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- j , i | , i ; t I I J i I 1 DECLINE Of THE MALE LINES FAILURE OF AMERICAN STRAINS — VITAL BLOOD OF HERMIT HERE — PARENTAL INFLUENCES CONSIDERED — PREJUDICE IN FAVOR OF SIRE INFLUENCE By W. S. VOSBURGH "Will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?" Mark* Ik. Act. IV. A gentleman living in Hungary, a student and an expert on the pedigrees of race horses, ha- r -ccntly written to the London Sportsman us follows; "It would interest me to have your opinion us to why it happens so ofte,i that the male lines of excellent stallions perish. This has happened in the case of Hermit, which was seven years off tke reel" champion stallion, and yet his male line has died out." The geiileman. of course, refera to a condition prevailing in Lngland. if not on the continent also; but with tke recent triumphs of Morvieh so fresh in our recollection are cannot sot- any iiijssibility of the male Hue • ; Hermit dying out in this country —at leaat not in the immediate future. No fewer than eight stallions in the diect male line of Hermit had two-year-old sons and daughters racing and wiu-ning during the season of 101L namely. Ballet, Aahtoa, Boots and Saddle. Fair fount. Hilarious. Suffragist. The Manager and Kuunymedo. tke last named a the sire of seven winners, among them Morvieh. the champion and unbeaten colt, winner of eleven races and S11.".L,34. Certainly, whatever m:v have l e«n his faults. Mr. Keenes old horse Voter, the progenitor of these stallions, has not lived in vain. He was a son of Hermit- best MRB, Iriars Balsam although m.:ny will claim that Peter waa and. while he was palpably a non-stayer and had by no means the best of tempers, he was. as far as he cetakj go. one of the fastest horses of his time, if not the fastest.. But this is aside f r m the [tf.sti.in. The gentleman cited Hermit as ore instan. e. having in mind many olh -rs of highly successful horses »s -ires in the tirst generation of their progeny, but whose line broke at the secoud or third feaeratiaa and tbea dwindled and tinally became extinct. In this country the line of imported Diome.l flourished for seventy years. His sons Duroc, Sir Arehy. Balls Florizel. Vingtun and Lewis Ellipse si.-tained his line. Sir Arehys sons Sumpter. Timoleon. Sir Charles. Virginian. Contention. Director Qarriapaa Ziuganee. John Richards. Cherokee, Marion sire of Maria West. Sir William, Berlrand. etc.. carried en the line in triumph. In the third generation American Eclipse maintained it. and in the fourth Medo and Boston math it stronger than ever. It reached 1 its highest point of glory in tie- fifth generation with Lexington and Leeompte. Then came the debacle. The sons of Lexington failed to sustain the plasK. despite their vast number and opportunities. They ■ sired some line racers, hut juj early as 1N7S I gtaeernrd that their get lacked the ciass of themclves and I published my belief in the sporting .journals of that date. Every stud in the country had a Lexington stallion, and naturally tlu-ir owners disagreed with me. but one by one the sons of Lexington. n» well ««-grandsons »-• in the mab line, were aTWltdflled until today it is very seldom one of tiie male line is seen. Tin- male line of Iriam. never string, died after one generation. The line of Jleiieoe had Vandal I and Star Davis to maintain it. but it had nearly died when, owing to a mere chance, Virgil revived il with Hindoo. Hanover and Hamburg: but it. too. has waned and. except tlreat Britain, it is hard to tind I a successful sire of the male line of Sleaeoe. The male line of imported Trustee flourished sixty years % ago. and all eyes turned to IManet as. great racer that he w;s. the one to carry it on. The Woodhurn i Sttttl secured him and he had some of the linest marcs and akjai some excellent horses, but his sons did 1 not succeed as sires. It would be difficult to count the male lines of sires which have kaeaaM extinct in Kngbnid. The • Ottilia line of Eclipse through Muley and Kmilln- lia - been extinct for fifty year-. Tic- Briitandorf line .• of Blncklook about ended with Vauban. an-l tie- Velocipede with King of Trumps 184b. Tin- Tramp — Joe Andrews line of Eclipse, despite the laic Sir Jampb Hawh-ys great revival of it with Beadsman In i the "sixties." has unite disappeared, and s. has Use other line of it through Laaeteaat. Tne Venison i line of Partisan practically ended vvi:h Kingston, while the Sweetmeat line of Partisan ended with M;:c-gregor and Cremi.rue. Tke L.;;igar line, renovvie-d for speed, has done nothing since it produced the • phenomenal Virago, seventy years ago. The Sorcerer line of Machem - tlodolphin had come almost to a standstill until grand old Melbourne revived it ill the "forties." end il exists still. Tin- itue of Pantaloon was all bill gone in Buglaud until 1 the I-reiiih baTJC Hoi