Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-01-02
TIE PERCHER0N HORSE.
WHAT AN ENTHUSIASTIC UNITED
STATES s9eNAToR sAvs OF HIM.

WHAT ~ ENTHUSIASTIC uNireI
STATES ssENAroR sAvs OF HIM.
0sagAn-asssss ussA - Rasis-cAarss
ssssseas - shs Rsrshsrsa-Tr.asnsa
- - aessA
Senator Palmer, Of Michigan, Is an en-
tAusiast on the Percheron horse and quit
. romance Is connected with his love 10
T. The 6rst Percherons he ever sav
were painted ones, and they formed par
Of Rosa Bonheur's noted picture, "Th,
Horse Fair" which WAS hanging In Mn
A. T. Stewards picture gallery at TIN
time. lie was 80 well pleased with then
that he investigated their character and
went personally to France TO pick on,
some for his farm. He has now sixty oi
these animals. ranging in value from
81 900 to 81, 0UO each, and he Is the presi
dent Of the Percheron Horse society Of the
United States. While in France last yeaI
be made speech to the PercherOn Horss
BREEDERS society Of France, and he thinks
euot tuiS UsTSc - tuc UtSt UTScU IN luG
world for general purposes.
1T is" said he, ''the horse for the
tarmer. He can take it from the lumber
wagon and use it in his carriage, and I
have been told Of instances where Per
cheron horses weighing I, 200 pounds have
gone . mile in three minutes. They are,
you know, distinct type. and are sup
posed to have originated by q cross Of the
A rn hian hnrao hA hAayv %
Normandy. They came from Ia Perche,
. province about sixty miles square, in
Normandy. Here the breed has attained
It's greatest perfection, and it il here that
the horse gets its name. How the Arabia.
Tot into France do not know, but sup
pose It came there either through the Sar-
acens when they were whipped by Charles
Nartel at Tours. or 1t may be that tho
Counts Of Nogent de II Rotrou brought
them hack from Palestine during tho
Crusades But there is no doubt that the
Arab blood is there, and in modern times,
after excellence and identity Of type had
heea recognized, this blood was re-enforced
from time TO time from the royal and
national stables of France.
THE horses have been noted for years
IN France as good draft horses, and they
were, about tan years ago, In general use
In Paris rs omnibus horses. At that time
. team Of them would take one Of those
heavy buses, with seats both inside ard
on the roof and filed with passengers, aud
drag ii along at the rate Of eight miles an
hour over the asphalt. During NV trip
10 Paris last spring I noticed . decided
deterioration in the character Of the horses
% used, and found that the Percherpus
had becp replaced by others. Upon
Inquiry was told that the great demand
foc the Percheron horse in Americs had
risen the price from $500 to from 500 to
q ,0O0, thus making them too expensive
for omnibus use. The horses now used in
Paris omnibuses are the Boulonals, the
Belgians and other heavy horses Of Nor
mandy and Flanders which have no infil.
txation Of thoroughbred blood.
''As to Percherons, there are millions
Il dollars already invested in the United
States, and there Is q gentleman named
Ounham who has made q fortune out OF
them. He might be called the Percherou
hozse king He has had - many as 500
Percherons on his farm at one time His
h0use on his farm at Wayne, forty miIes
from Chicago, ID equal to Abbottsford In
ies appointments. Il IL hung with old
tapestry, and has many studies Of Rosa
Bonheur. A great friendship exists be-
tween Rosa Bonheur and Mr.. Dunbam.
snd he lately not An Apache pony for her
q her request and shipped it across the
water for use in one Of her paintings."
''Tell me something Of the charscteris-
IN Of the Percheron horse"
ssThe horses are senerslly Of q dapule
gray, though they may be black, and now
end then arc bay or chestnut. They arc
4 heayy borse. weighing 1. 600 pounds and
upward. They have . fine action, . fine