Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-05-08

Is stated that more horses ara ,xent
IN lne Northern States mainly for the
purpose OF doing work on farms than
u any other part of the world. This is
aay owing to the fact that the farmers
ase endeaVored to dispense with hard
100. as Iar as possible, not only in pre-
ng the ground for crops and in
9sntng and harvesting them. but in
ating Them Since the introduce
s: on OF the seif-binder it has been prac-
cal 10 raise crop Of grain and to har-
rest It almost without manual labor.
recently preference has been given
20 crops that can be raised and harvest
ga by the use of implements and ma
cnines operated by horsepower. The
great ma ority of farmers decline to
Iaise roots for stock, for the reason that
sney require large amount of manual
apor. They prefer to raise grass and
sIaI grain, because they require no
Suitisation and can be harvested BY the
use OF machines. When grain instead
VI meat and wool is raised On farms
lo!ses are required to draw it to mar
Ae1 In places somewhat remote from
market large number of horses are
needed for this. purpose. But farmers
; 10 not keep horses entirely for the pur-
"
tne road They keep many horses for
pleasure, or partly for pleasure and
partly for work. What is known as a
good farm team" is one that can pillow
swo acres of light land per day. can
9raw a ton over country road when it
IN 1air condition for travel, and can
trot mile in six minutes when Mitchell
20 a iIg ut wagon for the purpose of TAX
ing the farmer to political meeting or
. Inc county fair Fine speed and good
action are as highly priced as great
strength and long endurance, The
1arm team" is expected to perform
well not only before the pillow and now
nag machine but before the buggy and
carriage.
What is Familiarity known as the
general purpose horse" is one that is
iar Tor the purpose of doing farm work
and very good for the purpose of pleas
9re. In most parts of the South one
q Kind of animals is kept for doing work
m the field and another for CARRYING
persons in the street. The mule is gen
orally preferred for drawing the .plow
and other field implements, while the
horse is selected for drawing the car
ariage. The mule is selected for doing
bad work in the field for the reasons
that it is more hardy, longer lived, and
cheaper. to keep. Il is not likely that
The mtllewin ever be popular in the
Northern States, even for doing farm
work People OF the Anglo-saxon race
In any part of the world do not appear
to take kindly to mules. Possibly that
is the reason that mules do not take
kindly to them. The people of other
races have no prejudices against the
mule, and they use it in preference to
7he horse in all kinds of work that it
can do equally well. 1t is hardly likely
that tho horse most suitable
and most economical for doing
work on farms has yet been found
The general purpose horse is not the
best for any specific purpose. If a
horse has sufficient strength to do the
heaviest work required on farms the
chances are that it will not have suf1i-
Client speed to satisfy the desire of the
owner when he wishes to go to town.
Many small farmers keep four horses,
because two fast roadsters are not sufii-
GENTLY strong to do the farm work.
Two large and powerful horses could
do all the farm work, but they would
be deficient in speed and action when
;hitched before pleasure carriage. As
a consequence four horses are kept and
creased in consequence. The harness,
shoe: and staDling cost as much for q
small horse as for one of larger size.
1t is hardly likely that the improve
ment in horses in this country designed
for work has kept pace with the inn
.provement In cattle. Cattle have not
been bred for general purposes, but for
some specific purpose. The complaint
is made in England that the demand
for pleasure horses has caused breeders
to give attention to them in preference
to horses designed for lator. 1t is also
stated that many of the best mares are
purchased for the German and Russian
breeding establishments. The profits
in cattle and sheep breeding have been
better than in horse breeding, while the
risks are much smaller. "A London
paper, commenting on this state yof af-
fairs, says: The question sis-and its
urgency is brought home more strongly
to our notice every day-whether En- |
glish Landlords are alive to the ~enor-
NOUS prices now commanded in the |
metropolitan market, and in each of |
our large provincial cities, by good car
riage horses and weigat-carrying hack
neys. 1t is far from our purpose to pre-
tend that excellent animals of this class |
Sc
What we do assert, however, is that the |
supply is utterly and increasingly in
commensurate with the demand. We !
have lately been told, for instance, by
an American visitor, who has been COM
ing to this country at intervals for the
last thirty years, that he observes
marked deterioration in the hacks now
TO be seen in Rotten Row. as compareda
with those which he remember upon
the same spot during the year of the,
first worlds fair. in 1851. This decline
i'm strength, soundness and hone he UNI
hesitatingiy attributes to the decay in
the thorough ored horse. which has re-
suited f. ON our modern system of rae
ing. The off-casts from our stables are !,
NO longer what they were in the now I
remote days when two-year- old dashes
and five or six furl0ng handicaps
had not superseded long-distance
races upon every course. In. this re-
spect the United States is rapidly and
surely following the vicious example of
the mother county. On both sities of
the Atlant the craze for speed in the
thoroughbred is becoming more marked,
and the lamentations uttered by tn 8
Ottspoken censor over the disappear
ance from American racc-courses of
such stout horses as Boston. lexin gten,-
Ten Brock and Tom Ochiltrees smight
be repeated by an Englishman who is
old. enough to reIamber Beeswing,
Harkaway, Glencoe, Teddington, Fish
erman and Gladiator in their prime. !
Such stayers still exist among us, and
~ Al = l.