Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-05-11
JOSEPH BATTELL,
MiddleburYNVt.
1.-THE MORGAN HORSE"


''rhe Morgan Horse" a new book on
this noted breed of horses, is now in
press and will be published about June
by the author, Joseph Bate II of Mid
clebury, Vt. Including 70 pages of IL
lustrations, it will make volume OF
1859 pages, printed on fine paper and
handsomely bound il half morocco, and
will sell at So. The preface, which we
print below, shows the scope and aim OF
the work:
The ultimate object of this work is the
establishing upon scientific basis, a
breed of American horses especially
adapted to road and family use.
The great law of breeding is the ten
dency of all living beings to reproduce
themselves in their descendants. This
law is called Heredity or Inheritance.
Through it breeds are established and
continued. But because of the fact that
each parent tends to Its own reproduc-
ton, it will be seen that, in order to
have the offspring alike, or similar to
either parent, the parents themselves
must be alike. Like parents, like child
rem. If we wish TO produce or continue
type of animals, we must breed two
similar animals together, and the more
closely they resemble one another the
more complete will be the result. What
otherwise would be an impossibility.
becomes a certainty; for the law of her
edity is as sure to operate as is that of
gravitation, and it Is hardly more ce;-
tain that if you hurl stone into the air
it will come down again, than that if
parents are alike their offspring will re-
semble them, But heredity is some
times far-reaching. The Bible speaks
of 'visiting the iniquities of the father
upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation" And thus all
characteristics, moral and physical, are
entailed from generation to generation,
and may at any time appear in remote
descendants; so that to be entirely sure
of the offspring's resembling the parents,
a long line of similar ancestry is neces-
sary. OF course, then, the formation of
an established breed is a slow process,
but if we can obtain materials that have
been practically interbred, or even par
TALLY so, for long time, 1.-THE problem is
very much simplfied
Then, again, there is another principle
in the science of breeding, of very great
assistance to the establishment of breeds,
and sometimes, If not generally, the
source of them-Prepotency. This is
the power that exists in certain animals
TO stamp, in a remarkable degree, GER
tain qualities upon their offspring. 1t is
also defined as the capacity that one
than the other of impressing itself on
the offspring. 1t is considered some
thing different from heredity, though
subject to no known rules. and not as
yet fully explained. 1t is, however, a
power which breeders sometimes dis
cover in "A certain animal and use TO their
own great advantage. TO this quality
in the bull Favorite is said to have been
of Durham cattle. Animals of this pre-
potent force constantly appear and fire.
quently through them together, prOba-
bly,, with unconscious selection on the
part of breeders) families are partially
formed, and sometimes continued for
many years. Thus, in this country. the
Narragansett PAGER, that fourished for
nearly a century, probably originated.
Thus certainly the progeny of Janus,
foaled in England In l746, and imported
to Virginia in 1852, got by Janus, son of
Godolphin Arabian, dam by Fox, and
second dam by Bald Galloway, became
almost an established family, and, it is
said, were very similar to the Morgans
both In contour and great speed. Thus
the extraordinary and useful qualities of
the grand horse Messenger were inn
pressed upon his progeny; and so, too,
the original Morgan had this quality in
remarkable degree.
We see, then, that by the aid of these
two great principles, heredity and pre-
potency, man can accomplish in breed
ing about anything that he wishes. His
part is one of selection. He chooses
the individuals to be bred. and nature
by her unerring laws does the rest.
Darwin says: although man does
not cause variability and cannot even
prevent it, he can select, preserve and