Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-02
MANAGEMENT OF TEAMS.
Importance of Economy in the
Use Of Horses.


Importance of Economy in the
Use Of Horses.
One of the economies which most
needs to be learned by farmers is in the
best management of team help. A great
proportion are overstocked with horses,
by which we mean keeping more horses
than can be proftably employed all the
wear. There was possibly some reason
for the notion that prevailed at an early
dav that teams cost little or nothing for
keeping. Much that they ate was
either unstable or cost about as
much to get it to market as it
brought. On land worth little or
nothing, only the most valuable
grains would pay for Transporting
to market. 1t was possibly true. under
such circumstances, that horses keep
may have been small matter; but now
that the ooarsest fodder can be sold,
even straw bringing much more than
either it's manurial or nutritive value,
the food that horse eats is as good as
cash, and amounts to fully 81 per week,
and when working hard and well fed
aften to twice that sum. A working
team will cost to keep nearly or quite
Sl5e, and if we allow $3.50 per day for
use of a team, it must work 100 days, or
one-third of the working year, under
favorable circumstances, to merely pay
its way, allowing nothing for accident,
disease and depreciation in value.
On thosands of farms where only few
kinds of crops are grown teams get little
il any more than one hundred days
work per year. All through the winter
weeks and sometimes months pass with
out getting horses out except for exer-
else. When the busy seeson begins 1t Is
altogether too busy for a little while,
though even then the farmer is lucky
whose teams are bot kept idle one or two
days in the week by storms. Team help
at seeding time in spring and in harvest
i, we'll worth whatever its owners cen
science will allow him to charge. We
have known good farmers to pay $50
or even S4 per day for man and team at
blowing, in order to hurry in crops in
season. Even these seemingly high
prices are less expensive than keeping
through the year extra team help requir.
ed at these special seasons.
Without doubt the greatest and most
common loss in team management is
from keeping poor horses unable at any
time to do full days work. 1t Is the
most difficult thing possible for many
farmers to get the idea into their heads
that horse capable of doing but little
is entirely valueless. An old, worn-out
horse will always sell for something, no
matter how poor he may be, and always
for greater price In proportion to his
value when worthless. For farm pur-
poses, with the high wages now paid to
farm help, it does not require much de-
duc.ion from full days team work each
day to make up the value of a 6rst.elass
team in every respect, The poor horses
cost fully as much, and generally more,
for keeping than good ones do. Sup
pose that with good team two acres
per day at plowing would be fair days
work, while with q poor team an acre or
an acre and quarter would be all that
could be accomplished. The hired help
is paid the same in either case, while
with poor team nearly or quite hall
their efficacy is lost. And yet the poor.
er farmer ia, the poorer invariably his
team will be. The two things always
go together as cause and effect, and the
poor team is oftener the cause of the
general poverty than the reverse.
Having good team of horses. the
farmer should either work them himself,
or employ some one who will not abuse
them, who will feed them well and SO
manage as TO keep them employed near.
ly or quite all the working days in the
year. Stormy weather will interfere
with this somewhat on the farm, and
it is difficult to get more than
two hundred days of profitable team
work on most farms in onr northern
climate. Many get not much more than
half this number, and horses lying idle
in the stables in fair weather, because
no work has been provided for them,
furnish proof of the mismauagement
that so often results in failure. 1t is a
d. fficult matter to keep teams profitably
employed all the time during the work.
ing season, and the effort to do this has,
as it should have, much to do with
the methods of cropping and the kinds
of crops to be grown. Keeping the teams
busy, and men as well, is one Of the
best arguments for growing large
variety of crops rather than only few
No positive or definite rule can be
given as to the number of horses or
teams that may be kept on given area
If the horses are good animals their
numbers may be greatly increased with
profit, as the land is made more
fertile and suited to greater variety of
crops. Market gardeners often keep
several teams on few acres; but they
are always busily employed either in
drawing manure or marketing produce.
Where sixty to one hundred loads of
manure are used per acre in a single
year, this alone requires great deal of
team help, and the crops to be marketed
need proportionally as much or more.
Even for ordinary farming on very rich
land, four horses, and sometimes more,
may be proftably kept on farms of fifty
to seventy five acres, since this amount
of team help will be needed to crop the
land as it should be and do the work at
the right time. Yet there are many
farms of this area of poor land where so
much blowing and cultivating would
never pay. Very poor land will not
pay much anyway, but is least expens-
i've when kept in grass. Where this is
the case, keeping five or six horses on a
tifty-acre farm would use up most of the
produce in food and care, leaving little
or nothing besides. s.-American Cahi.
GATOR.
California Fruit for England.