. Further West still the 
range can be occupied by sheep whose wool 
alone should be the object of the shepherd. In 
each of these localities in course of time there 
could be built up a race of sheep eminently 
suited to its peculiarities, but the founding of 
such races will be the work of time, and to a 
great extent, a labor of love with some persons 
who must be devoted to this employment, and 
wh „although “ there’s money in it” from the 
first, will yet look for their most abundant re¬ 
ward to the general improvement of this im¬ 
portant branch of American agriculture. 
Various Breeds of Horses. 
There is no domestic animal which has be¬ 
come more thoroughly adapted to the various 
needs of mankind than the horse; at the same 
time there is none of which a greater variety 
is more demanded to suit our various necessi¬ 
ties. The road-liorse and the farm-horse must 
necessarily be as distinct from each other as 
the work required of each is different. In the 
above illustration the different varieties in use 
with us, together with their several peculiar¬ 
ities, are shown at a glance. At first we have 
the thoroughbred, the source from which our 
road-horses derive their speed, courage, and en¬ 
durance. In this breed great speed has been 
acquired by many years of care in breeding by 
selections from the Arab race, (shown on the 
opposite corner of the engraving), and by a long- 
course of training. From the thoroughbred we 
/have derived the pacer and the trotter. It may 
be thought that these animals have their chief 
use on the trotting track, and are therefore of 
little account for practical purposes. There 
could be no greater mistake. The trotter has 
rightfully a large place in the agricultural in¬ 
terest of the country, for there is an immense 
and increasing demand for these horses for 
driving purposes at very profitable prices. The 
breeding of such horses, however, demands 
large capital and much skill, and is a business 
that requires undivided attention. The two 
choicest breeds of farm horses are seen at the 
lower corners. The Clydesdale and the Perch- 
eron breeds promise to give us a valuable class 
of heavy, powerful, and most useful animals, 
which are indispensable to the proper cultiva¬ 
tion of the coil. The Percheron is rapidly ris¬ 
ing in favor, and if care is used in procuring 
pure-bred animals, the breed will undoubtedly 
be a most valuable acquisition. The semi-wild 
races too, the Mustang of the Plains and the 
miniature Shetland, of the Scotch islands, de¬ 
serve notice. The first is the hardiest and 
most useful animal that the Western herder 
can choose for his severe service, while the lat¬ 
ter occupies a place as a pet for children, 
which no other variety of the horse can fill. 
The heads grouped in the center well ex¬ 
press the intelligence and the gentleness of' 
this, our most valuable and willing servant.. 
