The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-26
TO REVIVE THE MORGAN
GOVERNMENT TO BREED THEM nv
 SMALL SCALE.
Some Oppose the Movement-wbat i. Hoped to Be Gained by It-Notah,s Examples of the Great All
 Around Nag.

stock have uttered a wall similar to that which greeted the recent announcement that the Secretary of Agriculture was going to see what could be done to foster and preserve the trottinR-bred carriage horse of America.
 Though a great many horsemen have criti- cised severely the means adopted by Dr. D. E. Salmon chief of the Bureau of Ani- nal Industry. in dealing with the problem, the end he has in view is commended by nearly everybody in the horse world who has no to grind
 With the Morgans. as with the trotting- bred carriage horses. Dr. Salmon has decided, it Is said, to buy a stallion and few mares of approved blood and type for one of the Government stations and there conduct the experiments in breeding. As pointed out by The Herald. and by numerous practical horsemen whose views were obtained and published last year. the plan adopted is so narrow in its limitations to be of little importance and. 1t is feared. of little real benefit to the horse-breeding industry.
 By confining operations to the mating of a mere handful of horses. as Dr. Salmon purposes doing. the experiments will be re- duced to the narrow scope of an individual breeders experience instead of being on broad basis befittinE the undertakings of the United States Government. as they might be if the appropriation available were used in the purchase of staliions to he kept for fine nominal service to approved mares in the horse-breedinE sections. the
 
 to buy any colt or lilly at a fixed price at a certain age wanted for Government stud purposes.
 By this course many more stations would be saved from destruction by the enter prising dealers. who all the time buy ing them and using the knife to convert them into fashionable carriage horses for park and show-rng work. while the number of foals produced under Government super vision should be as 50 to l.
 has been said that the "old-fashtOned Morgans," a family. were the nearest approach to perfection for all-around road work in light and heavy harness ever pro duced in this country. More than half a century ago The Herald drew attention to this remarkable family. saying: These horses have long been justly celebrated for their admirable qualities They are par ticulariy remarkable for their great strength in proportion to their size and for their powers of endurance. The Morgan horse though a small animal is noted for his bottom and hardness. as well as for com pactness and roundness Of form. te is very sprightly animal and is said to be more sagacious than the generality of horses"
 The striking characteristics of the Morgan horses of fifty years ago were their Himi- character. They were rarely more than fifteen hands high. and were even more thick set than the hackneys of today, without the meaty. gross appearance so often nOticeaDie heads were fine. with small ears; their necks we'll formed. though rather short: their chests broad and deep backs short quarters wide and powerful. and legs short. flat and stnewy with big bones and tendrons. But their most prominent peculiarity was their carriaEe-stylish and proud to an extreme, with quick. short. trappy action and knees bending remarkably.
 Before the Hambletonians and other fast trotting families became popular the Mor- gan were sought after and cultivated in all sections of the United States, Vermont hav- ing been weli-niEh depopulated of stallions to supply the breeding studs of the West and South with stock horses. when the craze for speed in harness horses became general the MorganS were supplanted in popular favor to very great extent ny tne families from which Dexter. Goldsmith Maid. Lady Thorn and Lucy came. ana breeders who possessed the best Morgans, hastened to cross them with racing stock, the result being the practical extinction of the oId-fashioned MorEans in nearly all parts of the country.
 Since the introduction of European fash ions in driving equippages the extraordinary merits of the old-time MorEans have again come in for appreciation In new capacity and many horsemen were long ago impress ed with the idea that steps ought to be taken to revive and perpetuate this valuable family of horses. First-class specimens Of the breed are scarce as hens teeth. yet a fe wremaln. and these are highly prized purposes Joseph BattelL e wealthy Vermont horse fancier, a studbook for Morgans was estab- lished about fifteen years ago. and breeding operations are now being conducted on sys- tematic lines.
 The origin of the Moresns is shrouded in mystery. The founder of the family was a big little bay horse. fourteen hands high, weighing about s50 pounds. foaled In l1SS or thereabouts and owned by Justin Mor- gan of Randolph. Vt.
 nMttFOt every horse in his section. Numerous at tempts have been made to trace his breeding and he has been variousiy claimed aS Dutch horse from Bsopus. N. T.: thor ouRhbred animal descended from Col James De Lancey's Wildatr. a Freneh-Canadlan from the vicinity of Montreal, and an Indian pony. Mir. Battell makes him out 10 DC three parts thoroughbred. but this pedigree ia not generally accepted. and 1t Is refuted by the characteristics of the horse himself, as described by horBemsn who had seen him Whatever his inheritance. he was remarkable sire, transmitting his own char acteristics with great uniformity to succeed ing generations Close inbreedins establish ad tho type
 Finley's Morgan Tiger is of the few typical old-time MorEans. of which an ac-
 curate likeness has been preserveI' ms horse was foaied in 1s4s at Britol N r.. | and was by Mays Morgan Tiger. son or | Morgan RattIer. by Sherman Morgan. son | of the original Justin Morgan horse. MOT Tigers dam was Dy Geh' Ihiooo'N 'SN | of woodbury Morgan. by the original Jus 1 tin Morgan horse.
 Colby's Young Green Mountain Morgan represents the type quite we'll He was oy | Turner's Sir William. who was by Green Mountain Morgan, out of mare whose sire | was Clifford Morgan and whose dam was by l clifford Morgan. As Green Mountain Mor- gan was a son of Clifford Morgan, 1t Will | he seen how the early breeders sometimes l doubled up the blood of a popular sire. | clifford Morgan was by Woodbury Morgan
 son of the original Morgan horse. 1 Ben Franklin is one of the latter-"Ay | Morgans showing in his form the influence l of his AbdaIiah blood He was by Daniel | Lambert son of Ethan Allen by HITS yer l mont Blackhawk. son of Sherman MorGan' bv Justin MorRan's horse. Ben Franklin's l dam was by Addison. son of Hilrs Vermont | Blackhawk. , | Denning Alien is another representative | of the Ethan Allen branch of the Morgan l breed Ills sire was Honest Allen son or l Ethan Allen and his adm was by Ward g | Flying Cloud son of Hilrs Vermont Black l hawk This horse the sire of Loro | Clinton (2:0s), one of the greatest rotters
 of his day. -.,. | Shakespeare, a three-year-old colt exhib- l ited by Jay F. Carlisle at the recent Bay
 shore Horse Show. Is regarded as a re- | markedly fine specimen of the Morgan ram | uy He is son of DenninK Allen 1 9randam Cleopatra. by Gen. Putnam. sor l of Rollo, by HnPs Vermont Blaekhawk Al | inc Worlds Fair in St. Louis last year | ghakespeare then only two years old. WoT l the grand championship for the best MOT | gan stallion of any age. In this connectloi
 if is worth yof note that his sire. Denninl
 Allen. won the blue ribbon when t"entl