The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1878-01-03
For the Eagle.
A Farmer on the Horse.


EDITOR EAGLE IL thought would
Try to write a short letter for the EA-
GLE as the year is about to bid us
good bye, and the year 1877 is about
to bid us good morning.
We have had fair crops this year,
and the prospect for wheat is better
now than it was last New Year. /
can also see very plainly that our
farmers are doing better farming than
they did last year, and yet there is
room for improvement.
The most improvement which l
think is needed now in our new county
is more care and attention to our
farm horses. If any one will pay at
tention to the horses driven by the
farmers through Wichita they will
see at once that this branch of bust
ness is neglected. The horse is the
main animal ON tho farm, and yet
there are many farmers WIN think it
does not pay to give attention to the
horse A straw she'd or hay stable
is good enough. 1t don't matter about
the roof, or whether there is any, SO
that the frame of the animal is there
is all that some care for. If we have
a horse that is all right and fair sized
and we can get money for him, he is
sold and his place filled with Texas
pony. or some inferior animal that is
not able to do the farm work. BY so
doing we ALWAYS have scrubs to do
our farm work with, and so long as
these scrubs remain so long we will
have inferior farming done.
| also think there is too little atten-
ton being paid TO the raising of young
horses. | just saw neighbor take
two three-year old colts TO town.
| These were animals raised in the
manner have spoken of. They prob
ably weighed 700 pounds, and all he
could get offered for them was $40
each. Now farmers cannot afford to
raise such brutes for that amount. Ii
those animals had been the right kind
of stock aud the right kind of care
taken of them they would uDdoubted-
" have Welded him handsome profit.
saw the same thing happen in llli-
nois. No attention was given in this
same direction. Many farmers were
doing farm work with small, inferior
animals that could not do the work
that was required of them. Poor
farming was done and there was no
demand for that class of animals; so
the country became overstocked with
them and the result was that they
were a curse to the country. About
that time the rebellion broke out and
a good many of the largest of them
were bought for army service. Then
machinery was invented to take the
place of man. All the new machinery
needing more draught the farmers be-
Gan to see that the larger kind OF
farm horses were needed and now we
may say Central Illinois is noted all
over the United States for her Scotch
Clvdes and Normans.
Now [ think if our farmers would
turn their attention more to these an
finals we would soon see an improve
ment in our farming. And If we want
to raise farm horses let us be careful
not to patronize either large objec.
tionable ones or small inferior ones,
as too many of those kinds are being
brought into the country. l think
each and every stock horse that Is
kept for that purpose should not be
allowed TO be used till he is examined
by the veterinary surgeon, to sec that
the animal is sound and no inferior
points about him.
But. Mr.. Editor, for fear | worry
your patience, will only say, should
you not conclude to publish this you
would not hurt the feelings of your
humble servant,
joseph THURMAN.