Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-08-09
The Defeat OF Timc.
From the Boston Advertiser

From the Boston Advertiser
The American trotter. represented hy Maud &.
succeeded last Saturday in going mile in eoqsI.
the little black gelding Jaw Eve See having
done the same distance in 2:l0 the day before.
Though upon faster track These victories
over time must be attributed TO the Call
vinism OF our ancestors. which diverted their
love of horsefesh from the racer 70 the mora
sedate and practical trotter In the southern
states. where Calyinism took no root. the run-
ming horse always retained his position. and for
many years. ofiate especially. he has flouriShed
IN the eastern states as we'll Trottinr how
ever. is aud is likely 20 remain. the national
equine sport. bearing the same relation 10 run
ning that baseball does to cricket. In horse run.
nng ana cricket We have 10 learn from the Eng
Hst. and we are satisfied If we can give them an
occasional beating; but In trotting we stand not
only nrSt. but alone. for the trotter Is an animal
OF our own creation. The horse trots naturally.
we are told. and makes excellent time through
"lndfall. and in Russia the 0rlofr breed OF horses
are eood stepi@rs; but in really last work the
American trotter has no competitor
Too much. indeed. has bcel sacrificed 70 snced
ana many OF our horses are mere trotting ma
chlneS. unit to carry weight or to travel long
distances. Small In size and ugly in shape their
only merit Is the capacity TO make a fast brush
on the road. drawing a slngle-seated wagon
WIN solitary occupant These animals are
thih-waisted. narrow-chested. and angular
throughout, jew-necked. with heads coarse.
though Intelligent Their powerful leg-muscIes
anu the absence OF any superfuous flesh give
them business-like air: but when they are seen
alongside OF wel-developed. full-hodied horse
win graceful neck and small head their upli-
ness Is striking. Some months ago a commits
SION OF army officers was sent TO this country
10y the French government TO inspect American
horses; and in their report they called attention
10 the large number of detective horses such
as We describe. and condemned them i'm round
terms AT the same time their criticism OF
American horses was on the whole highly fay
orahle; and western stallion one of tbe Mann
primo family, they pronounced the handsomest
horse they had ever seen
There has been much speculation as to the
limit OF speed that can be attained by the trot-
Ter, ana Wild estimates have been made hv per-
sons more familiar with mathematics than with
horsenesh. The rate of increase in speed during
the last twenty-five years has been calculated n
curve has been plotted. = and as the result IL
was discovered that about the year 1870 horse
VIII arise capable Of trottinr q mile i'm n lirtla
over minute and half. The fallacy of this
reasoning lies in overlooking the fact that the
speed oil the trotting horse for a short distance
Is very llttle greater now than il was quarter
oi century ago. The Improvement has been
chiefly in tracks and sulkies So that n horse ia
able TO keep up high rate of speed for a longer
distance than he could before Early in the six
ties the famous Hiram Woodruff drove the mare
feefleSs TO wagon quarter of a mile at the
before
ne had driven the PAGER Dart a quarter IN thirty
Tour seconds. For so short a distance an
inferior track and possibly comparatively heavy
weight do not count for much; but when the
distance is Increased fourfold they count for a
great deal. The Increase in speed therefore
from the 2:l9$4 of Flora Temple in 1859 to the
2:U9S4 OF Maud 5. the other day is owing chiefly
though not entirely. to the Improvement OF
tracks, sulkies and harnesses. When these are
made as perfect, substantially as man can make
limit of h
close at hand. Horse men, however. confidently
expect that both Maud S and Jaw Eve See he
fore the snow flies, will trot much closer TO the
even two minutes than they nave done and the
latter may lower the record this present week
at Buffalo. In that case We shall prohably find
that Mr.. Vanderbilt who maintains a beautifuI
unconsclouSness of Jay Eye Sees existence,
VIII. nevertheless. 10y some lucky accident, hap
pen to allow Maud S. an opportunity to retrieve
her position.
These two animals stand out above their con-
temporaries, but the number of very fast
horses Is constantly increasing TWENTY-FIVE
years ago there was but one horse i'm the
country that could trot a mile under DO
whereas. to-day there are probably seventy-five
that can do this: and at Cleveland on one day
oil last week. eleven heats. in all of which the
time was under 2:2o were trotted or paced
This great result il due TO the skill and patience
OF drivers. the mechanical ability of inventors
and workmen and the intelligence Of breeders
An elaborated system of boots" to protect the
trotters legs. and of toe-weiThts TO give him
steadiness. has been devised. Sukies are made
so strong and light as to become beautiful. and
tracks unite the elasticity of the siringbGard to
the Smoothness OF billiard table Above all.
the horse has been treated upon method very
different from that which has ruined the temper
OF the English thoroughbred. He has been
mastered 10y Kindness; and of this system Maud
;. herself is conspicuous example. At one
time she was SO wild and ungovernable as to be
positively worthless on the track; but 10y long
course OF petting and cOaXing. the narration OF
which reads more like child's story than a
chaDter of practical Workmanship she has been
made as gentle and well-behaved as she is strong
and speedy