Savage & Farnum's

CATALOGUE

PERCHERON HORSES

Island Home Stock Farm,
GROSSE ILE,

188S.

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ISLAND HOME STUD

OF

PERCHERON HORSES

INLAND HOME STOCK FARM,

GROSSE ILE, WAYNE CO., MICH.

City OfBee, Campau Building, corner Earned and Griswold Sts.,
opposite the PostofBee, Detroit, Mich.

SAVAGE & FARNUM

PROPRIETORS.

DETROIT. MICH. :

JOHN F. EBY & CO., PRINTERS, 65 "WEST CONGRESS ST.

■ 1885.

INTRODUCTION.

With this, our annual catalogue of Island Home Stud of Percheron
Horses, we append a few facts that may be of interest to the general
public, as well as those contemplating purchasing Percheron horses.

ISLAND HOME
Stock Farm is beautifully situated at the head of Grosse He, in the Detroit
River, ten miles below the city, and is accessible by railroad and steamboat.
The island is eight miles in length and about two in width, the lower end
being at the mouth of the river, while the north end, on which Island Home
is situated, is nearly opposite the city of Wyandotte. The eastern channel of
the river is about one mile wide, and constitutes the boundary line between
the United States and Canada, and the main thoroughfare for the vast
shipping of the great lakes, there being always in view a number of
vessels during the season of navigation ; in fact, more shipping passes
through the Detroit River, and consequently by Island Home, than any
other point in the world.

G-ROSSE ILE
Is a popular suburban and summer resort, a beautiful drive being laid out
around it next the beach, with the residences facing the water. The
boating and fishing is unexcelled. The scenery, with its many other
attractions, make it a most delightful place. It is accessible at all times
by railroad. Formerly the Canada Southern ran directly across the Island,
with a bridge to the American side and transports to the Canadian shore.
Now, the road being in the hands of the Michigan Central, they run a
train for the special convenience of the island people, many of whom are
engaged in business in the city.

VISITORS.

Desiring a friendly intercourse with those interested in the improve-
ment of the stock of the country, whether in our particular lines or not,
we extend a cordial invitation to all to visit Island Home, where a friendly
greeting awaits them. By calling at our city office, Campau Building,
Detroit, an escort will be furnished those desiring it ; or, if going directly
to the farm, they will find a gentlemanly superintendent at all times, and
during the season of sales a member of the firm.

STOCK.

While we are somewhat interested in Cleveland Bay horses, Exmoor
ponies, Holstein and Jersey cattle, the principal feature and pride of Island
Home is its stud of Percheron horses. With profound respect for the
saying, " There is always room at the top," we have taken unwearied pains
in the selection of our stock, accepting only those of fine form and action,
with good bone and muscle, and from sires and dams of established repu-
tation and merit, all our stock or their ancestors being the progeny of
government approved stallions and recorded in the French stud-book.

TERMS
Of sale are as low as the lowest for genuine pedigree stock. Parties desir-
ing price on any particular horse, can have same by giving the name and
number, but it is generally better to come and see the stock. However,
those desiring to purchase on our judgment will find everything as i-epre-
sented. Time will be given, on approved paper, when desired.

11 1! Will Pi! m 10 m i

First — Because he is beyond all question the best Farm. Horse, the
best Draft Horse, the best Coach Horse, the best Driving Horse — in fact,
the best horse for any purpose, except the race track, known.

Second — The same food that will raise an ordinary colt, worth at three
years from fifty to a hundred and fifty dollars, will raise a half-blood
Percheron worth at the same age from five to seven hundred dollars, or a
full-blood worth from twelve hundred to two thousand dollars, giving you
a profit on the grade horse of at least three hundred dollars, and on the
full-blood a profit of a thousand dollars and upwards, the extra price for
service being amply provided for in the above figures.

A majority of farmers have the requisite ability to engage in the
breeding of good stock, and could make a pleasant and profitable occupa-
tion of it if they simply had the courage to look the facts square in the
face and make the move, instead of plodding along in the old rut and
finding themselves at the end of each year a little older, a little more
worn, and financially just about where they were at the end of the pre-
ceding year. Fifteen to twenty-five hundred dollars is not a large sum
to pay for a farm, but it would take five years to raise that amount out of
it, while a Percheron horse, at the same price, would pay for himself in
two years and the farm in two more, and be worth more at that time
than at the time of purchase, while you would have the satisfaction of
knowing that you have been of untold and lasting benefit to the section in
which you live, and your name will go down to posterity as the intro-
ducer of the most celebrated race of horses known.

PERCIIERON HOUSE ASSOCIATIONS.

A system of clubbing is often resorted to by neighboring farmers to
enable them to get the services of a Percheron stallion where none is
kept, on the basis of economy and profit.

To illustrate: Five, ten, or any number of individuals that may desire
to unite on the purchase of a horse, get together and appoint two or three
of their number a committee to visit Island Home, with power to act in
the selection and purchase of a stallion, each member of the association
contributing an equal amount, or such amount as may be agreed upon, the
individual having a corresponding interest in the horse; the services to be
charged uj) to each member of the company as they ai'e had, at a rate
agreed upon, and usually below the price charged to outsiders — say $20,
and $25 to persons not members of the club. In this manner a good sup-
port is secured for the stallion, and often the entii'e amount of purchase
price received the first year, thereby returning to each member his original
investment, giving him his colts for nothing, and still leaving him his
ownership in the horse for future benefits and 23i'ofits. We have a case in
mind where this has been done, and the two succeeding years the horse
earned considerably over his purchase price each year; and another instance
in this State where a Percheron stallion has earned over four thousand
dollars the past season. The preceding plan enables each member, for a
small investment or by becoming responsible with the other members of
the association for the purchase price of the horse, to become interested in
and profit by the breeding of Percheron horses.

JUPITER AT ISLAND HOME.

Jupiter, the subject of the rare and treasured sketch from which the
engraving on the opposite page was made, deserves more than passing notice,
and likewise the engraving. Early last season, to increase the popularity of
French horses in America, the Percheron Society of France, under author-
ity of the French government, selected six Percheron stallions, the finest
of the race, one of them being Jupiter 3692 (216), and appealed to the
boundless generosity and unwavering patriotism of the renowned Rosa
Bonheur, the most celebrated animal painter the world has ever known, to
sketch them.

Rosa Bonheur, never found wanting in national pride and enterprise,
and to lend added lustre to the fame of her beloved Percherons, immor-
talized a score of years since in her celebrated painting, " Going to the
Fair," undertook the task. The stallions were taken to her chateau and
there retained until the sketches were completed, Mr. M. W. Dunham,
from whom we obtained Jupiter, imported him November, 1884, and
to-day Island Home stud is graced with his royal presence.

He has a lofty carriage, most elegantly rounded body, unequaled back,
quarters and flank, three points seldom ever found in one animal, all in a
high order of perfection. He stands squarely and perfectly upon his legs,
which are very clean and free from hair ; his feet are the very best, bis
action high, easy and graceful. (For pedigree see page 31.)

HISTORY OF THE PEItCllKRON RA(JE.

BY CHARLES DU HAYS.

AUTHOR OP TUE "DICTIONARY OP THE PURE RACE;" "TROTTERS;" "THE ROOK OF

THE RACES;" "THE MERLERAULL ;" " THE HORSE BREEDER'S GUIDE,"

ETC., AND THEN AS NOW OCCUPYING A HIGH POSITION

IN THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.

The following history is quoted from the work of the above author :

"Almost everything that has been written about the horse may be
reduced pretty much to complaining that there does not exist a breed
which unites, in an elevated degree, high moral or physical qualities ;
modestly seeking and teaching the means of obtaining such a breed.

"It is reasonable that such sentiments should surprise us, here in the
heart of France, where, for a long time, a race of horses has flourished
which may be said to fill the requirements proposed in every way.

"The proof of this statement is easy : a hasty sketch of the principal
characters of the breed suflices to furnish it.

"To no ordinary strength, to vigor that does not degenerate, and
to a conformation that does not exclude elegance, it joins docility, mild-
ness, patience, honesty, great kindness, excellent health, and a hardy,
elastic temperament. Its movements are quick, spirited and light. It
exhibits great endurance, both when hard worked and when forced to main-
tain for a long time any of its natural gaits, and it possesses the inestima-
ble quality of moving fast vnth heavy loads. It is particularly valuable
for its astonishing precocity, and produces by its work, as a two-year old,
more than the cost of its feed and keep. Indeed, it loves and shoAvs a real
aptness for labor, which is the lot of all. It knows neither the whims of
bad humor nor nervous excitement. It bears for man, the companion of
its labors, an innate confidence, and expresses to him a gentle familiarity,
the fruit of an education for many generations in the midst of his family.
Women and children from whose hands it is fed can approach it without
fear. In a word, if I may speak thus, it is an honorable race. It has that
fine oriental gray coat, the best adapted of all to withstand the burning
rays of the sun in the midst of the fields — a coat which pleases the eye,
and which in the darkness of the night allowed the postilion of former
times to see that he was not alone — that his friend was making his way
loyally before him. It is exempt (a cause of everlasting jealousy among
the breeders of other races), always exempt from the hereditary bony defects
of the hock, and where it is raised, spavin, jardon, bone spavin, periodical
inflammation, and other dreaded infirmities, are not known even by name.
" This truly typical race would seem a myth, did it not exist in our
midst. But every day we see, every day we handle this treasure, the
munificent gift of Providence to this favored region, to cause agriculture,

12 SAVAGE & FARNUM S CATALOGUE

that ' nursing mother,' to flourish, and with agriculture peace and abun-
dance.

"I need not name this breed ; every one, from this incomplete sketch,
has recognized the fine race of steady and laborious horses bred in the
ancient province of Perche (so justly entitled Perche of good horses), plow-
ing in long furrows the soil of Beauce, and thence spreading itself over all
France, where its qualities render it without a rival for all the specialties
of rapid draft.

" That cool, restrained and ever fresh energy, that courageous patience
of which the Percheron, every day, gives an example, dragging, at a trot,
heavy loads, the weight of which frightens the imagination ; stopping
short, both in ascending or descending ; starting off freely, and always
without balking ; never sulking at his work or food, and fearing neither
heat nor cold. He remains exclusively both the quick and mettlesome
draft horse, and the heavy burden and express wagon horse. He jDossesses
supei'ior strength, speed, docility, temper and honesty, and a complete
absence of irritability. This is a specimen of Percheron qualities.

"Hence it is that all our provinces envy us the possession of the race,
and even foreign countries seek after it with an eagerness amounting to a
passion.

"The prices of these stallions have increased so rapidly in a few years
that they have tripled and quadrupled. Accordingly, the possessors sold
them. The administrative authorities, aided by the elite of the proprie-
tors, endeavored, however, to hinder this immigration. They formed a
stud-stable at Bonneval. Prizes were given at Mortagne, Nogent-le-
Rotrou, Illiers, and Vendome. But an end was arrived at contrary to
what was desired. The prizes served as signs to the dealers. Perche was
visited to buy first-class horses. What surer guarantee than the prize ?

