The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-09-27
The Percharon.

he said to us on that occasion
caused us to feel special interest
in the following, which we since
found in the Breeders Gazette, the
product of Mr.. j. II. Sanders:
1t was an agreeable surprise to
me to learn that much pains have
been taken by these Percheron
breeders to preserve the purity of
the race. 1t has been asserted that
nobody knew anything about it;
that the Pereherons were mongrels,
and that no man could give the ped
igree of his horse. / find, on the
contrary, that, while they have not
paid much attention to preserving
the maternal genealogy, many Of
the sires can easily be traced five
or six generations. One young
horse, now owned by Earnest Per
riot, is a noteworthy example. This
herse is three-year old, and is so
highly valued by his owner that he
has absolutely refused to name u
price on him. Fifteen thousand
francs were offered for him by an
American buyer in my hearing; but
the owner shook his head and said {:
You might safely double it, This
young horse was got by the black
horse Brilliant, that now stands at
the head of Mr.. Dunham's stud, at
Wayne, and the line of sires back of
him is known for five generations.
AS another instance of the care
which French breeders are taking
to secure good breeding stock for
themselves, l may mention the fact
that Mr.. Auguste Tachean recently
paid 5000 francs for a sucking
colt, which he designs to use in his
stud.
The Percheron dealers of France
have fully resolved on a stud book.
On Saturday 22d, a rousing big
meeting was held at Nogent lie
Rotrou, about one hundred
breeders, representing the prov
inces of Eure-et Lolr. Orne,
Sarthe, and the whole of the an
cient La Perche, being pres
ent. At this meeting a permanent
organization was effected under the
sanction of the government, with
NJ. Fardouct as president, and
NJ essrs. Vinault, Perriot de Cham
peau, Sagot, Anatote Anitote, Poul-
lain, Lucas, Launay, Aveline, Ia
chean and Caget as vice presidents !;
NJ. Boullay, Chaumard, secretary
treasurer. These, with the mayor
of the city of Nogent lie Rotron, the
perfect af the department of Eure-
et-Loir, and the project of Nogent lie
Rotrou, constitute the board of di-
rection of the Societe HippIque
Percheronne. The rules for regis
tration are very strict, and every
application must be sworn to, giving
the genealogy as far as can be
traced, and establishing beyond
controversy, that the animal is
"born Percheronne " Penalties are
provided to prevent fraudulent en-
tries, or disreputable transactions
g. nerally. In short, it looks like a
strong, resoiute, aggressive organi
cation from the start, and will mark
al era III GHS SI ChSlOu DlOOuiHS
business.
1t is pleasant for me to be able to
record that my efforts to maintain
the Percheron name, and my work
in connection with the Percheron-
Norman Stud Book in America,
were frequently alluded TO at the
meetings of this society, three of
which l attended; and as an un-
qualified endorsement of my action
in the premises, I was invited by
an unanimous vote of the society
to assume the position of editor of
its stud book. / was assured that
in doing so I could rely upon the
hearty cooperation of the members
of the society, and upon the
earnest, efficient help of the able
secretary.
1 conclude, from a considerable
sojourn in this country, that Ameri-
cans who buy directly from the
breeders and ''stallioners' (stallion
keepers of the Percheron district
have heretofore had a reasonably
certain guarantee of the purity of
blood, and henceforth the assurance
will be as complete as can be OBJ
tanned with any breed of draft
horses IN the world. Those who
buy of the dealers in Paris and in
the cities on the coast can have no
such assurance, and their own eyes
must be judge of the breeding. l
have decided that after this year no
imported horses shall be admitted
to register in the Percheron Norman
Stud Book of America that are pre-
viously registered in the Percheron
Stud Book of France. 1t would
have been infinitely better tor the
reputation of the breed, and for our
own horse stock, if such a regula-
ton had been practicable and en-
forced years ago.
There are many excellent horses
working In the drays, trucks and
omnibuses of Paris. The omnibus
horses will average much larger
than has been represented by most
writer's. They are usually thin in
flesh, and the weights, when given
at all, have been with reference to
that condition. l stood on the
street one day for an hour, 10 com
pany with two experienced impor
tiers, watching these horses, espe-
cially with view to estimating the
average size. The verdict was, av-
erage weight in good flesh-fat as
stations are usually kept in Ameri-
ca-between 140O and 1900 pounds.
These omnibuses are enormous
great double deckers-holding six
ty-fiye persons, and a"e drawn by
three horses harnessed abreast. Full
Iy seven ty five per cent. OF these
horses are white, and they nearly
all have the usual Percheron char
acteristics. NJ. Vidal told me that
he sold about LOO horses a
year for use in the omnibuses;
that they nearly all came from be-
yond Charities in Perche, and that
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