The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-07-15
Importance ef aood sire..

Importanoe ef Decd sires.
rof. = Davenport, ia an addres,
20 horsemen. said: !. = = - =
would emphasize the Importance
q good stres. These mares viii not
Y purely put'rtely bred animals; they would
&c zoo expensive. They will Be sim
Ply good, vigorous specimens, capable
q giving l'1lllg plenty Of milk. The quality
must l1 come from the, sire, where n,,aIs
s Peans post, because one animal
can simpart It t6 So many. Such agso-
clatlons as these can render the horse
interests valuable service BY using
every influence to hasten the day of
stallion inspection and license here in
america. ? This farmer we are con-
| slderlng Is not horseman; that is, is
not able to detect the slighter faults
OF animals The hook may be slightly
TOO narrow, or the leg little crooked,
OF the bone not quite fat enough, or
the loin a little light, and he will not
be able to detect it. I know a farmer
| VINO considers himself something OF
norseman who yet did not notice a
mind leg Of a colt so poor at the hook
mat it was certain to go to pieces. I
know part-bred Percheron stallion
that is considered great horse with
the farmers because he takes fat like
hog and has heavy, arching neck,
but his sickle hook gives him a leg so
bent as to entirely disqualify him in
the eye Of even fair Judge. So do
other parts escape the notice of class
Of good men who are not at all ignor-
ant, but whose information and ex-
pert knowledge lie along other lines.
The inspector and the law should help
them out. AS it is now, the owner of
a strictly first-class, well-bred and reg
1stered stallion has no chance out over
the country as compared with the own
er Of part-bred horse that will fatten
readily, and that, costing but frac-
ton of the other, can be stood for per-
haps only two or three dollars less
and get all the custom. This compels
the owner of the good stallion to cut
prices to a point where in order to Sc
| cure decent returns so much service is
taken as to render next to worthless
large share of the colts gotten. We
shall produce plenty of scalawag
horses until the part-bred stallion is
driven out Of business, and that will
be done only by system of inspec-
ton. It costs as much to raise a poor
horse as it does a good one. The de-
f1c1ent hook or loin is mot thing that
takes less feed. It is no element of
cheapness until it comes before the old
horseman in the great markets, and
the general horse raiser must be in
sured against his; own foQlishpess in
this matter by a thorough system of
inspection. Until that time comes the
great breeders and improvers Of horses
will be subject to ruinous competition
from part-bred stations.
The system that has been in vogue
has produced some good horses, but
it has produced good many more poor
ones. The horse is highly developed
animal, and all his parts are developed
far beyond their natural state. If, in
given individual, one part is not fully
developed it cannot stand the strain
put upon it by the other and better de-
veloped parts, and it is with a horse
as with a chain, or tile drain, the
whole is no better than the poorest
spot. What a mixed and heterogeneous
mass of horsefesh we have been guilty
of producing! And yet the stallioneer
and the law are more in the blame
than the farmer. The horse raiser
ifo1v q
class of horses that he proposes to pro-
duce, choose his stallion accordingly
and depend upon him for that quality
that always distinguishes the excellent
from the ordinary. He should never,
sleeping or waking, forget his own
limitations, but remember that while
the professional horseman must pro-
duce the breeder, the racer, and the
phenomenal individuals out of the best
material of the world, yet that the pro-
duction of the great mass Of COM
mercial horses out of common mares
and by approved sires is his own pc
culiar field, in which good profits can
always be realized, if the farmer keeps
his head and does not produce worth
less stuff. Cheap horses are recruited
with sufficient rapidity from the ranks
above, both by age and accident, and
we cannot afford to grow them as
business.
Keep Records.-Keep strict records.
Note all important events. Keep an
account of your expenses, and give the
fowls the credit for all receipts. That's
business way of handling the sub
! ject. Next year you will readily see
the mistakes you made this year, and
will be able to improve upon them. Be
progressive; push ahead; keep up with
the times Don't let your business
push you; you push the business. A
wise man is always on the alert; he
| is looking for Improvement. In this
era of push it will not pay a man to
| idle away his time. Don't get dis
oo,,rorod GA faint hoarf never won