Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-06-29
Prof. McRryde ON The PerrherOn
Horse,
University OF TENNESSEE,

KNoxvIL e, TENN. NJ y g, 1881.
Mr.. Ed OR: The Percheron- N orman
horse, native of the province of Nor
m andy, in France, is generally regarded
by the CHEST authorities as of Arabian
origin and ancestry. Be this as it may, all
.gree that he is largely i'm bued with Arab
b God. The product of centuries of judi
cious and careful breeding, Of kindly treat
ment and handling. and Of continuous de-
velopment. this animal is to-day the best
quick -draught horse in the world As
such he is reco niz ed in France the
continent of Gu "ope An in many Sc tons
of our W country. His use in the Fcench
omni buses and dill snces weIl-pigh
universal. His speed and endurance have
been established by hundreds o tests, and
are still annually recorded on the courses
of Illiers, Courtalian, Montdou bie4n and
Mortague. On the next OF the last named
of these, II mile long, the average limo Of
80 recorded trials uhder the saddle is 4
minutes and II seconds, the best being 3
min. and 30 sec. At Lang H. q miles the
| best time is min. 81 sec. An average of
IS trials at the same divt4nce is 9 min is
sec. La harness the average offs trials at
two miles is min. SO sec. At r Duen a
load 385lbs was DIR .wn 2..3>5 mi es in min
| Il Sec. and another of 4O8bs by the same
| horse the same distance in 0 min 40 sec.
| he following is we'll authenticated case:
"a grey mare hsrnessed t. a travelling
| tilbury, started from Bsrnsy 20 go to
| Alencou, distance of fifty five and three
ffths miles over hilly and difficult read,
reaching there in hrs, "a min" Size,
weight and the ability To draw heavy loads,
it not unit to sluggishness aud cumsi-
ness as in the Cones Oga and London dra, :
horse, are important qualities nd speed
! is equally esirable. Speed alos e, h"w-
ever, like that of our light weight carrying
tro'ters. as for al pracucal purp $685. com
parativeiy useless But wris ht, endur-
ance, sreed, combined with rapid
draught.' are sgriculturally invaluable
| These the Percheron possesses n prominent
| degree and many other valuable Qualities
beside An able English writer, risl z
above the insuIar jeaously of his race,
! thus speaks of this breed in the Britt b
Quarte,ly journal of Agriculture: The
horses of Normandy are capital race for
hard work and scanty fare We never
| seen such horses at the collar under the
| dilijance, the pOst>c4rriagf, the cumbr oIs,
and heavy vioture or cabrOlet. for one or
| two horses, or on tn firm. They are en-
| dur ng and energetic beyond description /;
with their neck cut to the tone thes finch
| not They put rLh all their etfIrts at the
voice of their driver or at tho dea i sound
of the whip. They keep thier condition
when other horses would die of neglect
and hard treatment A bet er cos s.for
some of our no ses ca mot BIZ imagined
than those of Normandy. American tes-
timnny to the same points Is equally 81
exp cit. Mr.. Harris. of n orristown, N. J
the Fl st American importer (his im purta-
| ton was IL "a in 1879 writes in simil ar
strain the b rses fest crm4 und-r M Y
observation on a. MY through France
in 1881 | was struck by the immense
power displaye1 by them in drawing the
heavy diljences of the country at n o ce
-sa, from to 9 miles per hour-lhe low
est rate Of which, | do not hesitate to Saw.
would in a short time KILL the E pl sb
| horse If placed before the Same load -
And the most noted breeder and mpor-
ter If this horse in our own day. Mr. NJ.
w. DUNN m of oakland, Wayne county,
I'll sums u the lalities f the breed in
q passage, whose acc racy and truthfuI~
ness can vruch f,r l have known and
observed this breed for 10 years past. He
says: TO remarkable strength, to Wig n
which does not degenerate, to u conf rma-
ton that does nos exclu ie elegance, it Joins
docility, mildness, patience, hone-te great
| kindness, excellent health, and hardy and
elastic temperament It's movements are
rapid and easy it Jos esses uncommon en-
durance both when worked hard or when
forced, for unusual ii ne to maintain sny
Gifts natural gals. 1t possess the ines
Unable quality of moving fast with heavy
loads and 10 he native courtry it is par
tlcularly valued foi its remarkable pres
coc'ty, pr ducing more by its work at two
years old than the C st of its keep n.y. By
is nature it inheris real aptness fo1
LABOR, and its mild dIspO- rton and
weii>balanced brain makes it always relia,
BILE. and .eldom subject nervous excite.
ment. Their remarkable soundness, 8
cause of lasting jealousy among the
breeders OF other races, has been estsb
lished by the greatest care in breeding fol
many generations, until d.f ct. such as
ring bone, curb and SPAWN, are not ever
known by name in the country where they
are raised"
He further declares that thoroughly
tested as it has been in our own land, 1T
fame has been beralded, its SUI cess admit
ted. and to-day it stands before the country
the most popular of all breeds of heavy
horses, and will remain SO, too, as long III
large, active horse, comb ming spirit
energy, hardness, with the create docil
ity, capable of performing whatever work
| ho NILS q cranpro In