The New York herald., 1869-03-15
THE HORSES OF AMERICA.

THE HORSES OF AMERICA.
>~~--~~--~~~~~~~~--~-
Their Present values with Some Suggestions
Co Breeding for speed for the Road and
Track.
Among the great industrial interests OF this coun-
Try the horse may be considered as standing ID ulo
foremost rank Of animal productions. For many
years he has been constantly increasing In numbers
and value SO rapidly and with such constant accre-
lions that the number Of the horses now In the
United States win fall little short Of S,oOooOo in
the aggregate, and representing IN money
value the enormous sum Of upwards OF
$1,000 00.000 nearly equal to the whole amount OF
our national Indebtedness, and more than the whole
gross amount OF the gold product OF California ana
probably OF the world during the time which has
been occupied in raising these animals. Few who
read this article have imagined that the annual
value OF any animal product In this country should
% nearly approximate the vaunted resources Of our
gold fields, winch politicians are ever paradlng be-
fore the public the Of paying our national
debt.
Ftfty years ago the standard price OF horses was
very low, $l0o being considered as much a first
class animal was worth, unless in exceptional cases,
Notwithstanding we had very much the same quality
OF horse then now. Subsequent breeding has
developed his powers in dfercnE direction,
and the gall0ping saddle nag Of that day
has been transformed into the trotting horse
OF the present. We had at tnat time In this
country some Of the highest blood that had ever
been imported from foreign parts 1t was then rich
anu fresh and became widely disseminated through
out the country by such horses Domede, the win
nor Of the first English Derby in 1850; his descendants
Sir Archy Duroc Messenger ana that most capital
hnrap Mndl IN of 9TH rhat hava
left favorable impress the horse OF the present
day. The descendants Of Diomede TO this day are
the rullng spirits OF che course, as they have
been principally bred Tor that speciality In the same
way as those OF Messenger have been bred for trot
ting. The SOutherner, having no trottiDg vehicle
Andthe roads being universally OF inferior descrip
ton, did the best he could under the circumstances
and trained his horse for saddle purposes The
North, where good roads and greater mechanical
talent prevailed, soon possessed itself or fine
road vehicles, and the horse, instead OF being
taught to gal0p and TO amble, was encouraged
In his rot until he became as convorsant
with that gait as he had been with other
PAGES. Now, had the relative POSITIONS
of Messenger and DiOmede been reversed the de-
scendants OF Messenger would have become gal
lopers and those Of DOmede trottcrs, and the name
OF Messenger would have been heard OF among trOt-
ting circles as little as that OF Diomede is at the
present day. A further impetus was given TO trot
ting blood by the Importation OF the Arabian Grand
Bashaw, who was natural trotter himself anu i'm
parted that popularity an eminent degree to his
descendants, and, IN addition, communicating
graceful movement to gait that had previously
been considered not very elegant.
For long time 1t was considered advantageous
70 cross well bred horse on the Kanuck, or Cana
dian. as he indnerently termed with lie view Of
fhafE Enoa ocf,On rh AZ pttol
In the trottor The result Of that description Of
breeding was, as might have been anticipated too
much action In front and deficiency OF propeliing
power, accompanied by that lack or endurance con-
sequent on low breeding and great expenditure of
muscular action. Another great objection to this
cross was found In the deterioration Of gene
raj appearance visible in horses OF this class
However, ~ time progressed and these evils
became more palpable, attempts were made
BY breeders to correct the mistake into
which they had falen and recourse was had to horses
Of higher blood and superior excellence, and with
such snccess that many Of the roers Of the present
day 30 closely resemble the running horse In gen.
erai appearance as TO deceive the uninitiated With
tue creation a. we may term it, df superior trot-
ting horse, at once beautiful, speedy and graceful
and the great accumulation Of wealth in the com
munity, the value OF the trOtting horse has ad-
vanced correspondingly until now the prices paid
for particularly hne horses are such would never
have been dreamed Of twenty years ago.
We may say that the value OF every other class or
horse has appreciated within the past few years.
with the exception Of the French Canadian, for
whom there is very little demand-in fact none At
the prices would cost TO import them from Canada.
An the demand In this country has decreased they
are not so numerousy bred as Formerly, here was
the great market for that description Of horse unul
~
found unequal to the business requirements Of the
community. The abolition Qf the reciprocity treaty
with Canada had also something to do with essening
the demand as ii imposed heavy tariff on his i'm
portaion and increased his cost In this market about
100 per cent, to about $oo through the god pre-
miam and duty combined, which Is mere than he
ever was worth for any purpose. We shall see very
few Of these horses In future, and very glad we
ought to be OF It, as his Introduction into this coun
Try has been rather preludical than otherwise The
Canadians themselves see the inferiorty OF that
class horse anything else than mere drudgery,
and are endeavoring TO improve their stock by the
importation Of well bred horses from the United
ststes-a number Of thoroughbred stations having
been lately purchased for that purpose.
All over the country the value OF the horse has in
creased In ratio corresponding TO the high price or
every other product and may be set down at about
double what Il was before the war; with no prospect
Of dmunition. As respects very nne horses they
show q constant Increase In price. W
At the commencement of this article we stated
thar there were about 100000 OF horses la this
country at present, as near as the facts could be
arrived at in the absence OF any census enumera-
ton. In 1860 the number OF horses In all the States
and Territories amounted to 4196 go, and in 1860
the computed number was e,2ao,l74. Notwithstand-
ing the great loss sustained during the ana the
almost entire cessation OF breeding in some or the
States OF the south during that time, the natural
Increase has been great to FULLY reach our esti
mate OF s,O0o,ooo. The following table will show the
number OF horses IN each State and Territory at the
periods alluded to above:-
ruMBxR or HORSES IN THE COUNTRY IN 1850 AND
1860.