Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-04-28
A BLOOD BASIS ESSENTIAL TO
PERMANENT SUCCESS IN
BREEDING.
PROVIDENCE, r. l., April 6, 1893.
nSEpTI II ArTEtT ESQ

bhGEOING.
PROVIDENCE, r. l., April 6, 1898.
JOSEPH BATTELL, ESQ,
Dear Sir:-I haYe been very much
interested in reading the letters in the
Middlebury REGISTER signed 81. b.,
and fancy | am right in attributing
their authorship to you.
enclose an extract from letter pub
lished in the last number of the REGISTER
in which -. b." says, 81 was impressed
with the fact that the work of produc.
ing the trotter had got to be done over {;
and further on he states, "Still, by the
proper selection of Morgan blood, a most
excellent start can be obtained, etc.
understand 81. B." to mean that he
advocates crossing the Morgan with the
thoroughbred, but as 81. B." does not
say so in so many words, write to ask
whether my surmise is correct. Being
very new recruit in the breeders ranks,
/ am anxious to start as near right AS
possible, and few words of advice from
a gentleman as well informed as your
self might prove of great value to me in
business that is entirely new to me.
Let us suppose, for example, that no
trotter had ever been bred, and that you
were starting to lay the foundation of
the superstructure. Let us further sup
pose that you expected ultimately to
breed animals possessing extreme speed
and endurance, combined with indvidu-
al beauty, form and finish. Under such
circumstances what blood would you
recommend for the first or foundation
cross? AS for myself, | am very par
tial to the thoroughbred, and if | I'M
derstand 81. b." Alright, he has lean
ing in the same direction.
My deep interest in the subject of
breeding trotting horses and good road
sters is the only excuse have to offer
for trespasslng upon your time and pa
thence.
Yours very truly,
The principle that "the laborer is
worthy of his hire. has been accepted
by Nature in all its entirety; but while
1t is true that the laborer gets his hire,
it is also true that he gets nothing but
his hire.
In the case of the American trotter
the effort made was to breed the fastest
trotter; the hire is the fastest trotter;
that hire has come to the laborer. He
was worthy of his hire and he gets it.
He did not work for anything more than
this, and he doesn't get anything more
He did not attempt to breed the best
horse, or the best horse and fastest trot-
ter; and he does not get the best horse
He gets precisely what he worked for.
Suppose, now, that another laborer
works for the best horse and fastest
trotter. combined. 1t is, of course, the
most difficult result to accomplish. 1t
will require more labor; so the hire is
very much greater; but, however high
the hire may seem, if the work is faith
fully done, it will be paid. For Nature
is the most just of all paymasters, and
though she never pays anything more
than the hire, she pays this both fully
and cheerfuly.
The rules provided by the American
Trotting Register association provide for
nothing but an ability to trot fast mile.
They should provide, first, for perfect
horse; after that, the speed
That the fastest trotter might be
horse of the best form is certain, for in
some cases it has been. Lord Clinton,
2:l04 race record, has very perfect form,
is very handsome and of the kindest
temper OF the only two animals that
have ever beaten his race record, Martha
Wilkes and Belle Vara, we cannot speak.
as we have never seen them. Ethan
Allen was of superb form for his
size, and elegant finish and so was Daniel
Lambert. Holabird's Ethan Allen, that
so critical and able Judge of horses as lie
Grand b. Cannon of Burlington, VT,
one of the wealthest business men of the
country, thought the equal if not superior
of any trotting sire of his day, was
horse of large size and uncommonly
handsome appearance, horse of great
elegance, and would have been, If prop
erly trained, very fast horse. Black
Hawk had very perfect form, and was
very perfect horse. All of them in
their time were fast and got speed.
So Golddust was very snowy, very
fast, and great producer of speed.
1t was the same, for his day, with
Morgan Eagle, the grandsire of Magma
Charta. lie is said to have been of
superb proportions, and was sire of
Lady Sutton, one of the very first of 2 80
trotters. His grandson, Magma Charta,
though small, had much beauty, won the
worlds four-year-old record and was one