llerode and his son The Teirarch restored it. The French also restored the Defence " line of Wlialcbom — Eclipse with The Emperor and Monari|iie. King Toms line of Whisker — Eclipse has s di-d out. Kings Messenger b-ing its last representative. Orlando, the greatest rival of Stoekwell. was s three times leading winning sire and feat times second: yet his line is extinct in England except through 1 tiie sons of Count Sehomberg. The now popular line of Blacklock had fallen into disrepute until Vedette e saved it with Jalopin and Speculum. It seems to me thai to expect a herse to maintain his own class in his male line through his sons s generation after generation is asking too much. It assumes that there should be no modification produced h.v repented mafings. That would be quite as absurd as the Figure System, which in eifeet as--nmes that merit is only to be found in an animal which traces its de-cent from some mare that existed nearly two hundred years ago. The only dilTereii-e is one bxiks for it in the male, the other in " the female line. They s. cm to ignore the moditi-at ion each mating produces. To expect fa- MM, grandson, gri at -grandson, etc., of i horse to reproduce his quality is to ignore 8 the influence of the mares to which he and his sons were bred. The Figure System, on the other hand, • seems to assume the sire as of secondary importance so long as the dam traces to a numbered family. It neglects t«, consider the modifying inllieme of the .-ire, to judge from the preaching of its disciples -as " the lute Mr. .illicit says in his opera : They mock at him and flout him. For they do not rate about him. And theyre going to do without him nr Ifeag can". As to which parent in a inaiing has paramount influence on the progeny I am not competent to de terininc. Opinion differ, bat il is aaaeeeaaaty to observe that it takes two sexes, wliieh. being admitld. I it is fair lo lielieve that each exerts an infltn-m c. alCiough the influence of one is greater than the oth-r: ■ ; but that influence is not sexual. If vve admit the greater influence of the horse we must not forget that j the marc carries the foal eleven months and nurses him some live or six months after his birth, and ,1 who shall deny that these facts modify the foal from the type of his sireV The habit of thought among people— and it has beea so throughout the ages — is to associate inheritance through the male, in all species. A woman marrying a man sink her individuality in him. lakes ,s his name, as do her children. Ami the habit prevail- in regard to the breeding of raee horses. They are •e classified under their sires, and in matters concerning them the sire is the first question asked. Sires •s are in tin- public eye. males comparatively little. A sire will sell for ten tine-s the price of a mare. A sire can beget fifly foals in a year: a mar- foals nlv one. A sire, if successful, can earn a handsome !L. income for his owner, but it is rare that a mate can do that. The influence a matin;- his in modifying or changing tin- whole character of a strain or family is is generally admitted. Dr.vlen. an arete abaerrer, as w.-II as a great peet, said: A mother comes across anil mars the race. A grandsire. or a gtaaflaaa, taints the blood. And seldom three descents continue good: The bad lortnpf- the g- uii. and leaves behind No trace of all the great begetters kind: The father sinks beneath the tea, we see. And offer rises in I he third degree. Tie- final lines of the above rather favor Mendels theory of alternative- heredity and the breeding of r r.e-i horses gives many BTetfi of it- tie- son of a tir.-t-class horse, but himself a second-rate one. bereB-ing a sire of tirst -class ones. Jallimile is a eonspi.-iicus instance, a son of the great Isonomy. but. a 11 peat performer, he was a highly successful sire. Sutidridge was not as good a race horse as his sire ; Amphion. but he is a better sire. Adventure, son of Newminstcr, was only ordinary as a racer, but a tremendously successful sin- Parateaaa area a very moderate racer, but in Fnvonius and Cremorne be ,. sired in two iBBMiBtlte ycata two of the bhjjMSt e.i.ss of Derby winners. Iolymelus a/a* by no means s in the sin lass as his sjro v lie ne as a er, bat he is today the most successful sire in Burope. Of f them nature mji-his to line said, as the arttehea in tne play said of Banquo: "Thou shall get kings, though thou In- none." Tin- male liie- ..f Blaefclack through Oalopin and Speculum: the line of Birdcalcher through Stock well and Oxford: that of Touch -tone through Newmin-te and Toxopholite: the Melbourne lia-- through 11 Ban-ahiine. and the Pantaloon line through I hoi nianiiv . ate now the only important male line- in Eug land. and. whil- they in.iv net. as Market h le.u-d B.itiquos would, "stretch out to the crack of doom." they appear quite secure at the present time. _