" The breeder, who is ordinarily a farmer, not sufficiently rich to be
beyond temptation, finds himself without strength, without resistance in
presence of this urgent demand.

"The value of the Percheron is more evident than ever. It is this,
among the serviceable races, which is called to the greatest fortune. His
usefulness causes him to be everywhere in demand."

DESCKIPTIOlSr OF THE PERCHE.

"The Department of Perche is too well known to need a description
here. We will limit ourselves to the remark that this region, which has
become so celebrated for its fine race of horses, represents an ellipse of
about 25 leagues long by nearly 20 broad.

"At the present time, enclosed in the center of the four departments,
Oi'ne, Eure and Loir, Loir and Cher, and Sarthe, the territory of Perche
comprises the following divisions :

" 1st — The district of Mortagne (department of Orne).

" 2d — The district of Nogent-le-Rotrou, and a portion of those of
Chartres, Dreux and Chateaudum (department of Eure and Loir).

" 3d — All the western side of the district of Vendome (department of
Loir and Cher).

" 4th — The eastern portion of the districts of Mamers and Saint Calais
(department of Sarthe).

"It is the summit region of the middle portion of the vast plateau
extending between the sea and the basins of the Loire and the Seine. It
is here that the rivers Sarthe, Huisne, Eure, Loire, Iten, Hoene, Braye,

PERCHERON HORSES. 13

Awe, Commanche and Percheron Orne take their source, springing up
from the same plateau and crossing it on their way to the channel and the
ocean.

"The country is, in general, uneven and hilly, cut up in every direc-
tion by small valleys watered by springs or small brooks flowing into the
rivers above named. All these valleys, no matter of what extent, are natu-
ral meadows, and the most of them rich and fertile. The finest valley is
that watered by the Iluisne, which is second to none in France for length,
extent, richness, and beauty of site. Here are situated Nogent-le-Rotrou,
Conde, Regmalard, Boissy, Corbon, Mauves, Pin-la-Garenne, Reveillon,
etc., etc. — all centers renowned for the beauty of their horses.

"The land is generally clayey, lying upon a calcareous subsoil of the
secondary formation. Some portions are silicious; the high and hilly
points always so.

"The Percheron country contains rather few meadows, in proportion
to the total surface of the soil, and to this circumstance, probably, is due
the superiority of its horses. Here the rearing takes place in the stable
and thie brood-mare is found under the hand of the breeder. Making use
of her comes naturally to his mind. He v)orks and feeds them well.

"Here, for many years, agriculture has flourished; artificial meadows
are everywhere cultivated with success, and are necessary to produce the
enormous quantity of fodder consumed by the number of horses raised.

"Among the plants for green and dry forage, clover first and then
fenugreek, are the favorites of the Percheron farmer. He uses plaster and
marl with care, and would tell you, should the opportunity offer, that it is
through system and superior cultivation that Perche has been able hitherto
to meet the large demands made upon her from the commencement of the
present century, particularly for the last fifty years. He is, moreover,
laborious and persevering. Disregarding the industrial arts, the glory of
other districts, his true vocation, his favorite occupation, is cultivating the
ground and raising horses, which he has practiced with zeal from the most
remote period.

" Perche has a climate eminently favorable to horse-breeding. Under
its influence the water is tonic and the food nutritious; the air is pure,
bracing, and di-yer than that of Normandy. The sea is farther off, and its
influence, in consequence, is less felt.

"Everybody to-day well knows the influence of climate u^^on animals.
No one now any longer doubts that it is to the sharp and healthy air of
the Perche country, to its elevated hills, and to its atmosphere constantly
renewed by the powerful ventilators of its valleys and forests, that this
country owes the eminent qualities of its fine race of horses, which has won
for it the right of displaying this significant title, .' Perche, the land of
good horses.'

" The excellent care, the wise management, — exempt alike from pam-
pering indulgence and from the harsh treatment which irritate the dispo-
sition, and from which the good teacher never departs in his intercourse
with his pupils, — contribute a great deal to the success of the result."

omarN" of the percheron race.

"The Percheron race comes from the Arab; but it is useful to know
the causes which have separated it from the primitive type. How has it
been modified ? How has it lost the Arabian character, in which it must
have been at first clothed ? A large number of the French races have been

14 SAVAGE & FARNUM's CATALOGUE

even more pi'ofoundly modified, and have become abject, miserable, puny
and misshapen. All equine races have been changed by the effects of cli-
mate, by the extinction of the feudal system, and by the inauguration of
peaceful habits which have made an agricultural and draft-horse of the
horse primitively used for the saddle and for war.

" From the time of the Roman domination, the horse in his oriental
forms was particularly prized in Perche.

"Under the feudal rule, and inhabited by tenants ever at war, Perche
must always have been an equestrian country, and the horse must have
been there in every age the companion of man. He must have been really
a first-class necessity. In those times of continued war and hostile sur-
prises, what property was more movable and so easily taken to a place of
safety? How glorious the jDossession of such noble coursers, and like the
Rotrous, to own more than could be counted, as was proudly shown by the
heraldic chevrons upon their broad banners, displayed from the towers of
Mortagne and Nogent !

"La Perche, like all Christian countries, fui-nished, as is well known,
her contingent of fighting men to the 'Crusades, and the chronicles cite
several Counts of Bellesmer, Mortagne and Nogent, barons and gentlemen
of that province, who, with many of their vassals, made pilgrimages to the
Holy Land.

" The Abbe Faet, in his great work upon La Perche, cites in this con-
nection a lord of Montdoubleau, Geffroy IV., and Rotrou, Count of La
Perche, as having brought back from Palestine several stallions, which
were put to mares, and the progeny most carefully preserved. The small
number of the sires, their incomparable beauty and manifest superiority
must have led to the in-and-in breeding so much depi'ecated by most
breeders; but the qualities of the sires became indelibly fixed upon their
progeny.

" The lord of Montdoubleau was, it is said, the most zealous of the
advocates and breeders of the new blood, and, being the most zealous, was
the most successful; hence it is that the Montdoubleau stock is to this day
the best in Perche. The Count Roger, of Bellesmer, imported both
Arabian and Spanish horses, as did Goroze, the lord of Saint Cerney, Cour-
ville and Courseroult; these are historical facts which have their import-
ance. The fact is, the crusaders from all the French provinces naturally
brought back with them more or less of the Eastern blood, which they had
learned to appreciate on the plains of Palestine — but the truth is, it has not
been preserved elsewhere; and that we in I!a Perche, after so many cen-
turies, should be so fortunate as to be able to show the traces of it, should
stimulate us to its careful preservation.

"We see toward 1760, under the administration of the Marquis of
Briddges, manager of the stables of Pin, all the large number of Arab
stallions that this establishment owned were put at the disposition of the
Count of Mallart, for use at his mare-stables of Coesme, near Bellesmer;
and years after we find, at the same chateau of Coesme, the grandsons of
those old admirers of the Arabian with two Arab stallions, ' Godolphin '
and ' Gallipoli,' both of which proved valuable stock-getters — both grey —
which once more gave tone and ardor to the Percheron race in that vicinity.

"A direct descendant of Gallipoli, the renowned ' Jean-le-Blanc' of M.
Miard, of Villers, near Sap, in the department of the Orne, etc., etc., placed
alongside of an Arab, presented, notwithstanding his heavier and grosser
form, analogies with him so striking that our curiosity was excited, and we
did not rest until, after pressing inquiry upon inquiry, we discovered that

PBRCHERON HORSES. 15

he was descended from this famous Arab stallion. This horse, Jean-le-
Blanc, was the most potent improving agent of Ouclie.

"The Percheron of the primitive type has a gray coat like the Arab;
and like him an abundant and silky mane, a fine skin, and a large, promi-
nent and expressive eye; a broad forehead, dilated nostrils, and a full and
deep chest, although the girth, with him as with the Arab, is always lack-
ing in fullness; more bony and leaner limbs, and less covered with hair
than those of other draft-horse families.

"He has not, it is true, the fine haunch and fine form of the shoulder,
nor that swan-like neck which distinguishes the Arab ; but it must not be
forgotten that for ages he has been employed for draft purposes, and these
habits have imparted to his bony frame an anatomical structure, a combi-
nation of levers adapted to the work he is called upon to perform. He has
not, I again acknowledge, such a fine skin as the Arab, nor his prettily
rounded, oval and small foot ; but we must remember the fact that he lives
under a cold climate, upon elevated plains, where nature gives him for a
covering a thicker skin and a warmer coat, and that he has been for ages
stepping upon a moist, clayey soil.

"In all that remains in him, we recognize a heavy Arab, modified and
remodeled by climate and peculiar circumstances. He has remained mild
and laborious, like his sire ; he is brought up, like him, in the midst of the
family, and, like him, he possesses, in a very high degree, the faculty of
easy acclimation. He acquires this in the midst of the numerous migra-
tions he accomplishes in Perche, the counterpart of those that the type
horse makes upon the sands of the desert. A final comparison, which has
not, as yet, been sufficiently noticed, is, that, like the Arab, he has no need
of being mutilated in order to be trained, managed and kept without
danger. In a word, the Percheron, notwithstanding the ages which separ-
ate them, presents an affinity as close as possible with the primitive horse,
which is the Ai'ab."

BREEDING BY SELECTIOJST.

"Selection has long been practiced in Perche, and it has there pro-
duced for a long time the best results.

" Breeding by selection has numerous advocates, and, from all time,
the best informed, the most practical men, have been unanimous in proclaim-
ing that blood is only preserved and improved by blood — that is to say, by
selection. It is easy and not expensive, inasmuch as the necessary subjects
are always at hand ; it is natural, inasmuch as its simplicity is apparent to
every mind. And, if it does not bring the rapid results so pleasing to
those too eager for profit, it is, at least, always sure. For, without giving
at first exceptional results, it never fails in its effects, by reason of the
affinity existing between the different individuals, and by reason especially
of their perfect conformity with the climate and soil.

" If a horse is remarkable over all others in one of the three following
ways : personal beauty, high qualities, or sureness of reproduction, go back
boldly to his origin, and you will find yourself, at each step, face to face
with close inter-breeding — that is to say, the reforming of a race by means
of itself, the result of great qualities increased b)^ drafts made at the
source of a generous blood.

"The thoroughbred race in England, which has been formed but with
a very limited number of primitive agents, and which, consequently, soon
became consanguine, has, anew, and at two distinct epochs, absorbed, in
every degree and repeatedly, the blood of two famous groups, represented,

16 SAVAGE & PABNUM's CATALOGUE

the first by 'Byerly Turk,' 'Darley Arabian,' and ' Godolpbin Arabian;'
the second by ' Matchem,' ' Herod,' and ' Eclipse.' At the present moment
it maintains itself, thanks to a universal consangninity, and everything
good which exists, by going back inevitably to these sole progenitors, now
forms but one and the same family. Magnificent results have come
from these alliances, and every day it can be proved that this blood has
not degenerated.

