Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1883-08-30
TINE FASTEST POSSIBLE TRorrIMe.

How fast will the fastest possible |
trottcr go? What is the highest speed
that can be obtained by the American
trotting horse for distance Of one
mile?
These are questions which two we'll
known scientific men, Prof. William ii.
Brewer, of Connecticut, and Mr.. Fran
els +. Nipher, of Missouri, have lately
endeavored 10 answer in three papers
contributed TO the american Journal
of Science. The first of these articles
by Prof. Brewer appeared in April.
The contributions of Mr.. Nipher are
published in the numbers for July and
August.
Prof Brewer publishes table show
ing the number Of trotting horses that
have attained or surpassed various
rates Of speed ranging from 2:3o to
Pill for series of years extending
from Is43 10 1882. From this table it
appears that in lS43 there was only
one horse that had trotted mile in
2:30 or better: in 1853 the number had
increased TO IA; in 1868 to SO; in 1873
10 $40; in 1882 10 ,684. The table al
so shows that up TO 1882, 495 horses
had trottcd mile in 2:25 or better;
275 in 2:23 or better; i56 in 2:2l or
better: 60 in 2:l9 or better; Is in 2:l7
or better, and 3 in 2:lj or better. 81
leave it TO mathematician. said Prof.
Brewer in reference 10 this table, ''to
plot the curves which Immediately
suggest themselves 10 determine how
fast horses viii ultimately trot and
when this maximum will be reached"
Mr. Niphcr has undertaken the task
thus suggested. His first conclusion
was that the maximum speed TO which
the American trotting horse will con-
stanily approximate, but never reach,
is one mile in 80 seconds, or 1852. He
also concludes that the time of the
trotting horse will be reduced TO with
in one second Of this figure $50 years
after the year 1860; that is to say in
the year of our Lord 2220 Mr. Nipher
does not claim absolute precision for
his results, and says that the maximum
speed may possibly be as great as 100
seconds. In the course of ten wears,
however, he thinks the limit can be
fixed with accuracy, and he is quite
sure that eventually the maximum
speed of trotting and running horses
will differ by only few seconds.
In his last article MIR. Nipher states
HAT he had made a new calculation by
mathematical instead of graphical
methods, and has thus obtained 81
seconds, instead of 80 seconds. as the
most probable figures for the mini
mum time Of trotting n mile. The
probable error Of this value. he SAYS,
Is not over four seconds, and il is not
likely that the running horse will cut
his record down by five seconds, so
that il is probable the trotter will fl
nally surpass the running horse
II this prediction is verified, the in
habitantS of the United States i'm the
tweniy-third century will have horses
that can get over the ground by means
of an artificial gait faster than by a
natural gait. We believe all writers
agree that running is natural to
horses, while fast trotting is not. Mr..
Nipher states. however, as a we'll
known fact that some herds of wild
horses on the plains were natural
PAGERS, 50 fast and steady that they
nearly preserved their pacing gait
even when pursued by the best rum
ming horses. He speaks of one large
white Texas PAGER that could never be
caught .--Nec York Sun.