Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-10-25
THE VALUE OF HORSE FLESH.

THE VALUE OF HORSE FLESH.
We have noticed the sale of our Ameri-
can bred full In England for $3.50 in gold.
To-day, we remind farmers who are rails
ing good horses that at recent sale of
an English stud of horses, Blair Athol
bought sixty-two Thousand and five hun
bred; Gladiator thirty-fve Thousand, and
the whole number, consisting of 273 mares,
colts and horses, sold for over five hundred
thousand dollars. This was the largest
sale for individual horses, and in the ag-
gregate, ever made. Men Of wealth appear
willing to pay fabulous prices for fine stock
of pure blood. 1t is to be hoped the new
disease in New York State and city, will
not kill their best horses. In this connec-
ton, the following article from late
number of the Richmond Dispatch will be
found interesting:
Appropos of your article in the Dispatch
of yesterday upon fancy prices for horses,
| take pleasure in giving the following in
formation, which | hope will go a little way
in correcting popular error
The prices are not fancy. As a, rule,
horses in every grade are bought and sold
as near what they are worth as can be ascer-
| tained-just as real estate, merchandise,
stocks and bonds are bought. Let me IL
| lustrate: a lot in Wall street, New York,
is sold at 100000, which is at the rate of
81 100000 per acre. What an inconceiv-
| able price is this for mere land agricultur-
! ally considered? But its agricultural value
| is not in any part al element of its value.
1t has simply commercial uses, and these
| commercial uses make the land cheap. So
| cutlery can be wrought SO fine and Of such
| high temper that it scarcely bears rela-
ton to the crude iron out of which it was
wrought. Diamonds are bit pure carbon.
But civilization and its necessities have
given definite value to diamonds, and cut
lery, and city real estate, and every other
merchantable article and production that
marks the progress and re6nements of the
times. .. r.rr
At the sale Of the Middle Park stud, Blair
Athol sold at about $500 Was this
more than his real value? As mere pecu-
mary transaction should say not. Blair
Athol's earnings apphoximate yearly $780,
600. Four years of these earnings will ex-
tinguish the cost, aud thenceforwsrd his
earnings will be profit, besides the chances
of producing his successor, and perhaps
bis superior. In this latter event he has
preserved the capital intact, aud his entire
net earnings may be set down as profit.
In this country Lexington has been worth
q net sum of 100000 to Mr.. Alexander.
bennington is equal to fortune for Nc.
WEIGH, and the same may be said of Harry
Bassett, and Longfellow, and Kentucky,
and Bonnie Scotland, etc, to their FORUM
ate possessors. If any of these owners
sold their Ealua lie property for less thar
their commercial value, it would be an act
of lunacy.
And the same rule holds in regard tc
trotterS. You say $4,000 for Dex ter was
indeed fancy price. Not at all. hi:
owners knew bis value, and Mr.. Bonner
drove hard bargain and got cheap horse
Dexter was then king of the tro5ting turf,
and for four years his record stood irwin
chile; and during these four years his win
ings upon the turf, in first or second money
would doubtless have appropriated $3.50,
900. Goldsmith Maids winnings have ex
ceeded these figures since Dexter wa:
withdrawn. In this connection, bear il
mind that the trotting race is broader ant
, |
the running race. At all the large cities
nearly all the large towns, and in nearly al
5 the counties, trotting meetings are helC
i and annually over ST. 100000 is distributed
in purses in first, second, third and fourth
horses. The people of the United State.
yearly pay over two and a half mil ion
dollars to witness these races, which goe
B., to uphold the park grounds, pays interest
] md hnld lone
:. sums to be distributed to the owners of tn
fleet footed animals.
j Besides bis value as a racer, the Americ a
: trotting horse has vast utility for carriage
; park, saddle, and road purposes. Let any
observant person spend day at the Cen
j trail Park, and the adjacent drives in New
: York and Westchester, and one of the WOE
: ders that he will see will be over 100000
. worth of feet, beautiful horses-America
LrOtters in every stage of perfection and de
' velopment. These will pass in review, an
e the spectacle will be such as never blesse
b the human, gaze until this age, for the
I the fastest, and gamest, and hand
soonest of all the generations of equine tles
, since the beginning of recorded time; an
y what may be seen there is duplicated on
e. smaller scale at every important point i
n the United States.
Such a spirit stirring scene is one of til
81 triumps of civilization. How different froI
s the rude, and gaudy, and barbaric show
Is of medieval times? And civilization ha
!. computed the value in dollars of those use
~ ful, fast, and beautiful creatures, and {
u their sires and dams.
g Hgmbletonian's earnings are now SIS
n 600 per year in the stud. His earnings il
1867 were $2S,500, but latterly, on acc0uu
of his age, his services are limited. Thi
" horse has been worth over 100000 to h
,e owner (now deceased) and to his estat
!. Edward Everett, Volunteer, Happy Nj
- dunn, Aberdeen, Socrates, Hambletonia
o. Second, Sentinel, Logan, Startle, and maj
IF other of Hambletonians sons, are pTobab
none of them worth less than $4,000
their respective owners. For Yoluntee
ID tbis sum has been repeatedly refused. II
De quartet OF trotters-Goldsmith Maid, Anne
lean Girl, Lucy, and Henry-pro5ably a
proximate in aggregate value a quarter
l. a million dollars. The set of horses Til
Immediately succeed these in point OF spec
D have the following figures attached to the
personality, Jay Gould, stallion, by HaI
bletonian, sold at the Buffalo. meeting