PRACTICAL PAPERS—FARM MANAGEMENT. 
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of the kingdoms to whom their owners owed allegiance. Let 
us compare the English plan of breeding with our own. In 
England, since the 11th century, care for the purity of blood 
has been regarded as essential to the production of the cavalry 
horse; hence it has had the encouragement of government. 
The warlike barons, in imitation of royalty, gave much per¬ 
sonal attention to the breeding of saddle horses for war and the 
chase. In the 14th century wo find the stud book, recording 
the pedigree and performances of noted animals. 
In the books kept by the stewards of estates, we find for 
generations the record of births of every foal on the place, 
with its pedigree. Should the foal be a “skip,” or without ped¬ 
igree, it is reported as “ Didos Skip,” and ever after dropped 
from the record. The same rules for breeding in and in, and 
crossing with the same strain for purity of blood, were adopted 
by the farmer at a later day; and we now have the distinct 
types of horses with pedigrees established by the best of legal 
evidence. 
But with the American farmer how different. He regards 
only the appearance of an animal in selecting a dam or sire. 
The dam is however never selected for breeding purposes, but 
bred because it is convenient. The pedigree of the sire is 
made up by the groom from the names of known popular hor¬ 
ses—some of whom may be without any blood whatever—and 
will contain the most absurd incongruities possible. The dam, 
in ail cases, on a country horse bill is not mentioned, and 
horses which may have been raised in one state with one 
pedigree, are often taken to another and advertised as “Im¬ 
ported.” These instances are fhe rule and not the exception. 
The farmer feels that he is not able, and that it will not be 
profitable as a part of mixed husbandry, to attempt the raising 
of the blooded horse. In this he is clearly right, as he can¬ 
not with anj^certainty procure the right stock to begin with. 
But he can exercise his judgment in selecting large, well built 
mares (not roomy as the old books say,) and by breeding to 
large horses whose stock has been tested, he can raise such 
animals as will be of use to himself and bring a fair price in 
