The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-01-05
pom iES.

thoblle conSplred TO depresS the value
OF the horse they failed to ruin the
pony market. Ponies are still bred
in various parts of the country, import
ed from abroad and caught half wild
in remote egions, more especially up
on the islands of the south Atlantic
coast.
About the most expensive pony in
the New York market is the Shet-
land, domestic or imported, probably
because he is on the average the small
est obtainable. There is very small
Patagonian and Argentine pony which
is almost caricature of the Shetland,
exaggerating some of bis most marked
peculiarities, but these ponies are not
sold in the New York market.
An Icelandic pony is occasionally
seen here. These little beasts have
dense shaggy coats, and they are quite
untitled to our summer climate.
Welsh ponies, Exmoors, Dartmoors
and others are imported from the
British Isles. These and the Galways
are larger than the Shetlands. The
ponies of the central Asian highlands
and of India are seldom imported for
domestic use.
Ponies, usually considerably larger
than the Shetlands, are brought in
from Canada. One of the rarest
breeds is that from the Sable Islands,
off the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Every island along the Atlantic
coast with race of half wild ponies
has tradition to account for their
presence. The Sable Island ponies
are confidently asserted by Canadians
to be descendants of hardy small
horses placed on the island to serve as
food for shipwrecked mariners. AL
most no other large animals, accord
ing to the story, could endure the
winter of that climate, but the ponies
survived and prospered.
The Sable Island ponies are larger
than the Shetlands, and some OF them
are OF great beauty and strength. They
often live to old age, and retain their
activity and spirit. A handsome
black Sable Island pony that was used
for years by a suburban family is still
tiourishing up in New Brunswick
whittier she was sent when the sub
urbanites broke up housekeeping, and
IS serviceable, though nearly twenty
years old.
Of native American ponies some of
the most interesting are those of the
south Atlantic coast islands. The
annual auction of Chincoteague ponies
takes place on the Virginia Island OF
that name about the middle of Au
gust. Chincoteague accounts for her
race of ponies by the more or less
Hypothetical shipwreck of horse
laden vessel from Europe some time
in the eighteenth century.
1t is we'll known that several gen.
erations OF Maryland and Virginia
children have had the Chincoteague
ponies for play ymates, and in all prob
ability the ponies have Inhabited the
island for at least century. They
are bigger that the Shetlands, often
better looking, and almost always
strong, and sometimes very swift.
In fact the Chlncoteague pony
makes very fair draft horse for light
loads and good roads. He is incidental
Y IN sxc Int swimmer, and when
pasture is scarce he sometimes swims
narrow passages of salt water to fresh
meadows, as the Chincoteaguers call
the narrow strips of grassclad land
that edge their island.
Currituck Sound has race Of
ponies much like those OF Chinco-
league. They are not literally wild
horses, since they have owners, and
the colts are branded The natives OF
the regions use them for ordinary
domestic purposes and the largest OF
the breed very we'll serve the needs of
their owners.
Like the Chinco.eague ponies, they
are asily kept, and on the whole they
furnish cheap horses for the poor
farmers of the coast. The Chipco-
league ponies can be bought at auc-
tion upon the island for $40 or $50,
and the Curitucks are probably chea-
per
Those who cannot well afford to
keep ponies for their children will
find the Texas burro cheap and use
tul substitute. A burro may be bought
in Texas for $50 or less and brought
North for Sc or SS.
He is tough, not i'll natured, easily
j i Ill