The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-04-02

SHEET.
allegiance to the Grown. The Commissioners
also think that the legal disabilities which pre-
vent aliens from holding landed property In |
the kingdom should be removed. This official |
paper comes in decided compliment to the
opinions of all American jurists on the sub
ject. Had the same spirit Of moderation and
good sense prevailed in England in the time OF
George III. the war of 1912, with the horrors
of Dartmoor Prison, would have been avoid ed.
Tho Thereushbred Horse.
The multiplication of fair grounds through
out the country, and the liberal premiums
offered by associations for the Improvement OF
the horse, evince the great interest that is felt
for the best development Of the powers OF that
useful animal. The sphere of operations OF
these associations, however, is necessarily
limited and entirely too narrow and local to
effect such thorough Improvement as we
too, are not always sufficient to al
low that pecuniary remuneration to breeders
which is absolutely necessary to success In
that specially. There is always . great
deal of expense attendant on breeding
for Improvement; so much so that
many breeders are deferred from ope-
rating in that direction. A mere medal,
ribbon or small purse is of very little mo-
ment to most men as a reward for the expense
and trouble they have gone to In breeding
select animals; besides, so much depends on
the caprice and want of knowledge in persons
appointed as judges at fairs that many of the
exhibitors 20 home dissatisfied with their de-
cisions and relinquish further attempts at
breeding in the same direction. The thorough
bred, or race horse, however, has seldom come
into competition at these fairs, the premiums
offered at these exhibitions being generally
for horses of different class, such as trotting,
road and draught horses.
The thoroughbred horse lies at the very
foundation of successful breeding, and is the
rock upon which all Improvement must be
built From him we get the high courage, the
dense bone, the steel-like tendOns, strong
ligaments and the capacious lungs that are 80
desirable in the racer, the trotter and the road
horse. To preserve this horse in all his in
tegrity can only be done through suitable
tests, applied at such intervals as sound
discretion may dictate. No other test
is known than that of repeated trials on
the race course, with weight and distance
sufficiently great to indicate his speed and
carrying powers. As stallion, should he
prove deficient in these trials, and be unable
to carry such weights as horse should be
able to do when called upon-the weight of an
ordinary man, for instance-or should the
bones and sinews of his forelegs prove defec-
tive, or his lungs weak, such trials would soon
develop these facts, and warrant his rejection
| from the stud, no matter what his speed might
| be with feather on his back. The ordinary
| race tracks throughout the country are not
calculated to make these appropriate tests.
| On them horses are merely trained for par
| ticular purposes, and run to win certain
prizes, without any reference to the effect
their doing so may produce upon the future
| improvement of the horse. As might
naturally be expected from the system
of racing inaugurated within the last
few years, the tendency of it has not been to
the Improvement of the thoroughbred horse.
The practice of abolishing heat races and of
substituting dashes for them, and short for long
distances, will end in ultimate deterioration of
the horse if persisted in and no steps be taken
to restore the ancient tests of heats, weights
and long distance. Many Of the horses now on
the track at the present day, had they lived fifty
| years ago, would not have been tolerated for
moment on race course. They would have
been regarded as mere quarter horses, and
their running would have had to be done on
the byroads of the country. A remedy against
| deterioration is wanted, and this is what we
! suggest
The establishment of a race course in the
vicinity of Washington, under the auspices of
the government and under the control of the
Agricultural Department, would afford ready
means of restoring the thoroughbred horse to
such degree of usefulness as would render
him of the highest value to the country and
inaugurate new era of breeding throughout the
land and do away with all inferior horses as stall
lions. On these grounds the qualities of the
horse could be thoroughly tested and prizes
would be awarded to such as could undergo the
ordeal required. The test would be heats Of
four miles each and carrying such an amount
of weight as would be deemed necessary in
the opinion Of competent judges. There
should also be an ordeal for trotters very
similar to that adopted for the running horse,
the distance and heats being the same for both
classes. In these trials none but stations
should be allowed to enter, and from the
winning horses will hereafter proceed the
| general Improvement of the stock throughout