Transcriber’s Note Italic text displayed as: _italic_ [Illustration: THE PERCHERON HORSE. ] THE PERCHERON HORSE. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF CHARLES DU HUŸS, AUTHOR OF THE “DICTIONARY OF THE PURE RACE;” “TROTTERS;” “THE BOOK OF THE RACES;” “THE MERLERAULL;” “THE HORSE-BREEDER’S GUIDE;” ETC. ILLUSTRATED. NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD & COMPANY, 245 BROADWAY. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by ORANGE JUDD & CO., At the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York. LOVEJOY, SON & CO., ELECTROTYPERS & STEREOTYPERS, 15 Vandewater Street, N. Y. TABLE OF CONTENTS. [Illustration: Decoration] PRODUCTION, REARING, AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PERCHERON HORSE 7 PART FIRST. GREATNESS AND DECLINE OF THE PERCHERONS. CHAPTER I.—Glance at Perche 11 CHAPTER II.—Sketch of the Percheron Race 14 CHAPTER III.—Origin of the Percheron 17 CHAPTER IV.—Modifications of the Percheron Race 20 CHAPTER V.—His first Modification due to contact with the Brittany Race 21 CHAPTER VI.—Conditions under which they are bred 23 CHAPTER VII.—Causes of the Degeneracy of the Percheron Horse 26 CHAPTER VIII.—Starting Point of this Degeneration 28 PART SECOND. OF THE MEANS OF REGENERATING THE PERCHERON HORSE 32 CHAPTER I.—Regeneration of the Percheron Breed 33 CHAPTER II.—Regeneration of the Breed through itself or by Selection 33 CHAPTER III.—Consanguinity 38 CHAPTER IV.—Ought the gray coat of the Percheron to be inflexibly maintained? 40 CHAPTER V.—Preserve pure, and without Mixture the three Types of the Percheron Race—the Light Horse, the Draft-Horse, the Intermediate Horse 44 CHAPTER VI.—Improvement of the Breed by means of Foreign Crossings 48 CHAPTER VII.—The Arab Cross 51 CHAPTER VIII.—The English Cross 64 CHAPTER IX.—Improvement by means of the Stud-book 71 RECAPITULATION 75 PART THIRD. INFORMATION TO STRANGERS WISHING TO BUY PERCHERON HORSES 81 CHAPTER I.—Food and Breeding 84 CHAPTER II.—Trade. Glance at the most celebrated Breeding Districts 93 CHAPTER III.—Speed and Bottom of the Percheron Horse 95