The Newtown bee., 1894-03-16
THE VOICE OF ANOTHER HoRsEMAN.

While I am opposed to newspaper con-
 troversy, for l think it tends to more harm than good and is apt to make sore
 places among those that should be only
 near friends, but as Neighbor Johnson asked to hear from other horsemen and
 l being vain enough to class myself as one of those in a small way, I will at tempt to say a few words through your valuable paper, although newspaper writing is not my forte, as you will plain ly see. Now I also think, as Neighbor Johnson does, that it is the horse and
 not the pedigree alone that sells now days, provided you want them for track purposes. But if you want them to breed from, you must have the pedigree and horse combined. It is unsafe to breed to record alone, for if there is 8 strain of cold blood in them it will take to it seven times out of 10, which would make it dangerous enterprise for speed. Now I agree with him also in having the stallions brought together for the pur- pose of showing up their speed. That is what l always have said. Neighbor Johnson, l think, will recollect the prop osition l made him after he had Hurling- ham in training for about two months.
 1 offered to put up purse of $100, Fleet to go against Birmingham for $50, down our road or track as it is called, and Chauncey T. against Hurlingdale, who is year older, for the other $50, or we would drive the race for fun, just to satis- fly ourselves who had the most speed. But he declined. Now l will make a few suggestions. In the first place, would have the horses come together for trial of speed. It need not neces- sarily be mile heats, for that would take quite little time to condition them, to say nothing of the experience. But far enough to show their speed qualities. None of the five stallions, except Hurl- ingham, have had any professional hand ling, to speak of, but he has had one of country for two uninterrupted seasons and came out with quite a low record, and Neighbor Johnson has right to be proud of it, as we'll as the rest of us, and l, for one, congratulate him. Now the speed is only one point. And we all know that breeding for high rate of speed is very uncertain business, even with those who have first-class dams, as well as sires. So you see we must not pin our faith on that one point alone. However, am more than willing to put in my $5, to have the speed of the horses showed up and difference noted, just to satisfy myself and also the public at large, which would be the better to breed to horses that it costs hundreds of dollars to develop for the difference if any there might be in speed, or to breed to horses with natural speed that any farmer or his sons could develop without much expense, speed enough to show that they are natural trotters and to command a good price is the question we should ask ourselves, for very few farmers can afford to pay high prices to develop. So much for the point of speed.
 But would go farther; l would sug- gest adding breeding, size, form, sound- ness; also their get, and, in fact, every thing that 1t takes to make first-class general purpose horse. For we must have horses for the plough, moving ma chine, to go to mill, meeting and for all