The Washington herald., 1912-04-28
By L. d. SALE.

i .
Bennett stock Farm. A day spent there
Is pleasant memory
A great many persons, residents OF
the Disthct Of Columbia. may never
have heard Of Bennett Farm. or. having
heard Of It. do not know how TO reach IL
Its exact location is one and q half miles
east Of Beltsviiie. Nd, on the main line
OF the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and
| IL distant from Washington about twelve
miles It can also be. easily reached by
the way OF the Washington and Balh-
more boulevard. now In most excellent
condition for vehicles Of all kinds.
Bennett Farm has been in existence
upward Of two years. and comprises 30
acres of land. adapted to the growing
OF grass and cereals OF all kinds. Mr..
w. @. Bennett, owner OF the farm. and
whose home Is IN weston. w. Va. Is a
lawyer OF large practice, prominent in
the civic afrairs OF his State. holds large
interests In mines and gas wells, and
has done much toward the development
OF the material resources Of West Viz
ginia. His real estate holdings in Wash
ington are extensive, and. as the owner
OF Riverside Stock Farm. Weston. w.
Va. he is extensively known as the
breeder OF high class harness horses
and saddIers. His breeding plant at
Weston Is one Of the largest II not the
largest. in the State.
So much for the personality OF the
man who successfully guides the des-
t!nies OF large interests. and who. in
time. hopes to make of Bennett Stock
Farm, Beltsville, one of the foremost
tplants' in Maryland. where the Hight har-
ness horse Is bred. Mr.. Bennett has
spent the past two years In fitting his
farm at Beltsville for the great task
do in bringing the farm 10 the desired
state of cultivation. Additional build
ings are needed to properly house his
stock, and these will soon be under way.
-
A track Is also needed. on which he
can properly develop HIS horses. and one
has been surveyed to the westward Of
the dwelling on the farm, and in such
close proximity that one may sit on its
porch and see horses work over every
rod Of IL. II will be half mile ring,
with the turns well thrown up, and the
stretches will be Of sufficient length to
permit horses in training to extend them-
selves freely and make speed. Prehm-
gun. and, II the weather proves good,
II should be ready 10 train over In about
three weeks. Mr.. Bennett aims TO breed
useful types OF horses. In which shall
be blended the blood that has won pub
lie approval on the race track, the road,
and in the cavalry.
Blood. size. endurance. soundness, fin
ish. docility manners, and, when re-
auired. speed-these are the ideals Mr..
Bennett strives to attain and maintain
at Weston and BeltsviIle. To achieve
these important results Mr.. Bennett has
selected stations and mares with great
care. He appreciates the axiom that
Like produces like, or the likeness OF
some ancestor" Having selected his
sires. his aim always is to secure
mares that will nick with them. When
a mare does not do this, she is discarded.
II has long been demonstrated that
breeding is not an exact science; hered-
ity asserts itself at unexpected mo-
ments, and. the tendency to revert back
ward to some undesirable ancestor. is
the menace that confronts every breeder.
no matter how careful or how we'll IN
formed he may be.
Mr.. Bennett. who has had large ex-
perience, and who has given much OF his
valuable time TO the breeding problem.
has naturally lsbored TO reduce the
menace OF reversion TO a minimum. He
who builds wisely. looks well to the
foundations OF hts structure. The cor
ner stones selected by Mr.. Bennett, and
on which he hopes to erect an edihce
that win withstand the storm and stress
OF criticism, and endure for the years
to come, are two descendants OF the H.
lustrious Electioneer Is, In the male
line. and OF Happy Medium and Lord
Russell in the female line. As this mar
rative progresses, it will be for the stu
dent Of bloodlines TO answer the ques-
tion as to whether Mr.. Bennett is build
ing on granite, which defies the tooth
of time, or on the shifting sands.
At Riverside Stock Farm, Weston. Va.
the premier sire of the herd is the bay
horse Lord Roberts $3.50. record, 2:07l-4:
foaled In 1900. by Arion C9 2:10 "a. to
high wheels CworId's record; never been
equaled, probably never will be- At
three years Arion trotted to a record of
2:Io IL and at four years, to a record
of 2:07 81 His 2:1O 1-2 mile was also q
worlds record. Lord Roberts dam is
the celebrated trotting mare Nancy
Hanks 2:o4, champion trotter of her
day, and now a producer OF extreme
speed. Nancy Lee, daughter of Die
tator, ia. Is his second dam. and
sophy, his third dam, is a daughter Of
Edwin Forest q, noted for the finish.
fire, and elegance he impaired to his de-
scendants; his fourth dam by Parker's
Brown Pilot, hfth dam by Bertrand,
sixth dam by Lance. The late J. NAL
colin Forbes bred Lord Roberts. he
owning at the time Arion. for whom he
paid $4,000. and Nancy Hanks. for
whom he paid SIS, ,ooO The individuality