Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1858-03-20
Tafton, March %, 1853.

sM E. NJ. LEWIS.
Tafton, March ID, 1853.
HAVE MORGAN HORSES DEGENERAgAD
By request, We publish the following
front The Vermont Stock Journal:
"The extraordinary favor with which
! Morgan Horses have been received, in al
most every section Of the country where
they have been introduced, has aroused a
feeling Of jealousy in the minds of some
individuals interested in horses Of other
blood, and their friends; and the gravest
charges have in some instances been pre-
ferred against them. It is worthy Of par
ticular observation, that these charges have
always appeared in quarters Of the coun-
try, where the Morgan horse is little known,
! have in no instance which has come TO our
know ledge been accompanied by a parti
ticle of evidence, and have generally been
found to proceed from persons profoundly
ignorant Of the subject on which they
would fam be leaders.
These charges are not made or publish
ed in New England, or for that market
for the very substantial reason that the
Morgan horse is thoroughly established in
every part Of New England, and the faith
Of New England horsemen in Morgan
blood, rests on a rock of experience Of half
a century, which no cavil can shake, Or
even disturb. But these charges are made
/ for the western aud southern markets, for
new fields on which the Morgan horse is
lust entering, and from which we believe
i he will come out victorious.
Il is in such new quarters only, where
it will avail any thing to say, as some
have: at is generally admitted that the
Morgan horse has degenerated," or at is
we'll understood that the Morgan horse is
not what he was" or There is no doubt
but what the Morgan is spirited little
animal, but two small for harness horse"
The reputation of the Morgan horse is of
too hardy growth to be killed or wound
ed by newspaper paragraphs. He was for
a long time bred by men of small means,
by men without capital or position, and
utterly unconscious of the power of the
press to puff up Or pull down a breed OF
animals. Slowly and steadily he has
grown in public favor, until at this day.
scarcely thorough horseman can be found
in New Englsnd, who does no. place the
Morgan far above any known breed O
horses for buggy service.
Many, from an entire want Of knoal
edge Of the matter, believe that Morgan
horses have degenerated; and writers Of
varied talents, from the author of the able
articles on the improvement Of horses late
" published in the New York Weekly
!, Tribune, down to frank Forester, have
fallen into this error, relying possibly upon
the unsupported assertions Ct some Of the
wise gentlemen, who, fenced in with bric,
{ walls, and lulled by the careless din Of
rumbling trucks, and rattlpg carriages
write elaborate essays on the proper meth
dds of cultivating cabbages, and assume to
. give reliable advice as to the best way to
break steers.
We have before remarked thai egen.
eracy in breed Of. animals is in its very
: nature progressive, and in the case Of
horses, several years must elapse before any
decided change can be observed.
IF we, assume that this deterioration has
been going on during the last fifteen years,
it is not wholly unaccountable that while
The actual value of the horses has been
constantly diminishing he demand for
them, and their market value has been
constantly increasings There is not q
I State in the Union from Maine TO Califor-
MIA, in which there are not animals of Ills
stock kept solely for breeding purposes and
The demand for them was never greater
than now. Throughout the Eastern and
! Western States, from the Canada borders,
TO the southern boundary Of Kentucky,
there is scarcely large. agricultural fair Of
which they are not q prominent feature
and it will be difficult to point to an exhl-
Ibition.of harness horses held IN this coun-
/ try within the last five years, at which
AZ Ryan horses have not borne off a gooaiy
I portion of the prizes. .s4
/ A careful consideration of these facts
can hardly fail to satisfy every unpreju-
diced mind that there has been no noticea
4 BE deterioration III this breed Of horses.
/ The advertisement Of morgan Chief, .
| ~ a4Fe i :.