The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-03-12

when neighboring farmer says ne
has a good thing, the fact can easily
| be determined.
PROFITABLE HORSE BREEDING.
Now is the time to finally deter
mine, if it has not already been done,
what class OF horse You will breed
YOUR mares to, aud upon the dom
of your decision will depend the
value of next years colts'
b. common practice is to patrohl1e
the most come-at-able or the lowest
ervice horse, regardless OF his quail
tiles.
| take it that the farmer raises
horses for profit as much as for pleas
IRE, and thereto 9 the first thug TO De
considered is what kind Of horse will
it be most profitable to raiseT The
answer will vary with the varying
circumstances and environments OF
the raiser. If tho horse is waited for
farm use, there need be no difficulty
IN deciding that a compact, well
boned, active animal, weighing 12OO
or 1900 pounds, anywhere from Is TO
l6 hands high, will fill the bill. but the
important point is how is that to be
secured. This is where discretion is
net ded If the mare is small-any-
thing under 10 hauds-she should be
bred to big horse, of good bone and
frame. Excessive size aud weight need
not, be feared, if he is sound and ac-
rive. The offspring will be conpro.
mi>e between the two, leaning chiefly
Uwards the sire, if his individual,
merits are inherited, and not acct.
dental.
The percheron has proved valuable
for this cl iss OF work, but they are
rather pIuggish race.
If good English shire horse is
within reach, it will pay to experiment
diest. most active and intelligent OF all
the heavy breeds.
Where the farmer is raising
horses for sale, he must con
81 er the demand of hi
market and breed accordingly. In
>ome markets The heavy draft horses
will find readiest sale, while in Others
ike our local market, the demand is
for the "all-purpose" horse, an animal
Is 1-2 or IL hands high, weighing
about 1900 pounds, of good form, with
some speed, and snowy action. This
class of horse is wanted for delivery
wagons. hacks, buggies and ''unaided
and alone" to pull the family coach.
The Morgan and the Cleveland Bay
when mated with horses Of CORES
ponding size and form will give a use
full result, but they will be deficient in
the snowy knee action so much ad-
mired by city buyers. This action
will be found in the standard bred
rotter, the French coach and the
Hackney; and the owner of well-bred,
arge mares is fortunate il he is within
easy reach of a good specimen of
either of these breeds.
Breed understandingly and don't
consider a few dollars in service fee
when you have the assurance of
getting just what you want.
THE FOOD OF PLANTS.
Many terms which represent sub
stances of the highest imp ,rtance to
agriculture and which to the farmers
of the present day have become
household words, such as phosphate,
potash, nitrogen, ammonia or nitric
acid, formed no part of the science Of
agriculture a century ago. So
little was known regarding the
rel ttious to the soil OF some OF the
most important ingredients of plant.
growth. that, at the suggestion of an
eminent chemist a pateut was taken
out for fusng phosphate of lime aud
potash with other substances. to PIE
vent them from being washed out of
the soil; while at the tme time some
one else was bringing chemical action
to bear upon phosphates to increase
their soubiIity.
BY degrees it became known that
the three most impOrtent foods Of
plants-phosphorc acid, potash and
nitrogen, exist in the soil in a very in
soluble form, and that by the action
of the roots of plants the former two
| substa nces are dissolved and taken up
a. food; while organic nitrogen, called
humus by the older chemists, is the
source of the nitric acid found in the
w tiers of the soil; and that until the
heterogeneous compound of the humus
has become nitrtied it possesses IN
paratively small manurial properties.
When it was found that the drain
age water taken from the soil when
| the crop is i'll full vigOr of it's growth
| contains no nitric acid, whil- at all
other times it does contain it in greater
or smaller quantities, there could no
longer be any doubt that nitric acid
is the chief source of the nitrogen in
some of our crops, and that the appli-
cation of nitrogen in a manner de
ponds upon the capab lily OF the soil
| to liberate a sufficient amount of
nitric acid to supply the wants of the
crop.
L. is evident that nitric acid and its
salts, such as the nitrares of soda, and
p )tash anollne, being very soluble in
water aud forming no fixed compoundS
with the soil, like phospnoric acid or
potash, cannot accumulate. What is
nol taken up by the crops is more or
less completely washed out during the
winter, orany other season when there
is 10 demand for it as plant food.
Each year. therefore, there must be
a fresh supply OF ntrogeuous matter
added to the soil, either in the form of
vegetable matter growing on the sur
face or from the MANURE pile, to form
nitric acid.
When this is understood there will
be a long aud last fare
we'll to thu annual bon-fires
in our corn and cotton fields, which now