"It is, especially and only, in the reproduction by family that a breed
is formed. Consanguinity alone can form, in the beginning, a bond of
cohesion and connection among the descendants of the primitive families.
By it, alone, they acquire that great similarity of shape and adaptation to
particular ends, that great ancestral power, which they transmit to their
posterity, and which, even in a commercial point of view, gives them a
superior value,

" It is the same in all breeding countries, and it has been shown (for
proofs see the journal 'La vie a la campagne,' of November 30, 1863) that
especially in Merlerault, the nursery of the fine French breeds, everything
exceptionally good which exists, or which has existed, is the result of con-
sanguinity— that is, 'in-and-in-breeding.'

"A stud book, recording its pedigrees, would not be out of place. This
book would have the effect of concentrating the efforts of all the breeders,
giving them a definite direction, and would give increased value to the
breed, as is easily understood, for it is the surest of all the means of
improvement and perpetuation of valuable qualities. It would drive off,
forever, the defective stallions, and those corrupted with hereditary blem-
ishes, as well as those coming from tainted families, which, I feel sure,
would be refused a record in its pages. The prices of colts would like-
wise gain by this measure, the effect being a powerful impulse given to
breeding."

COLOR.

"Formerly I liked the gray horse very much, and have more than once
praised this color. But time has dissipated my illusions.

"Thus, while acknowledging ray former preferences for the gray horse
over the horse of a different shade, I am now very far from showing
myself exclusive, and quarreling with the mass of enlightened persons who
seem desirous of adopting the dark-colored coats. I only desire oue thing,
and that is, to save the Percheron race, and to preserve to Perche its pros-
perity and its glory.

" Let us occupy ourselves, then, seriously in looking up breeding stock
of dark coats. The time to do this appeai-s to me to have come. But
where will we go to find them ? Let us look about us and seek for this in
Perche.

"If you there find under a dark coat, a fine Percheron, possessing all
the qualities and specialties of the race, make haste, take him and color
your horses. Sincerely, I give you this advice.

" Correct the defects of conformation, the imperfections of color,
without weakening, without breaking up the harmony of the admirable
qualities which have made of the Percheron the first horse of the age."

SPEED AND BNDUBANCE OF THE PEEOHEKOIf.

" One of the qualities of this breed of horses, and which has acquired
for them a universal reputation, is fast trotting while drawing a heavy
load; but it would be an error to suppose that this ability to trot fast
makes him an equal in every respect to the trotting breeds of the present

BUFFON 2389 (109§). (For pedigree see page 38.)

PERCIIERON HORSES. 19

day. The trotters draw very little, but have a long stride; and as regards
mere speed, there is no comparison. The specialty of the Percheron —
rapid draft — has its limits, and it is these limits that I wish to make known
by numerous examples officially reported. What the Percherons do in the
diligences, mail and post-coaches, is known to every foreign traveler, and
it is useless to enlarge upon it. From one relay to another, drawing not
less than two and often three thousand pounds, in all kinds of weather,
over hilly roads, they make their three leagues an hour, and sometimes
four, but this is ne plus ultra. What they do in the omnibuses, the world
that visits Paris sees only to admire, and forms one of the greatest attrac-
tions of the Percheron horse to the observing stranger.

" We will now turn our attention to the trials made upon their trotting
tracks. The places most frequented are those of lUiers, C'ourtalain, Mont-
doubleau and Mortagne; and in order to be impartial it is necessary to
state that the tracks, all but the one at Mortagne, are plowed fields, hard
in dry weather, but cut up in wet times, and that the track at Montague is
badly located, having three steep inclines up and down inside of the mile,
and the horses that have done best elsewhere have failed on this track, and
it has taken a longer time to go the distance. To this circumstance is
attributed the low averages made upon that track, but it also shows the
courage of the animals. When a colt of two and a half years of age —
there were sevei'al of this age — can accomplish his task by going two or
three times around this ti-ack, there is a reasonable certainty of there being
the elements in him for the making of a valuable horse. The most of the
horses are trotted under the saddle, as their vehicles are of the most cum-
bersome character, and utterly unfitted to trot a horse in.

"The following shows the results of one hundred and eighty-nine
matches officially reported, and two trials to prove bottom, likewise certi-
fied to, and will give an average of what the best Percherons are capable
of doing.

" In order to be strictly impartial, the slowest and fastest time made
is given :

" UNDER THE SADDLE ONE AND ONE-FOURTH MILES TWENTY-NINE RESULTS.

"The best two are those of 'Jule,' at Montdoubleau — time, 3 min. 50
sec, and of 'Godius,' at the same place, in 1857 — time, 3 min. 58 sec.

" The poorest two results are those of ' Vidocq,' at Mortagne — time, 7
min. 37 sec, and of 'Lansquernet,' same place — time, 7 min. 48 sec

" The average time of twenty-nine recorded trials is 4 min. 12 sec.

"one and five-sixths MILES THIRTY-ONE RESULTS.

"The best two are those of ' Vaillante,'"at Montagne — time, 4 min. 38
sec, and 'Julie,' at Montdoubleau — time, 6 min., 14 sec.

"The poorest two are those of ' Mouche,' at Mortagne — time, 9 min.
18 sec, and of ' Biche,' same place — time, 8 min. 30 sec.

" The average time of thirty-one trials, 6 min. 40 sec.

"two miles FORTY RESULTS.

"The best two are those of ' Cocotte,' at lUiers — time, 6 min. 54^ sec,
and ' Sarah,' same place — time, 6 min. 2 sec.

"The two poorest are those of 'Balzane,'at Illiers — time, 9 min. 40
sec, and of 'Renaud,' same place — time, 10 min. 30 sec.

" The averasce time of 40 trials is about 7 min. 20 sec

20 SAVAGE & TARNUm's CATALOGUE

" TWO AND A HALE MILES SIXTY-FIVE RESULTS.

" The best two are those of ' Sarah,' at Langou — time, 7 min. 35 sec,
and same at Mortagne — time 7 min. 40 sec.

"The poorest are those of ' Marmotte,' at Mortagne — time, 13 min.,
26 sec, and of 'Julie,' at Courtalain — time, 11 min. 30 sec.

"Average time of sixty-five trials, 9 min. 15 sec

"Two and three-fifths miles were made at llliers by 'Bichette,' in 12
min. 15 sec.

"Two and five-sixths miles were made by same, at same place, and
gave an average of 11 min. 30 sec, in three successive heats.

"Three and two-fifths miles were made by 'Champion,' at llliers, in
12 min.

" HORSES TO HARNESS TWO MILES EIGHT RESULTS.

"The best two are those of 'Achilla,' at llliers — time, 7 min. 17 sec,
and 'Julie,' same place — time, 7 min. 40|- sec.

"The poorest two are those of ' Championette,' at llliers — time 7 min.
53 sec, and 'Bichette,' same place — time, 8 min. 13 sec

" The average of eight trials is about 7 min. 36 sec.

"two and a half MILES FOURTEEN RESULTS.

" The best two are those of ' VigoreGx,' at llliers — time, 8 min. 30 sec,
and ' Bibe,' at Mortagne — time, 9 min. 54 sec

"The poorest two are those of 'Bichette,' at Courtalain, in 11 min. 30
seCj and of 'Artagan,' at Mortagne, in 11 min. 55 sec

"two and three-fifths miles LOADED.

"Two trials were made at Rouen, by 'Decide,' the first drawing 386
pounds in 9 min. 21 sec, the second time drawing 408 pounds in 10 min.
49 sec

" trials of endurance and speed.

"A gray mare, bred by M. Boulavois, at Almeneches (Orne), and
belonging to M. Montreauil, horse dealer at Alencon, performed the follow-
ing match: Harnessed to a traveling-tilbury, she started from Bernay to
go to Alencon, a distance of fifty-five and three-fifths miles, over a hilly
and difficult road, reaching there in 4 hours and 24 min. This mare is still
living, and now belongs to M. Biuson, hotel-keeper at Lees (Orne), where
she still draws the omnibus plying between the hotel and station.

"A gray mare seven years old, belonging to M. Cousturur, at Fleury
sur Andelle (Eure), harnessed to a tilbury, traveled fifty-eight miles and
back on two consecutive days, going at a trot and without being touched
with a whip. This was over the road from Lyons la Fossette to Point
Andmere and back, through a hilly country. The following time was
made: The first day the distance was trotted in 4 hours 1 min. 35 sec, the
second day, 4 hours, 1 min. 30 sec. The last thirteen and three-fourths
miles were made in one hour, although the mare was obliged to pass her
stable at the forty-first mile to finish the distance."

The foregoing history of the Percheron race will give the reader an
idea of the origin, development and status of the breed as it exists in
France. Although recognized there as the superior of all other draft
breeds in that country, the preservation of its pedigrees and the publica-
tion of a stud book will add greatly to its value.

PLUVIOSE 3755 (683). (See page 33.)

PEKCHERON HORSES. 23

THE PAST AND PRESENT SYSTEM OF BREEDING
IN THE PEIICHE.

The following extract, quoted from the writings of M. Fardouet, one
of the oldest and most prominent breeders of the Perche, and which is
fully corroborated by a careful perusal of history, confines its modifications
to meet the present developments of the changed condition of the country
to three periods of existence.

First — To horses suitable for the saddle and for war.

Second — For agricultural and commercial interests.

Third — The period when the heavy draft-horse, with the activity of
the lighter types, came into active demand, which began about fifty years
ago. He says :

"This matchless breed, whose antiquity of origin stands first among
those of the equine races of civilized nations, has been molded to meet the
necessities of the different periods of its existence, for hundreds of years
under the vivifying influences and climatic effects of the Perche, as well
as by the inimitable processes of educating both males and females from
the eai'liest age, and with the most judicious care possible, by the actual
performance of the work they will be called upon to do during their lives,
thus slowly and surely developing their physical capabilities and instinctive
aptitudes into hereditary and transmissible forces, which have been
exerted with such potent power in the amelioration of all races with which
it has come in contact.

" In feudal ages the country required a class of horses suited to an
equestrian race, and the Perche sup])lied them. With the advent of a higher
civilization, the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and commerce demanded
horses for the post, the diligence, and for agricultural and draft purposes.
The Perche urns called upon, and she met the demand.

" The application of steam as a motive power introduced a new era in
the world's history ; the building of railroads and steamships, and its
adoption as a power in all the useful arts in manufacturing, has changed all.

" The post and diligence are gone ; the agricultural and great commer-
cial marts remain to be supplied ; labor and food have become more costly,
and the people, by force of necessity and the demands of economy, call
for larger, stronger and equally active horses to fill the requirements of the
time. How has the Perche sustained herself under the pressure of this last
and most difficult demand ? The answer fills us with pride and gratifica-
tion. The government and all the departments of France are eager pur-
chasers of Percheron stallions to improve and ameliorate their native
breeds. Russia, Austria, Germany and Italy buy largely, both by direct
government purchase and by private enterprise. Even Great Britain,
bound up as she is in her own egotism, is a customer of no small magnitude.

''With such magnificent acknowledgments of the value and superiority
of the Percheron race we ought to be content, but this is not the half ; the
plains of South America are being supplied with stock of our breeding,

24 SAVAGE & FAR]SrUM S CATALOGUE

and lastly, that beautiful country, that gi'eat i*epublie across the sea, whose
progress is the wonder of the world, is our most enamored admirer and
liberal purchaser.

