The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-03

eclinsed so long as is possessed OF d
heart TO love and an eye to admire lllis his
most useful companion in the family o.
ouadrupeds The boy who began his hrst
comnosition at school always with the COM
,,act announcement that The horse Is
useful animal" wrote from inspiration. lie
has been going on doing it from generation 10
generation and he will continue so TO %
until man and horse shall be no more. Ills
mind at his birth was formed TO generate
that phrase just as the mind of his father
was before him, and as the MINDS OF MS
children will be after him.
But the boy of the present generation WHO
shall grow up with an instinct TO apply INN
self 10 the pleasurable task of reproducing
this animal should qualify himself by a
study of breeds and methods of breeding
10 make as perfect as may be the issue OF
each succeeding strain. Great progress mas
already been made in this industry during
the past half a century in this country, a. d
vet much remains to be done in the improve
erment of every class and type from the
slender. delcately pointed trotter and racer
10 the heavier drafter upon whose muscular
strength the tiller of the soil depends.
II will require many years to eradicate
the evil results of careless breeding in the
past For a period of five years or more
NpH'
meanwhile have been dying off, and the pro-
drction Of every class has been on a more
limited scale than at any pericd in the coun-
try's history. The consequence is scarcity
OF horses rarely if ever e9ualled But re-
vival has taken place within the last twelve
months and herein exists the danger. The
small farmer, or breeder, possessed of
Mares no matter how poor may be their
quality, hearing the cry now being raised
for a demand for horses. is tempted to Sc
cure a get as quickly as possible, and with
out taking into account its future value.
Unless this tendency is checked, the result
will be at the end of five years a market
overstocked with a new generation of scrubs,
inferior in quality even to those which have
gone before.
In this connection it is appropriate ia re-
call some of the hints given by H. Van
Schelle, of Brussels, in a paper read by him
before the convention of horsemen in Chi
cago on March 80 last. His theme was the
Belgian Horse" This as everyone knows,
belongs to the draft species, and as bred on
their native heath the animals average
weight is from 1,7G9 to 1000 pounds. Mr..
Van Schelle claims that though of less
weight than the English Shires and smaller
than the Scotch ClydeSdales. these horses are
possessed of more energy, and, with more
power and weight than the Percherons and
French draft horses, they are the equal of
these species in activity. But to illustrate
the care which has been exercised in con-
necticn with their breeding, the following
quotation is made from his address,.
For the last century our government has
always given substantial help toward en-
couraging the production of horses Different
systems have been tried Government stud
farms were established; the expectation of
sires was prohibited; shows were given In
the agricultural districts and premiums dis
tributed. All this was done away with as OPP
posed to the freedom of trade and injuring
the interests of agriculture. The only inter-
ference of public power in this matter is
venting the use OF unSound sres. All the
stations standing for the public service of
mares must be approved by commissions Of
fcally appointed, and unless the sres are
approved as fit to improve the breed their
proprietOrs are liable to heavy penalties for
any infringement of the law Second, insti-
tuition OF system of premiums to be dis
tributed in local, district and state shows
and contributed by local, provincial and state
funds in order to preserve in Belgium the
best stations and mares. Besides, different
societies give their contributions toward this
aim and the subsidy distributed amounts
to about $4,000 year. In France the gov
ernments annual subsidy amounts to $500 900.
While 1t is not to be assumed that any
such governmental supervision and encour-
agement in the way of breeding is possible
as though some system might be devised,
through associations of breeders, whereby
reproduction improved lines should be
generally controlled within the borders of
single states by a sort of chain of local
leagues The adoption of some such cooper
alive method would certainly within a score
of years, result in conspicuous improvement
IN quality; and the state adopting such
course would be enriched by the expert
N CT he {,
mind that this country, in spite of the abun-
dant supply of scrubs, in recent years, how
ever, happily abbreviated, is exporting its
product in large numbers to the old world
a fact which goes to prove that those who
have stood to the work of breeding only the
best during the long period of depression
in the horse industry, are now reaping their
merited reward. In it's review of the Chi
cago horse market SO recently May %,
the Breeders Gazette had this to say re-
garding the foreign demand and the con-
sequent improvement in values:
While the general market for horses here
continues good. the demand is mostly re-
stricted to distinct types. The expansion of
our manufacturing and corlWercial interests
have increased the use of heavy draft horses
and the rapid delivery of light commodities
incident to a large retail business has eX-
panded the demand for express and light
horses. The enormous export movement of
what called Boston chunks for the omni
bus service of European cities has depleted
the supply in this country, and the price for
such animals has advanced $15 to s25 per
head within the last year. The foreign de-
mand for good heavy draft horses has adj
varced the price for such stock from s25 to
:5c One day last week 4,200-;b. team was
bought at auction in the Chicago market for
expectation to London for the record price of
sos. Numerous other good draft teams sold
here during the year at from $3.50 to $50
each. ~
The same journal takes occasion to call the
attention OF breeders to some common mis-
apprehensions regarding types and their re-
spectfve qualities. 1t is, however, only natu
raj that men schooed in the breeding of
special classes of horses or of cattle should
permit themselves to be blinded In regard
to the merits of Others ON the theory that
every crow thinks her own the whitest. This
is what the Gazette has to say on the subj
1ect:
In no field is the narrowing effect of spe-
cla1zatlon more clearly marked than in horse
breeding. Our education in this country has
all been in the direction of speed-horse breed
Ing, and 1t is apparently difficult for the ad-
herents OF this type to appreciate or even
understand the draft and coach types that
have OF recent years come to our attention.
To the average Kentucklan for Instance
everything that has not the quality or fine,
ness of build of the trotter. the thorous bhred
or the saddle horse is Coarse and therefore
undesirable. 1t appears to be difficult for
them to understand that this fine horse which
they have produced in such perfection is not
adapted for all purposes to which eouines arr
put, and unfortunately at times thew show
evidence of the fact that they have ne
elected to familiarize themselves with tbe
other useful types which have found pIace
In this country. An illustration was recentIv
anorded by an anymous writer in Kentucky
Journal, who declares that the Clvdesdais
the Percheron and the Hackney are built for
erful backs and huge round legs" lit might