The Portland daily press., 1890-07-04

compelling him to make additional and
unnecessary stops and starts, he would
be profoundly grateful. In his case it is
the first few steps which cause him the
most trouble, and the less of this kind
Of exercise he has the better he is pleased
As rule he is vel yell treated by the driver,
Tor Cruelty detected generally means in
slant dismissal.
A BUYER TALKS.
In search of information relating to
the daily life of the car horse, the writer
a few days ago called upon Mr.. Newber-
ny S. Frost, who does all the buying of
live stock for the Atlantic Avenue Rail-
road company. Mr.. Frost was quite
willing to let the public into his conf
dence, and this is what he said:
eve have at present in our various
stables somewhere in the neighborhood
Of 600 horses, all of which were raised
In the west. We used to get our stock
from this and neighboring states, but
now it is chiefly drawn from Iowa, Mis-
souri, and Illinois. The horses are brought
on in droves and sold in New York.
What we want and try to get is a closely
built animal from 15.1 to 16 hands in
height and weighing from ,050 to 300
pounds. Under the former figure they
would not be up to our work, and if
above the latter they would be apt to
wear themselves out entirely too soon.
Gas to price l should say that the ave
rage would be about $780, A great
number of what we call ranch horses,
that is horses raised ON the plains, have
been disposed Of for something like $120.
We do not buy any ranch horses. They
are hardy enough, but have not the
weight for railroad work. All our horses
are raised on farms. They are carefully
selected and not finally accepted until
they have satisfactorily undergone ten
days trial. There are plenty of horses
which are suitable for agricultural work,
but which are of no account whatever
between the tracks In regard to age,
we do not take horses under nor over 8.
WHAT GOOD CARE HAS DONE.
can animal that is sound in wind and
limb will last, with proper care, about
five years. Some last a great deal longer,
but that is near the average. We have
some few now that we have had over
twelve years, and they are still in good
condition. 1t would not be out of the
way to state that.t working life Of a
street car horse has, by proper attention
and carefu1 feeding, been lengthenod to
the extent of at least year Thus we
gct five years work now where former
ly we got no more than four.
Il cannot tell exactly how many hours
constitute horses working day or night,
but the distance run by each is about
sixteen miles. The speed maintained is
six miles an hour, and this rate has to be
kept up whether the car be empty or
filed. 1t is steady work and hard, but
it is the starting which tells most heavily
on the horses. Their feet generally give
way first, and when the feet are I'M
sound the animal is no longer of any use
to u.s.
Condemned horses are sold to dealers
who make a speciality Of buying from
railroad companies, and by these men
are sold again to farmers and peddlers.
A great many go to the country, for the
farmers would just as soon have them as
higher priced animals. A horse which
is not fit to keep up six-mile-an-hour
gait may still do good work on walk,
and that is as fast as the farmers and
peddlers want them to go. To each Of
our horses is fed fifteen pounds of a
mixture of ground oats and corn and
nine pounds Of hay each day. The meal
is mixed in the proportion of two bush
els of corn to one of oats. Some horses
eat more than others, of course, and in
dividual appetites must receive consid-
Grafton, but the figures given are about
the average. Stable foremen are selected
on account of their practical knowledge
of horses, and over all veterinary sur
geon has supervision. -