"Investigation has shown us that the improvements of the past neces-
sary to meet the changing demands have been accomplished by selecting
animals best suited to the new requirements, and by a judicious system of
in-and-in-breeding, perpetuating the valuable qualities sought for, at the
same time intensifying their hereditary powers of transmitting those qual-
ities ; also, that the finest specimens of the Percheron race now in exist-
ence are traceable directly to the regenerative influences of the Arab, the
primitive horse — the primal origin of the Percheron race.

" The veteran historian and faithful friend of the Percheron, Charles
Du Hays, many years ago advocated these doctrines, and it is certainly a
most extraordinary commentary upon the discernment and knowledge of
horse-breeding possessed by this famous author, that 'Jean le Blanc,'
the horse that so greatly excited his admiration that he took the pains
to trace his oi'igin, and found him a direct descendant of the famous
Arab stallion ' Gallipoli,' belonging to the stud stables of Pin, near
Bellesme, established by the Marquis of Brigges in the year 1760, has
pi'oven the most potent element in the improvement of the Percheron race,
nearly all of the most valuable and highest priced stallions of the Perche
being directly traceable to this horse, many of the finest through several
lines of in-breeding."

It will thus be seen that the finest and most valuable Percherons — in
which is preserved the style, quality and finish of the oi'iginal type, with
the increased weight now demanded, can only be found in individuals
descended from animals of Arab origin, increased in size by selecting the
largest males and females and a judicious system of in-breeding.

This has i-esulted in a close relationship of all the finest Percheron
families of the present time which are owned by the most progressive and
successful breeders and stallioners in the Perche, and only in whose posses-
sion the finest individuals can be found, in which the same blood is traceable
for ages.

The valuable qualities possessed by these animals, that have been con-
centrated for generations through a cai-ef ul system of in-and-in-breeding,
is the great source of reliance upon which we depend for their prepotency,
or the capability of transmitting with absolute certainty the valuable
qualities of their race — a power never possessed by animals of mixed blood.

VERT OAL.L.ANT 3550 (2464). (For pedigree see page 35.)

PERCHERON HORSES. 27

NOTED PEROHEROI^ SIRES.

coco II (714).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheroa Stud Book of France.]

Dapple gray; foaled 1857; bred in the department of the Orne. Got
by Vieux Chaslin (713) (belonging to Mr. Theodore Vinault, of La Ferte
Bernard, department of the Sarthe), he by Coco (712) (belonging to Mr.
Chounard, then residing at Champeau, department of Eure and Loir), he
by Mignon (715) (belonging to Mr. Poilpre, of Montmirail, Sarthe), he by
Jean Le Blanc (739), he being a direct descendant of the famous Arab
stallion Gallipoli, that stood at the stud stables of Pin, near Bellesme, about
1820. Coco II was purchased when a colt by Mr. Vinault, of La Ferte
Bernard, who kept him until his death. This stallion attained greater fame
than any other horse bred in the Perche, not only through his noble ances-
try, but from his great individual merit as a stock getter. His grandsire
Coco (712) was bred by Mr. Poilpre, of Montmirail, Sarthe, who sold him,
when a sucking colt, to Mr. Chounard, who bred from him the famous
stallion Vieux Chaslin (713). The dam of Coco (712) w^as Jeanette by
Vieux Coco, belonging to Mr. Poilpre. The dam of Mignon (715) was a
large dapple gray Percheron mare belonging to Mr, Poilpre.

LUTHJCR (792).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud Book of France.]

Bay; foaled May 16, 1869; bred and owned by Mr. Anatole Miard, of
Echauifer, department of the Orne. Got by Pierre (887) (belonging to Mr.
Miard), he by Laboureur (886) (also belonging to Mr. Miard), he by Jean,
le Blanc (739) (belonging to Mr. Miard the elder), he being a direct de-
scendant of the famous Arab stallion Gallipoli, etc.; dam Rosette, belonging
to Mr. Miard and sired by Laboureur (887). The dam of Pierre was Margot
by Faisan. The dam of Laboureur was Sophie by Sandi. In the Perche
the name of this family of horses and the name of Miard are synonymous
terms, as for over half a century this strain has been bred in all its purity
by the Miards, father and son, until to-day it stands preeminently forth as
one of the grandest families' of the Percheron race.

FAVORI I (7il).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud Book of France.]

Foaled 1862; bred near Nogent-le-Rotrou; got by Vieux Chaslin (713)
(belonging to Mr. Theodore Vinault, of La Ferte Bernard, department of
the Sarthe), he by Coco (712) (belonging to Mr. Chounard, then residing
at Champeau, department of the Eure et Loir, he b)^ Mignon (715) (belong-
ing to Ml*. Poilpre, of Montmirail, Sarthe), he by Jean le Blanc (739)
(belonging to Mr. Miai'd, of Villiers in Ouche (near Sap), department of
the Orne), he being a direct descendant of the famous Arab stallion Galli-
poli, etc. The dam of Favori I was Robine, a pure-bred Percheron mare,
sii-ed by one of the best Percheron horses of his day, belonging to Mr.
Perriot the elder, then residing at d'Amilly, department of the Orne.

Favori I was owned by Mr. Perriot the elder, and was one of the
famous horses of the Perche, and, as will be seen by this catalogue, many
lines of breeding trace directly to him.

28 SAVAGE & FAENUm's CATALOGUE

IMPORTED AJSTD PURE BRED STALLIOJSTS.

ADOLPH 2666 (11§0).

[Recorded with pedigree in ttie Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Black grey; weight, 1,750 lbs.; foaled 1882; imported 1883; got by Narbonne 1334
(777;, he by Brilliant 1899 (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see page
37); dam Rosalie by Duke de Rouen 174 (722), he by Porthos. A very clean limbed
blocky colt, of good action and a remarkable fast walker, his sire being one of the most
noted horses in France.

ALEXANDRE 3724 (2600).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Bay; 16 hands; weight, 1,630 lbs.; foaled 1881; imported 1884; got by Vainquer,
he by Luther (792), he by Pierre (887), (for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam
Poule by Pierre (887), etc. Very stylish and active, and is in almost every particular a
choice colt.

BATARD 3483 (350).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Iron grey; 16|^ hands; weight, 1,695 lbs. ; foaled 1882; imported 1884; got by Bril-
liant 1271 (755), he by Brilliant 1899 (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree
see page 27); dam Poule by Brilliant 1899 (756), etc. Long round body, broad breast and
stifle, level hip, fine head well set on long slim neck. A smooth, well built horse and
an extra good mover.

BRILLIAXT 3867 (2706).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Bay; foaled 1882; imported 1884; got by Bayard, he by Thomas; dam JVIignonne
by Favori I (711) (for extension of pedigree see page 27). A bright blood bay with full
black points, with flat and rather short legs, remarkably large arm, broad, deep shoulders,
high, broad loin, long level quarters and heavy stifle, constituting a good specimen of
the purely draft horse type.

BIJFFOX 2389 (1098).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Black; foaled 1880; imported 1883; got by Brilliant 1271 (755), he by Brilliant 189&
(756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam L'Amie by Supe-
rior 454 (730), he by Favori I (711), (for extension of pedigree see page 27). In color,
form and action an exact prototype of his sire, the celebrated Brilliant. (For cut see
page 18.)

SAlVSO]XXET 3552 (2467). (For pedigree see page 35.)

PBRCHERON HORSES. 31

CERNAY 264S (1236).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Dark grey; 16 hands; weight, 1,605 lbs. ; foaled 1882; imported 1883; got by Fa-
vor! II, he by Favora 1543 (765), he by French Monarch 205 (734); dam Lisa by
Duke de Chartres 162 (721). he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see page 27).
A colt of good bone and substance, well set neck, fine ear, pleasant countenance,
slightly Roman nose.

CHAMPAIG]^ 3678.

[Kecorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Book of America.]

Blue grey; ISJ hands; weight, 1,500 lbs.; foaled 1882; got by Black Prince 1574; dam
La Belle 974. Head carried high , deep shoulders, broad in breast and stifles, well rounded
body, heavy and clean limbs, remarkable feet, and a colt giving promise of becoming an
excellent breeder. (For cut see page 52.)

COWqUERAWT 3751 (179§).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Black; 16^ hands; weight, 1,750 lbs. ; foaled 1882; imported 1884; gotby Faisant;dam
Julie by Pierre (887) (for extension of pedigree see page 27). A horse of extraordinary
style, rather racey in appearance, long neck, fine in throttle, fine head, clean, bony,
beautifully moulded and carried very high, perfectly rounded body, splendid loins, long
level hips, tail set nicely, most excellent feet, and an unlimited amount of vital force
which he exhibits in every motion.

OABRIEE 2696 (40).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Light dapple grey; 16 hands; weight, 1,750 lbs. ; foaled 1881; imported 1883; got by
Narbonne 1334 (777), he by Brilliant 1899 (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of
pedigree see page 27); dam Pauline by Favora I (711), (for extension of pedigree seepage
37). A colt of most excellent proportions, long bodied, short back, very long hip, round
barrel, short strong legs, good feet, heavy bone.

HUMBERT 2649 (1195).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Grey; 16 hands; weight, 1,750 lbs.; foaled 1882; imported 1883; gotby L'Ami. he
by Brilliant 756, he by Coco II (for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam Selina by
Mouton (1640), he by French Monarch 205 (734). A colt of strong characteristics and
fine appearance, good head, large prominent eye, high crest, sloping shoulders of great
depth and breadth, hips broad and smooth with great stifle development, legs clean and
flat with good shaped feet; although large he has an abundance of energy. (For cut see
page 56.)

JUPITER 3692 (216).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Dark grey; 16 hands; weight, 1,650 lbs. ; foaled 1881; imported 1884; gotby Voltaire,
he by Monarque; dame L'Amie by Solide. This colt has a lofty carriage, most elegantly
rounded body, unequalled back, quarters and flank, three points seldom ever found in
one animal, all in a high order of perfection. He stands squarely and perfectly upon
his legs, which are very clean and free from hair; his feet are the very best, his action
high, easy and graceful. (For cut see page 9.)

32 SAVAGE & FAENUm's CATALOGUE

LOSIER 34§9 (353§).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Booksof France and America.]

Brown bay; 15f hands; weight, 1,509 lbs. ; foaled 1881 ; imported 1884, got by Romu.
lus, he by Bayard, he by Jean Bart 716, he by Bayard; dam Poule by Florentin, he by
Decide, belonging to the French government. Losier is of medium size, smooth and
well finished.

MILASfO 2654 (1260).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]
Reddish grey; 16^ hands ; weight, 1,730 lbs. ; foaled 1882 ; imported 1883; got by
Vanquer 1941 (1083), he by Pierre (887), (for extension of pedigree see page 27) ; dam
Constance by Jean Bart (716), he by Bayard. Fine head, well set ears, is nicely cut in
the throttle, neck of good length, shoulders deep and sloping, withers high and excellent
back, hips well formed, tail well set, stifles broad and powerfully muscled, legs broad,
clear and flat, feet of the very best, and a vigorous, square mover, both walking and
trotting. (For cut see page 33.)

