Sunday Washington globe., 1902-03-23

that horses. as we'll as most other animals
and birds, were colored TO suit their environ
ment, thus being less conspicuous, less dis
ceruible to enemies. This was apparently
the great scheme Of primary creation
Therefore among the verdure-clad lands
the horse's original color appears to have
been dun or mouse color, and among the
mountains and the deserts dusty gray
very seldom dappled Civilization, domes-
ticity and more or less scientific breeding
has changed all this, evolving new tints and
colors: but it is very remarkable that while
cattle and birds have departed almost en-
tirely from the whole colOred" animal Of
the wild state, the horse has almost per-
fecty retained it, the particolors known as
piebald skewbald, ETC., being conspicuous
by their scarcity. This would seem to bring
the horse yet nearer to man than even the
dog The chestnut is supposed to come
from a cross Of dun with the scarce blacks,
favored-by reason Of their scarcity-by
Mohammed whose prophets mares"
strain Is still the great fulcrum of the
Arabian horse dealing swindle By cou-
tinual breeding of the chestnut to the black
still darker mahogany reds were obtained
and by breeding OF the chestnut to the dun
to the gray and 10 the famous white Nissean
horses of King Darius, came the others in
the early days.
In cattle, color has for many years been
highly esteemed, and short horned cattle
breeders of England still swear by the
breed TO the blood red Lady Pigot and and
Lord Boston strains with the result of an
almost clear colored type, but the horses
color has not been made an issue all aims
being devoted to speed and speed only
Even endurance played a second minor
note. In the old days a gray was esteemed
for fancy powers of endurance, aud many
will tell to day that he wants less care and
thrives on less than any other color, and in
London 90 per cent of the stage horses are
gray, originally under that belief and now
by conservatism. Arabia had no horses
until the rest of the world was well sup
piled; that is conclusively proved. Gen.
turies earlier the native British horses were
racing for the barbarians before the Romans
came, Persia and Cappadocia were famed
for grays, the stock still TO be found in the
magnificent grays of the Russian cavalry.
and for long years they held the palm for
wedding carriages, as the black Andalusian
did for funerals Now both sentiments are
worn out. We have progressed but have
we improved?
To-day the English race horse color runs
to bay and brown, the chestnut being away
down in the scale. In America the colors
have long run to bay and chestnut but now
appears a tendency to increase the brown
percentage. Blacks and grays here are
away in the minority in fact, grays do not
appear among the winners, and in the 67o
races decided in the east only thirty-five
were won by blacks In England the high
class gray horse still holds a stronger sway,
but that is due to the Yorkshire habit of
breeding to color" In the famous west
riding of Yorkshire was once produced the
famous Grey Orville, winner of the Saint
Leger, who sired Ebor, Emilius, Muley and
other high class thoroughbreds, and for long
years his gray produce has stood at stud
there. In the east riding are found multi
tudinous browns with white locks at the
tail showing the mick" Of the third, fourth
and 6fth generations Of Woodpecker
Around Doncaster many blacks are traced
from the famous Smolensko, and in South
Wo-Feh II be found chestuuts pointing
ic fha fcent horse Comus, with the
v-ry lak browns Of Lottery, formerly
liukel amp out of Madame Look
lato 81 gees Of prominent American
aotsea ald see how these continually crop
upl4 taa hHh generation or earlier. Incl
--n.ally, II is worthy Of note that 'origi-
nal" color Of breeding appears to have held
in England, Persia, Russia from the birth
of the pyramids to the end Of the sixteenth
century, and then, when attention began to
be given to breeding-then the color
changed, faded, developed, merged into
the present omnipresent bay, chestnut and
brown. Not scarcely trace OF the primary
cOlors. black and white.
Taking the tracks at which the jockey
club reigns supreme as indicative of the
best horses in the country last year, the
cOlors came among the winners as follows
AT Morris Park spring meeting: Bays
50, chestnuts, 80; blacks, 8, and brown, I3
as against 1900. Bays, 81, chestnuts, 50
blacks, S, and browns, S. Among the bayl
were most of the crack 2-year-olds, Leo
nora Loring, Honolulu, Laodice. Grail
Oom Paul. Lucilline, Sister Juliet, Barbars
Fritchie, Misleader and the famous 3-year
old Commando. Chestnuts had Blues
The Parader, Catherine, Roehampton, Isia
Watercure, ConrOy, and the more moderat,
2-Year-Olds, Sunard Prophetic, Lancemar
and King Pepper. Blacks missed ''dea
old Imp" but had Watercolor, with a won
derful record Padden, etc. Browns brough
Amicitla Hesper, Paul Clifford, Black Fox
Colonel and Master as 2.year-olds, will
Herbert, Buffoon, The Amazon, ETC.. in tn
older division. Two-year-olds lean to bay
and browns
Brooklyn spring meeting had bays SC
chestnuts 80, blacks l. and browns / 3, a
against 1900 with bays 81, chestnuts 7e
blacks 8. and browns II. Again the 7-year
olds came to bays with Red Damsel, Mer
dian, Lady Holyrood, Jack de Mund, Fran
cesco, Goldspinner, Gayboy. and Vagran
Chestnuts had Sweet Glover, SombrerS
Hanover Queen. Nasturtium, Oclawah;
Alfonso, April Shower, Whisky King, wit
Outlander, Rossignol and others. The onl
black to win was Disadvantage, and brown
ran to The Goldhnder, Guatama, Smart Sc
with Andronicus and Star Bright
Sheepshead spring had A bays. IS ches
nuts, blacks and IS browns, against 100
81 bays, % chestnuts, 4 blacks, and /
browns. Bays had Howell W., Man o'Wa
Bonner, White Owl, Cameron, Hyphei
while chestnuts produced Fatalist, Reini
Cyrano, Optional Peninsula, Lady Radno