Being the intermediate point between the principal home of the Brittany draft-horse and the immense markets which Beauce and Paris offered, its territory was the necessary stopping-place of everything that came from the West. It has been for many years the rendezvous of the draft races of the whole West. Now, see in what an exceptional position this country is placed. First and foremost, I do not hesitate to say that there exists no French race which could have multiplied and preserved its original type under such unhappy influences. We can but deplore the slight care taken in preserving it pure and intact, and the want of judgment in the delicate operation of crossing. There has been no uniform and logical plan for improving as well as increasing it. To make the greatest possible profit out of this hen with the golden eggs has been the only aim. When the post-coaches, wagon transportation, and the public conveyances were organized and generalized; when every thing requiring the use of the horse had undergone excessive development; when the improvements of our roads, the multiplicity of business transactions, and the enormous internal traffic, required increased and rapid locomotion, all eyes were turned towards Perche, and it became necessary for her to satisfy the increased demand. Let us see in what condition was the Percheron breeder to satisfy all these demands. As for race, he possessed the best. Strong, yet quick, it was that, of all others, which contained the most blood. It owed this to the soil and climate. It was the best to feed, the easiest to raise, and the most favorably situated to be cheaply multiplied. And with all this, it had at its door the best of known markets. Wagons, diligences, and post-coaches, required horses such as the Percheron cultivator loved to breed for himself. Hence that sympathetic understanding which developed itself more and more between the Percheron producer and the consumer occupied in public transportation. And the anxiety to meet the demand was one of the most active causes of degeneration and of the drafts made upon this and the neighboring breeds. [Illustration: ALENE.—MARE.] CHAPTER VI. CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY ARE BRED. We know how the sexes are divided in Perche; one section of the province produces, while another raises what the other has produced. No matter what may be the class to which she belongs, light or heavy, or partaking of both, the mare is expected to breed every year. If barren, she is sold, and this fault continuing, she passes into public use. During her gestation she works constantly. A few days of rest, before and after foaling, is the only time lost. The remainder of the time her work pays abundantly for her keep and the interest on her cost. At the age of five or six months, the colt is abruptly weaned and sold. Its price varies from five to six hundred francs—sometimes more, but this is the exception—and so far it has cost nothing.