IVOIIIAD 2172 (9§9).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Grey; 16i hands; weight, 1,610 lbs ; foaled 1882; imported 1882; got by Narbonne

1334 (777), he by Brilliant 1899 (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of -pedigree see

page 27); dam Frozine by Favori I (711), (for extension of pedigree see page 27). A colt of

extra good quality, well balanced throughout, and an excellent stepper.

ORESTES 2173 (992).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America]
Dark grey; 16 hands; weight, 1,560 lbs.; foaled 1882; imported 1882; got by Vi-
docq 1917 (1084), he by Vidocq II (723), he by Vidocq 483 (732), he by Coco II (714), (for
extension of pedigree see page 27) ; dam by Vidocq 483 (732), he by Coco II (714), etc.
A bright looking stylish colt of most remarkable action, with all the qualities and vim of
a thoroughbred he unites the characteristic docility of the Percheron race; the elegance,
finish and harmony of proportions of this colt makes him a favorite. (For cut see
page 46.)

PATROCEE 2620 (116T).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]
Grey; weight, 2,050 lbs.; foaled 1882; imported 1883; got by L'Ami ; he by
Brilliant 1899 (756), he by Coco II (for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam Lizette by
Waterloo 2199 (733), he by Jean Bart (716), he by Bayard. A most remarkable colt with
excellent feet, clean nervy limbs, a fine loin and quarter, prominent eye, dishing and
intelligent face, with a very heavy mane and tail, and notwithstanding his great size, he
is a very clean cut symmetrical animal.

PEUVIOSE 3755 (6§3).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]
Dark grey; 15f hands; weight, 1,690 lbs. ; foaled 1882; imported 1884; got by Nar-
bonne 1334 (777), he by Brilliant 1899 (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedi-
gree see page 27); dam Paquerette by Superior 454 (730), he by Favori I (711), for exten-
sion of pedigree see page 27). A compact yet stylish and very active horse, full of vigor
and energy. In general form his harmony of proportion is rarely equaled, being unusually
good in almost every point, is an extra good walker, and trots at a very rapid gait for
such a heavy horse. (For cut see page 21.)'

IWILA^^O 2654 (1260). (For pedigree see page 32.)

PERCHERON HORSES. 35

POMIPEl 2635 (1127).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America. ]

Grey; 15| hands; weight, l.^GO lbs. ; foaled 1883; imported 1883; got by Sandi 1930
(1079), he by Nogent 738 (729), he by Vidocq 483 (732). he by Coco II (714), (for extension
of pedigree see page 27); dam Rosalie by Bijou, he by Favori I (711), (for extension of
pedigree see page 27). Pompey is well formed with many unusally well developed
points, well muscled, good strong bone and feet of the very best quality, walks well and
trots with great spirit.

REBfFORTH 2659 (1225).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Brown bay; 16 hands; weight, 1,595 lbs.; foaled 1882; imported 1883; got by Cato
2002 (931), he by Confidence 920 (763), he by Favora 666 (725), he by Favori I (711), (for
extension of pedigree see page 27); dam Lizette by Vidocq 483 (732), he by Coco II (714),
(for extension of pedigree see page 27). A colt of fair style, well finished in every part,
he has an abundance of quality and as a general purpose horse is a good specimen.

SABfSOWWET 3552 (2467).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Dapple grey; 16^ hands; weight, 1,760 lbs.; foaled 1879; imported 1884; got
by Charmant, he by Coco, he by Favora 1542 (765), he by French Monarch 205 (734);
dam Bijou by Sansonnet, he by Jupiter, belonging to the French government. This is
one of those lofty, powerfully made horses that possess uncommon style, beautifully
arched neck, with an abundance of mane, round body, extra loins, flat, strong quarters,
a well sloped shoulderj broad and deep breast, with unusual well placed muscles and
very clean, flat legs, upon which he stands admirably. His action is high and coachy,
and his temper very mild and gentle, yet lively and spirited. (For cut see page 29.)

SELIM 3694 (2360;.
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Dapple grey; 16| hands; weight, 1,735 lbs.; foaled 1881; imported 1884; got by
a son of Selim (749), he by Porthos; dam Fanchett by Selim (749), he by Porthos. This
horse i* rather rangy in appearance, with good length of body, best of feet, heavy bone,
smooth build, up-headed and gamey, and a remarkable fast stepper, as well as being
very attractive.

VERT GAEEAKT 3550 (2464).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.]

Dark grey; 16i hands; weight, 1,770 lbs.; foaled 1880; imported 1884; got by
Vidocq 1917 (1084), he by Nogent 738 (729), he by Vidocq 483 (732), he by Coco II (714),
(for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam Biche by Margot 295 (795), he by Favori I
(711), (for extension of pedigree see page 27). In general make up the embodiment of
size, quality and finish, showing as few objectionable points as are found in the very
best of animals; good feet, clean, flat legs, broad stifles, strong back, high withers, sloping
shoulders, fine neck, small throttle, good ear, broad between the eyes, face slightly
dished, indicating the resolution and energy he possesses, to which are added an uncom-
mon quick movement. These are some of the qualities combined in this horse and go
to make up what critical judges pronounce a choice draft horse. (For cut see page 26.)

GRADES.

While we breed nothing but pure bred stock at Island Home, we
have, and are prepared to furnish, very fine stallions and mares, well
graded up, at very reasonable rates.

1*1X1 3833 (26§3), (For pedigree see page 40.)

PEBCIIERON HORSES. '^9

IMPOETED AND PUEE DEED PEEOHEEOJST

MAEES.

CELINA 3§65 (2619).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud Books of France and America.)

Black; foaled 1881; imported 1884; got by Paul, he by Madere (772), he by Brilliant
<756), he by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree see page 27), dam Bijou by Madere
<772), he by Brilliant (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see page 27.)
Broad round hips, clean limbs, wide deep chest, rather long bodied, a bright intelligent
face and a good traveler.

ELIf^EI 3§69 (261S).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud Books of France and America.]

Grey; foaled 1883 ; imported 1884; got by Yarmouth dam Mignonne, by Solide, he
by ZSTogent (729), he by Vidocq (732), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see
page 27.) A finely developed yearling, and gives promise of a good Brood IMare.

GATIXE 3§63 (2674).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud Books of France and America.]

Black; foaled 1884; imported 1884; got by Passe Partout (394), he by Brilliant (755),
he by Brilliant (756), he by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see page 27), dam of
sire Josephine by Coco II (714), (for extension of pedigree see page 27), dam Bijou, by
IMEouton (1640), he by French Monarch (734). Gatiue obtained great notoriety in France
for her remarkably large arms and stifles, and was parted with only under circumstances
of great stress.

ISIS 1744.

[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Book of America.]

Foaled in 1881 ; got by Chaldean 637 (854), he by Coco, he by Coco II (714), he by
Vieux Chaslin (713), he by Coco (712), he by Mignon (715), he by Jean le Blanc (789),
€tc. ; dam Clara Bell (795). (For description see Mouvette, her mate.) (For cut see page 41.)

HARIOX 3§64 (2682).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Percheron Stud-Books of France and America.! ^

Black; foaled 1884; imported 1884; got by Passe Partout (394), he by Brilliant (755),
he by Brilliant (756), he by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam of
sire Josephine by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree see page 27), dam Madelon, by
Favora (765), he by French Monarch (734). Very large for her age, with the markings and
characteristics of her grand-sire, Brilliant.

40 SAVAGE & FARNUm's CATALOGUE

MOUVETTE 2805 (1544).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Pereheron Stud-Books of France and America.]
Light grey; foaled 1881; imported 1883; got by Madeira 1546 (770), he by Vidocq
483 (732), he by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree see page 27); dam by a son of
Vidocq 483 (732), he by Coco II (714), etc. Good form and action; good feet and flat
legs standing squarely under her body, broad, level hips, deep chest, roomy body,
well crested neck, good head and face, and a capital mover.

WINI 3833 (2683).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Pereheron Stud-Books of France and America.]
Bay; foaled 1882; imported 1884; got by Passe Par'tout (1442), he by Comet (719), he
by French IMonarch (734), dam of sire Therese by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree
see page 9); dam Lina by Monton, he by French IVTonarch (734). With all the disadvan-
tages of a recent sea voyage, ITini took first premium at the ISTew York State Fair, held at
Elmira September last, not ten days after her arrival. A bright mahogany bay, clean,
smooth and symmetrical throughout, finely crested neck, clean throttle, small clean
head well set on, and altogether the finest specimen of the Pereheron brood mare we
have ever seen. (For cut see page 38.)

PELOTE 3866 (2622).

[Recorded with pedigree in the Pereheron Stud Books of France and America.]

Black; foaled 1882; imported 1884; got by Lamoureux, he by Favora 1542 (765),

he by French IMonarch 205(734); dam Rosette by Solide, he by IS'ogerit (729), he by

Vidocq (732), he by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree see page 27). Imported with

Celina, and a good mate for her, though she will eventually attain a greater weight.

ROSETTE 3868 (1887).
[Recorded with pedigree in the Pereheron Stud-Books of France and America.]
Dark grey; foaled 1883; imported 1884; got by IVIadere, dam Julie by Brilliant (755),
he by Brilliant (756) he by Coco II (714) (for extension of pedigree see page 27). A very
fine colt and all that her breeding indicates.

ISIS 1744. (For pedigree see page 39.)

PBECHERON HORSES.

43

Pony Mare and Colt, by Imported Success.

Weight of Mare, 750 lbs. ; colt, 1,200 lbs. ; sire, 1,700 lbs.

This mare is owned by Ira Albro, Wayne, 111. Has produced eleven colts by Per-
cheron sires, some of which have weighed 1,400 lbs., and none less than 1,100 lbs., at
maturity.

IMPROVEMENT OF BREEDS BY USE OF LARGE SIRES.

The improvement of all classes of domestic animals, whether horses,
cattle, sheep or swine, has been brought about by the use of the finest pure-
bred males. The great herds of Texas and the West have been doubled
in value during the past ten years by the use of superior bulls of Short-
horns, Herefords, and other improved breeds.

The native flocks of the country have been increased in clip of wool
more than double of thirty years ago by the use of pure-bred rams. The
swine have been transformed by the same process. I)i all cases large and
well formed males of pure hlood have accomplished the work. The improve-
ment of horses has been left to the last. The past fifteen years, however,
has worked a wonderful change. While the general public accepted and
believed in the use of large males as a means of improvement of all other
animals, the use of large stallions met a vigorous opposition, as it was fully
believed by a majority of our people that if large stallions were bred to
small mares, the mares would certainly die in foaling; and the fear of pro-
ducing a coarse, ill-formed colt in case the parturition was successfully
passed was aggravated by the popular fallacy, that has existed for ages,
that the proper way to breed was to use small sires and large dams. These
theories were fostered by all men owning small stallions, who saw that by
the introduction of large horses their business Avould be injured. The
inconsistency of such reasoning is apparent, and contrary to all natural
laws, as, in the aggregate, the females of all species are much smaller than
the males, thus plainly indicating that any deviation from normal sizes of

44

SAVAGE & FAENUM'S CATALOGUE

sexes should be in favor of large males. The instinct of animals, as well as
of man, leads to the mating of extremes, which is nature's equalizer of sizes,
and among mankind any danger from such practice is never given a
thought. The existence of such ideas, however, seriously impeded exten-
sive experiments in the use of large stallions.

Those days are, however, passed, and our people have learned that the
same theory that improves cattle, improves horses as well, and the great
call for large, fine, pure bred stallions is increased in proportion. In the
great horse bands of the West and South are now to be seen large numbers
of fine imported Percheron stallions, producing grand results which, as
people see, they are imitating, and the demand for the ranges is increased
as rapidly as did the demand for bulls when their success was established.
One range now has forty imported stallions in service upon it. The owners
of another band of six thousand head are going to adopt pure-bred stallions
wholly, having tried them in a small way first. Great numbers of smaller
breeders are buying pure bred Percherons. Their success is assured and
the demand difiicult to supply. The foregoing picture of pony raare and
colt gives an idea of the result which can be seen on almost any range
where imported sires have been in use long enough. The United States
government has seen the value of the Percheron cross, and has become a
liberal patron for the Indians.

ORESTES 2173 (992). (For pedigree see page 32.)

PERCHERON HORSES. 47

THE SUPERIORITY OF THE PERCHERON RACE OVEPt
ALL OTHER DRAFT BREEDS.

REASONS WHY THEY ARE MORE ENDURING, BETTER TEMPERED.
AND ALWAYS NATURAL WORKERS.

The following is an extract from an essay delivered by M. W. Dunham
before the meeting of the American Percheron Horse Breeders' Associa-
tion, held at Chicago, November 15, 1883 :

Since the first introduction of Percheron horses into this country, a radical change
has taken place in the minds of the people. At that date horses of fifteen or sixteen
hundred pounds were considered too large for the use of the country, and a large por-
tion of the people believed that only the most disastrous results would be obtained by
the use of such horses as a cross upon our ordinary stock. Time, however, dispelled
this illusion, and when it was thoroughly demonstrated by actual practice that the
crosses were very superior animals and sold readily in the market at a much higher price
than any ever produced in the country for work purposes, the prejudice gradually dis-
appeared, and many people who had been opposed to so violent a cross began to argue
that: "if the results of medium sized animals were so good, we will increase tlie size
and produce still better results by the using of still larger ones ;" and from their first
introduction there has been a yearly increasing mania for larger and larger horses, until
there has grown a demand for the very largest that can be found. As a result, Ameri-
cans have traversed all parts of Europe seeking the very largest animals, irrespective of
breed, sacrificing every other quality to size alone. The deleterious effect of this unfor-
tunate course upon the horse stock of the country will be measured largely by the length
of time this practice continues. At present there is very little indication of a change.
Avoirdupois establishes the value with very many of the purchasers, and is a weakness
that is eagerly seized upon by the importer and seller; as by it breeding, quality,
harmony of action and proportion, and all the essential elements of a good horse, are
overlooked and disregarded, and inferior-bred and cheap horses are being sold in
America at the present time, if they are only large, for as high a price" as the finest bred
and most valuable animals of their kind, to many people who do not know or who do
not care as long as the people will use them. The bitter experience of those who make
that mistake will doubless exercise a wholesome influence, and it is to be hoped that the
time is not far distant when the essential elements of value— symmetry of form, perfec-
tion of action, constitutional vigor, and a prepotency inherited from the finest lineage
(transferred through generations of the best blood of the kind)— will be recognized by
all who desire to purchase stallions with a view to the improvement of the stock of the
country. It is unquestionably true that the largest animals have not proven the most
valuable sires, from the fact, doubtless, that being abnormal in size, they are themselves
accidental results, and therefore must necessarily only occasionally or accidentally repro-
duce themselves. The medium and normal size is the safest, as in reproducing himself
or any of his ancestors (they being nearly alike in size), it gives a certainty of uniformity
only to be obtained by individuals who are the likeness of their prototype for genera-
tions. In order to successfully select animals of the greatest value for breeding pur-
poses, it is necessary to have a correct knowledge, not only of the breeding or ancestry
of the animal, but also the processes of rearing them for generations; for it is by their
inherent qualities and educated habits that their future usefulness as breeders is assured.
Thus, in selecting horses for the saddle, it is indispensable to secure one descended from
a race that instinctively possesses those gaits most sought after in individuals used for
that purpose. You can then, with a degree of certainty, expect that the produce of

48 SAVAGE & FARNUm's CATALOGUE

that animal will readily adapt itself to the desired gaits, as they belong naturally to the
family from which they are descended. So, also, in selecting a stallion for breeding
horses for the race-course, we would think it folly to recognize any other than the purest
thoroughbred as worthy of our attention. In selecting a sire for breeding trotting horses,
we use the same judgment and discretion, recognizing individual merit in the ancestry
and instinctive capabilities in the individual as of the utmost importance. In other
words, he must be descended, through both sire and dam, from animals that trot
naturally themselves, and have proven their capabilities by their performances. This
practice is a rule among all intelligent men in selecting horses for the services mentioned ;
but when it comes to the selection of animals for the production of valuable workers,
our people seem to forget all the ordinary precautions they consider necessary in select-
ing animals for other purposes, and simply breed from horses that happen to be in their
vicinity, or whose style attracts them, regardless and absolutely thoughtless of any other
valuable qualification. To state it plainly, the work horses of this country have been
bred at random. Until within the last few years very little thought or attention has
been given to or money used in the improvement of the heavier class of work
horses in the United States. And even at the present time, when the mania for large
horses has seized upon everybody, it is doubtful if one man in a hundred ever asks the
question whether the animal he breeds from is inherently possessed of the valuable
qualities necessary to make good work horses, in himself or by hereditary transmission.

In no country but France, that I am aware of, is any special attention given to this
subject. The French recognize the fact that in order to produce hardy, vigorous, endur-
ing and willing workers, it is just as necessary for them to be for generations the
descendants of both sires and dams who are individually trained to the work their
progeny will be called upon to perform, thus developing their physical powers, and by
constant use acquiring those habits of labor and that docility of temper that gradually
become instinctive powers, and develop into hereditary and transmissible forces. The
gentleness and docility, as well as the vigor and hardihood, of the animals produced
from the first cross of Percheron sires upon our native stock, and the readiness with
which they adapt themselves to work, with scarcely any education or training, convinces
us of the fact of a prepotency in French blood more powerful than that of any other
large breed known to us. From these convincing facts we are forced to the conclusion
that one of the great reasons why Percherous have been more successful in this country
in the production of uniformly vigorous, docile and active horses, perfectly suited to
the wants of our people, is that they have been bred for ages, Accustomed to severe
labor and vigorous exercise, under constant control, until they have become natural,
instinctive workers themselves, and possess the prepotent power of transmitting all their
qualities to their progeny, who are iorn with the natural aptitude and enduring capabilities
for work possessed by their sires.

These facts are worthy the careful consideration of our breeders, whose practices
have been so entirely different.

It is a well known fact that in all countries where large horses are raised, except
in France, when an exceedingly fine colt is produced, which gives a promise of making
a suitable breeding animal, it is given extra attention and care, in many cases being fed
considerable grain before being weaned ; and at weaning time it is carefully tied in a
stall, kept in a state of inactivity (or at best put in a loose box), and is reared to matur-
ity by a forcing system, with an entirely inadequate amount of exercise necessary to
develop the natural physical qualities of the animal. When arrived at suHicient age
for breeding purposes, this same course of inactivity is continued, as the custom of the
countries is against the working of large stallions; and if allowed to work and do the
common drudgery of the farm, they would lose caste and be called old work horses,
and thereby lose the patronage of the public which makes them valuable to their owners.
This system of idleness is universally followed in all countries except France, and has
had a very disastrous effect, as by inactivity the horse loses, to a great extent, his powers
of endurance (or rather fails to develop them) ; and at the same time idleness, and isola-
tion from all animals of his kind, induces moroseness and irritability of temper, which
increases with age. When used as a sire, the animal reproduces in his progeny the quali-
ties that by this mismanagement have been developed in him ; and the continuation of
this process, generation after generation, has produced in our large breeds a lack of
physical quality, and that viciousness of temper which has made them so unpopular
among the American people. And it was not until the introduction of the Percherons —
a race, as we have before stated, educated from the earliest periods to hard work — that
our people could be made to believe in the superiority of a large-sized horse over a
small one for the general work of the country.

I therefore say to you, gentlemen, that if you desire to preserve the valuable qual-
ities of the Percheron free from degeneration, feed the colts you keep for breeding

PEKCHERON HORSES. 49

purposes well, but do not pamper them. Give them abundance of exercise. Pasture
them, if possible, as there is no food like the natural food. If you cannot pasture them,
give them a box stall as large as you can possibly afford, witli plenty of ligiit and pure
air; and when they are old enough to work, work them, as it is by these means, and
these alone, that you can preserve in thorn, and make it possible to transmit to their
progeny, those qualities which are so much sought after, and so necessary in the liard
service demanded of horses in this country.

It is perhaps proper, as I am as greatly interested in the Percheron race as any
other man, individually, to give my views as to the amending of the rules of our society
so they may conform to those of the French Socicte Hippique Percheronne. The neces-
sity of the establishment of public records for the authentic preservation of the pedi-
grees of all breeds of animals is so thoroughly acknowledged by all intelligent men,
that the subject needs no discussion. It is the only means for the protection of the
people against imposition, as many of the grades are equal, and even superior, in appear-
ance to the pure breeds, although they are greatly inferior as breeders. These facts are
generally known and acted upon in the purchase of all kinds of well-bred animals.
Although the Percheron is one of the oldest and perhaps the purest bred of all the draft
horses, without a stud-book we have no means of protection. For in France, as well as
in all other countries, are found nearly all races of horses, and a large amount of cross-
breeding is done in some parts of the country.

Until the organization of the Societe Hippique Percheronne, composed of nearly
all the prominent breeders in the JPerche, including the governor of the department, and
other high government oflficials, and the publication under government authority of a
stud-book in which to record all animals of Percheron birth and established origin, there
has been no means of protection for the buyer. And the question for us now to deter-
mine is, whether we shall support and sanction the action of the French breeders, from
which we will receive such a powerful safeguard as will be given us by the publication
of a stud-book, containing positive information as to the origin and pedigree of the stock
they offer us, or whether we shall cast away the protection and assistance they offer us,
for the temporary benefits to be derived from indiscriminate purchases, regardless of
purity of blood. There is no doubt that it is for the temporary interest of importers,
who do not have the future welfare of the country at heart, to disregard all pedigrees,
and oppose all action tending toward the establishment of records, as they can then
import horses of inferior breeding (and therefore possessing no value as stock horses),
and sell them as well, if equal in appearance, as the purest blooded and most valuable
horses of the breed. My belief is, that any 'practice that would be detrimental to the inter-
ests of the agriculturists and farmers of this country, would eventually be detrimental to the
interests of all importers : for upon the valuable results obtained by the crosses depends the
success of the importer and breeder of purebred stock.

Entertaining these views, I can but give my hearty support to the Societe Hippique
Percheronne, and advise the amendment of our rules to conform to theirs; and to reject
for registratioQ in the Percheron Stud-Book of America all imported animals not
recorded in the Percheron Stud-Book of France ; thus establishing a guarantee, for the
future, of purity of blood of the Percheron race second to no breed of horses in the
world .

50 SAVAGE & FARNUM'S CATALOGUE

DRAFT-HORSES.

The following article appeared in The GMcago Daily Tribune of July 16, 1881 ; and
as it demonstrates beyond question the superiority of the Percheron breed over all other
races of draft-horses, when crossed upon our native mares, for the production of valu-
able work animals, I deem it worthy of careful perusal :

Draft- Horses — Their Breeding One op the Important Industries of the Day —
The Experience op Dealers who Buy and Sell 40,000 Horses Annually —
Relative Merits of Percheron, Clydesdale and English Horses — Opinions

OF ALL THE LEADING DEALERS IN NeW YoRK AND CHICAGO ON THE SUBJECT —

They are Unanimous in Preferring the French Breeds Over all Others —
More Enduring, Best Dispositioned, Stand Pavements Best, and Bring the
Highest Prices.

The Tribune, as the acknowledged champion of the agriculturists of the great
Northwest, whose progressive ideas have been established and developed under its tute-
lage, presents to its readers in this issue a most valuable and timely array of facts bearing
upon the relative merits of the different breeds of draft-horses that are being bred in the
United States and Canada.

This subject, although of vital importance to the people, is one that, for various
causes, has been handled very tenderly by those papers whose duty it is to give the facts
to their readers. The agricultural press, which claims to be wholly devoted to the
interests of farmers, for fear of losing advertising patronage by publishing that which
would injure anybody engaged in handling what is called Improved stock, has attempted
to pursue a course that would conciliate all. The result has been the mystification of
the people, who are at more of a loss what to do than if nothing had been written.

In order that the facts might be known to the people, that they might pursue the
most profitable course of breeding, representatives of the Tribune were instructed to
procure of the well known and leading dealers in the New York and Chicago horse
markets information

UPON THE FOLLOWING POINTS:

If they handled draft horses to any extent, what breeds they handled. Of which
particular breed they sold most. Why they sold most of that breed. If the horses of
that breed were possessed of more endurance than others. If they had better feet and
lasted longer on the city pavements. If they commanded higher prices, or what were
the reasons for this particular breed being the favorite. This will account for the simi-
larity of some of the interviews, as, where the gentlemen interviewed did not in their
statements cover the several points, these questions were generally propounded.

The result will be of immense value to all those engaged in breeding horses, as
well as those who have horses to buy and have not had experience upon which to base
their judgment in purchasing. This evidence is of the very best that can be obtained,
for it is the accumulated knowledge of years of experience of those who furnish perhaps
40,000 horses annually directly to those who buy them to wear out.

In order to avoid mystifying those persons not versed in the different names often
applied to the same breeds, we will explain briefly by stating that those classed as
Clydesdales are mostly the produce of horses imported direct from Scotland, or bred in
Canada, and imported to the United States. Under the head of English horses are com-
prised Ihe large Lincolnshire, the Yorkshire, the Suffolk, and other strains.

The French breeds are composed of the Percherons, the Brittany and the Boulon-
nais. In this country people distinguish them as Percherons, Percheron-Normans, Nor-
man-Percherons, Normans, and French horses. The pure breds are all recorded, or
eligible for entry, in " The Percheron-Norman Stud Book."

The Percherons are considered superior to all the French families, and at the Uni-
versal Exposition in 1878, and at all the great shows of France for years, they have car-
ried off the prizes.

The result of the interview was as follows:

CHAMPAIGJi 36T8. (For pedigree see page 31.)

PERCHERON HORSES, 53^

ISAAC H. DAHLMAN.

Of 209 and 211 East Twenty-fourth street, New York city, bein^ called upon, requested
the scribe to call in the evening, as he was too busy to give any time during the day.
In conversation with other dealers it was learned that Mr. I. II. Daliiman is by far the
most extensive horse dealer in the New York horse market, and in fad in the country.
Nearly all the dealers called upon referred to him as the highest authority on liorseflesh.

Calling in the evening, Mr. Dahlman said:

"I handle between 9,000 and 10,000 horses annually on my own account. Do not
handle horses on commission for other people. Tiiese include all kinds of horses — draft,
coach, driving, trotting, and railroad horses. Between 2,500 and 3,000 of these are
heavy draft-horses. Of tlie draft-horses I handle, the great proportion, nearly all, are
Percheron-Normans. These Percheron-Norman horses are docile, intelligent, broad
between the eyes, and have some brain. They are easily broken, and are steady in har-
ness— meaning that they don't fret when they do their work. • They are powerful horses
and compactly built — short in the back, deep in the body, and broad in the chest. This
gives them what we call 'a good dinner basket.'

" The Norman-Percherons have tlie best feet of any horse in America. They have
a high cup foot. Their feet will stand work on the pavement better than those of any
other breed. Tliey are short-coated and thin-skinned, and stand the hot weather the
best of any breed. Our heavy draft-horses here have the hardest worlc in hot weather.
The Norman-Percherons generally give the best satisfaction to the people who buy them
to wear out. They are very finely developed for their ages. I put them into the
heaviest work when four years old, and they stand it. Am buying them as old as I can
get, but cannot get them over four years old. I buy these horses because they give the
best satisfaction to my customers.

"I don't want it understood that all Norman horses have the good qualities. I
have seen some imported that were as bad shaped horses as could be found. Some are
what I call ' nigger-toed,' — too long in the back and very narrow-waisted. They were
not worth their freight from France here. That class of horses is only imported by
people who have no judgment in selecting horses — who buy to sell and not to breed. If
a man with judgment goes to France to select a stallion or a mare lie can find them with
the quality.

"A cross on the thoroughbred with a Norman crossed again with a thoroughbred
makes a nice coach horse. There is a scarcity of coach horses in this country, and the
demand is increasing yesirly. It would pay to import some."

Mr. Dahlman was then asked in what respect he considered the Clydesdale horses
inferior to the French horses. He said: "I will not give you any criticism on the
Clydesdales. I buy very few of them. I prefer to pass his stable and say nothing
about him."

Being asked as to the relative prices he was willing to pay for Norman-Percherons
and other breeds, Mr. Dahlman said he should have to decline to answer that also, as, if
he did, every farmer who owned a Norman horse would want $10 more for him.

He was then asked what breed of horses he would recommend farmers to breed
from with reference to selling on the New York market. His answer was that he
thought that The Tribune readers would understand that from what he had already said.

SOLOMON MEHRBACH,

Of 154 East Twenty-fourth street, New York city, expressed himself as follows:

" I deal largely in all the different kinds of draft-horses — Clydesdales, English and
Belgian, and the French horses called Percherons or Normans. Don't know which
class I handle most of. Have no preference for either breed, and find that one class of
horses sells as well as another. A good horse sells well at any lime.

"The Clydes are pretty good horses, but rather flat-footed and slim-waisted."
Mr. Mehrbach then left to attend to some customers, saying that he did not think
the western farmers needed any information on the subject of horse-breeding.

Returning the next day, and pressing Mr. Mehrbach for more information, he said:
"Have you seen Mr. I. H. Dahlman ?" The reporter said he had. "Well, he likes
the Normans, don't he ?" " Yes." " Well, I like the Clydes. 1 handle more of them
than I do of the Normans. They give better satisfaction to my customers, have more
bone, better feet and last longer. They have more action than the Normans."

A. S. CHAMBERLIN,

Of 147 East Twenty-fourth street. New ITork city, runs what are known as "the Old

54 SAVAGE & FABNUM's CATALOGUE

Bull's Head " stables. He has been longer in the stable business than any man in New
York city, having been so engaged for upward of forty years. Mr. C. said:

"I keep exchange and sale stables for horses. Don't deal on my own account to
any extent. All classes of horses, amounting to several thousands annually, come to
my stables from all sections of the country. A large number of these are draft horses
of the different breeds, the Clydesdales, the French horses called Percherons or Nor-
mans, the English and Belgian. There seems to be a larger demand for the French
horses than for any other breed.

"Some years ago we used to get a great many horses from Upper Canada. These
M'ere Clydesdales, and would weigh from 1,400 to 1,600 pounds, but they did not seem
to answer the purpose; as a general thing their feet were thin-shelled and flat, and being
heavy horses their feet would become sore and would not stand the pavements. The
French horses have good feet and stand the pavements better than the Clydesdales.
That is the reason they sell better. The Norman horses are the finest looking and most
attractive; have better action, are quicker stepping horses, and stand their work better
than the Clydes. The Norman horse brings a better price on the market.

" The Clydesdales are heavy-boned, heavy-limbed horses, strong in the shoulder,
and strong-hipped. They are, however, short-ribbed, slim waisted, and lack action.
Comparatively few Clydesdales are now brought to this market. Either they don't
raise them, or don't bring them to this market. The demand is largely for the Norman
horses.

" I would advise the farmers and breeders who are breeding horses to sell on the
New York market for draft purposes to breed from the French horses in preference to
all others."

OAKLEY & SMITH,

Of 160 East Twenty-fourth street. New York city, were seen. Mr. Oakley said :

"Our firm handles several thousand horses annually, and upward of a thousand
of them are heavy draft horses. We handle all kinds of heavy horses, Clydesdales,
English and Belgian, and the French horses called Percherons or Normans. We handle
rather more of the Clydesdales than of the other breeds. We handle those horses we
can get the easiest. There is no greater demand for the Clydesdales than for other
breeds. The Clydesdales are generally a little short in the rib and light-waisted, but
have good shoulders and rumps.

"I don't see much difference in the feet of the different breeds, or their wearing
qualities. The Normans are good stocky horses, compactly built. Still, when I see a
horse I like, I pay little attention to the breed."

Mr. Oakley was then asked what class of horses he would advise the farmers and
breeders of the country to breed to with reference to raising horses for the New York
market. He replied; "A cross of the Norman horse on our native mares would be
my choice, and that is the sort of breeding I would recommend."

JACOB DAHLMAN

Of 207 East Twenty-fourth street. New York city, said:

"I handle on my own account between 1,500 and 1,800 horses annually. This
includes all kinds of horses, but a large proportion of them are heavy horses of the
various large breeds, the French horses called Percheron-Normans, Clydesdales, English
and Belgian.

" I handle a great many of the Percheron-Norman horses, more of them than of
any other breed. There is more demand for them than for any other class. The
French horses are the best, have the best feet, last longer on New York pavements,
and always give satisfaction. They are more compactly built, there is more work in
them, and they are better broken. They have better action than the other breeds.

"The Clydesdales are next thing to the Norman horses. They are very good
horses. I have handled a good many of them, but there are not many of them on the
market nowadays. As to prices, anything in the way of a good blocky horse, built
like a Norman, with good bone and good feet, will bring the same price as a Norman
horse.

"I would advise the farmers and breeders who are breeding horses with refer-
ence to selling on the New York market, to breed from the Percheron-Norman horses
in preference to any other breed.

C. & H. HAYMAN,

Of 213 and 215 East Twenty-fourth street. New York city, were also seen. Mr. H.
Hayman said:

IIUmBERT 2649 (1195). (For pedigree see page 31.)

PEKCHERON HORSES. 57

"We handle about 2,000 horses a year, principally heavy draft. We handle all
kinds of large horses raised in this country, including Clydesdales, the French horses,
English and Belgian. We handle more of the Normans than of the others. Have
more demand for them tlian for the other breeds. The people like them better, and they
bring higher prices than the other breeds. The Norman horses have the best feet, and
last belter on the New York pavements. They have the most endurance, and generally
give good satisfaction. The Norman horse is more easily broken, and is the best dispo-
sitioned horse we have. Norman horses mature sooner, and are ready for the market
when much younger than those of other breeds.

"The Clydesdales are open made horses, not so compact and well-finished as the
French horses. The Clydesdales are not only not so well shaped, but their feet are not
so good as those of the Normans.

"We would advise the farmers and breeders of the West to breed to Norman
horses in preference to any other breed with a view to selling on the New York market."

A. M. STEIN & CO.,

Of 229 Washington street, Brooklyn, N. Y., were seen. Mr. D. W. Stein said:

" We have been in the business over twenty years. We handle nearly 2,000 head
of horses annually. Large numbers of them are heavy draft horses. We handle all
kinds, the Clydesdales, the French horses called Percherons, English and Belgian. We
handle more of the Percheron-Normans than of any other breed. There is more
demand for them. They give the best satisfaction, no matter how little of the blood
there is in them. Generally they have good feet and last better on our pavements than
the Clydesdales, or any of the other breeds. The Belgian horse is a good horse.

"The Percheron-Norman horse has the best action of any breed, and, weight and
condition being equal, brings the highest price in the market.

" The Clydesdales haven't as good a foot, haven't as good action, nor as much rib
nor as broad a breast as the Percheron-Normans. Neither are they as good feeders.
Take a Percheron Norman and a Clydesdale, each in poor condition, and feed them
alike for two months, and the Percheron-Norman will improve 200 per cent, more than
the Clydesdale. The only trouble with the Percheron-Normans is their scarcity. Tell
the farmers of the West to keep their Percheron-Norman mares and breed them. I
would advise them to breed from Percheron-Norman horses in preference to any other
breed for the purpose of selling on this market."

Mr. Stein has made quite a study of breeding horses. He has spent some time in
France, and seemed quite well posted as to the French methods of breeding.

HENRY NEWMAN,

Of 328 Rutledge street, Brooklyn, was not at home when the reporter called, but his
son, Mr. P. Newman, said:

" We handle a large number of horses of all kinds. A good many are heavy
draft. We are handling mostly French-Canadian horses, but get some from Ohio and
Indiana. We handle more French horses than of any other breed. They give better
satisfaction than the Clydesdales and other breeds. They have better feet, and last
longer on our pavements, and bring better prices than any other class of horses. We
have more demand for them, and they give satisfaction generally. They are more com-
pactly built than the Clydesdales. We don't like the long-geared horses.

" We would advise the farmers to breed from French horses to sell on this market
in preference to any other breed. "

S. RICHEY,

Of 341 Rutledge street, Brooklyn, said:

" I handle a large number of horses, principally heavy draft. This includes all
of the heavy breeds, Clydesdales, English, Belgian, and the French horses called Nor-
mans. I handle about the same number of each, I think. The Normans are com-
pactly-built horses, and have more wear in them than the other breeds of horses. They
are not so large. The Norman horses have the best feet. I think the reason is on
account of their coming from the West, where they don't have to shoe them so young,
and the soil seems to agree with their feet. Their action, too, seems to be as good as
that of the other breeds. I think the Clydesdales or English horses are the most showy,
have more size and stand up higher. The Normans are more compact, lower built,
shorter necked — are workers.

"The Clydesdales have more white marks about them — more white faces and
white on their fore legs than the other breeds, and that hurts them for this market.

58 SAVAGE & FAENUM's CATALOGUE

' ' The prevailing color of the Norman horses is gray, and a matched pair of grays
-will bring more money than any other color. The Normans are better selling horses,
and give the best satisfaction of any of the breeds to customers. If I were buying for
my own use I would have nothing but the Normans. I would advise the farmers and
breeders to breed Norman horses in preference to any others with a view of selling on
this market."

A. J. HEINEMAN,

Of Mansfield, Ohio, was seen. Mr. Heineman said:

"I handle about 2,000 horses a year, principally heavy draft horses, and ship alto-
gether to the New York market. I handle all kind of draft horses, including the
Percheron-Normans, Clydesdales, Belgian and English breeds.

' ' I handle more of the Norman horses because there is more demand for them,
and they are the best draft horses we have. After the Normans the Belgians are the
best, and next to them the English.

" The Normans have more body, are finer looking, and are better movers than the
other breeds. They have better feet than the Clydesdales, and better ends, broad
breasts and rumps. The Normans are better dispositioned horses than the Clydesdales.
The brewers of New York, as a general thing, will not buy a Clydesdale horse, on
account of his feet and disposition. We can't sell one Clydesdale where we can sell 100
Normans. The Clydesdales are narrow-waisted, as a general thing, and cannot stand
what a Norman can. When a Clydesdale horse gets sick he goes to pieces quicker than
any other class of horses. The Clydesdales have no constitutions.

" I would give $50 more for a good Norman or Belgian horse than I will for a
Clydesdale, condition and weight being equal. A cross of Norman and Clydesdale
makes a very good horse.

"I would advise farmers and breeders to breed to Norman and Belgian horses in
preference to any other breed, with reference to selling on the New York market."

F. J. BERRY,

Of 2 to 10 Monroe street, Chicago, has sold about 600 horses since the first of last Janu-
ary, and handles all kinds of horses— French, Clydesdales, English and Belgian. Said
Mr. Berry:

"I sell more of the Normans than of any other breed, because they are sought
after more than the others. They are possessed of more endurance than the others; ship
better, are better feeders, and for all purposes are far superior to all other horses now
raised. The half or three-fourths grades are better for heavy draft, while the lower
grades come in for all use. From one-eighth to one-fourth grades make the best driving
horses and have splendid action, are.finely developed, and have good style; they are all
well flanked down.

" They have better feet than the Clydesdales, and last on our pavements fully as
well as any horses we have.

"As to Clydesdales, they, as a general thing, are good feeders. They have the very
best bone, and are large, rugged horses. The objection to them is, they are light in the
flank, and a little long in the back, ship poorly, and draw up in the flank. They are a
big improvement over the common horse, and the next best thing to the Normans. The
Normans have good action and are fair roadsters, and bring better prices than the other
breeds.

"I would advise every farmer to breed to French horses in preference to any other,
and I am surprised that farmers and breeders of horses pay so little attention to the kind
of horses they breed, when they can breed Norman horses that will bring in the market,
when four or five years old, from $150 to |300 a head. I used to be prejudiced against
the French horses before I had handled them extensively, but now I am convinced that
for all purposes there is nothing equal to the grade Norman."

M. NEWGASS,

Of 17 and 19 Morgan street, Chicago, has a general trade with the lumbermen East and
West, and in the city. He handles upwards of 1,000 horses annually. Mr. Newgass said :
"I deal in all the various breeds of draft-horses: Percherons or Normans, Clydes-
dales, English and Belgian. I handle most of the Normans, because the demand for
them' is greater than for the other breeds, and they bring the highest prices. They are
' more enduring than the other breeds. They have good feet, which the Clydesdales and
Canada horses have not. They last better than any other kind on our pavements, and

PERCHERON HORSES. 59

are more attractive looking tlian any other breed of liorses. The English and Belgian
horses are fine looking, but they lose a little across the loin. They lose in breeding, not
marking their stock in crossing on our mares after one or two crosses.

" The Normans are true to work. They are broken before they are ever harnessed.

"The Clydesdales are like a girl sixteen years old — they have no waist. Tliey
haven't good feet to stand the pavements. A cross of the Norman and Clydesdale
makes a good horse.

"The Norman horse is a drafter, and will sell in New York, conditions being
equal, for from |50 to $75 more than a Clydesdale. The Normans are preferred East
and West. The Clydesdales are very good selling horses, but they don't give satisfac-
tion. I have bought a great many Clydesdale horses, but never had satisfaction with
them; could never make any money out of them, and frequently have had to take them
back after selling them .

•'The Percheron Normans are better feeders than the Clydesdales. They will
make a better appearance by fifty per cent, on the same amount of feed.

" From my experience I would advise the farmers and breeders of our country to
breed their mares to Percheron-Norman horses in preference to any other breed."

J. S. COOPEll,

Of 174 and 175 Michigan avenue, Chicago, said:

"I handle all kinds of horses— French, Clydesdales, English and Belgian. I
handle more of the Normans than of any other breed. A gray Norman will bring more
money than any other horse on our market. There is more inquiry for them.

"The Norman horse has better feet— larger feet than the Clydesdales, and they
last longer on our pavements. While the Clydesdales have large and good flat bone,
and plenty of hair on their legs, I find them light-barreled and ewe-necked. I think .
they have better action than the Norman horses,"but that they never will do the service
of the Norman on our roads. If anything, I think they are inclined to be fretful, and
not as level-headed as the Norman horse.

"The Norman horses are the finest looking — most attractive. Gray being the pre-
vailing color of the French horses, and that being the most fashionable color, it enhances
the price.

"I would advise the farmers to breed their mares to Normans in preference to any
other breed, and to breed lots of tiiem, as the demand is far ahead of the supply."

JOSEPH LAMB,

Of 133 Michigan avenue, Chicago, said:

"I handle nothing but my own horses, and do not sell on commission. Most of
my trade is with lumbermen and in the city. I handle more Normans than of any other
breed, because they are more salable and eagerly sought after, the only drawback to the
business now being that I cannot get them fast enough.

" They are possessed of more endurance than other breeds; give good satisfaction
and wear well; have better feet— last better on our pavements, and are more easily accli-
mated than any other breed. It is very rarely you get a Norman horse with bad feet.
They are good, cheerful walkers, and more attractive and finer looking, with better
action, than the other large breeds.

"The Clydesdales are not an enduring class of horses. The essentials of a good
draft-horse are good bone, good muscle and good loin. These are characteristic of the
French horses. The Clydes have good bone, but lack the other essentials.

" I have not had much experience with the English and Belgian horses. Mine has
been mostly with French horses and Clydesdales. The French horses have always given
satisfaction, while the Clydesdales frequently fail to do so.

"I would advise farmers, in breeding horses to sell on this market, to breed to
French horses in preference to any others. The French horses are docile, willing
workers, while the Clydesdales are nervous workers, and are not nearly as good dispo-
sitioned horses as the French. The French horses will keep on much less feed than the
Clydesdales."

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