Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1901-05-18
Hor... for Farm Work.

Horses for Farm Work.
Some of the articles we see in the
papers regarding this subject are truly
remarkable considering the experience
which this country has gone through
in the past twenty years in seeking to
improve its horse stock. The expert
ence has been a sad one in many re-
spects in that in many districts it has
led to the creation of a new breed OF
misfts and mongrels having few If any
Of the virtues of the original stock or
the country and as few of those Of the
imported breeds used to effect change
in the blood. Despite the results OF
ill-advised crosses and mixtures OF
blood in horse breeding alleged teach
ers are still busy spreading false doc
trine as to methods of obtaining suit
able stock. The latest conglomeration
of utter bosh which we have seen is
found in an essay on the ideal horse
for the western farmer which has been
awarded the first prize by the Indian
Head Agricultural Society canadian
Northwest and asserts that the Cleve-
land Bay best fills the bill for the pur-
pose stated. This assertion we are not
going to criticize for the breed men
toned is good one, but what We OBJ
ject to is the argument which is made
in connection with the matter Of the
essay. The writer after describing the
breed and diIating upon it's character
istics says under the head OF breeding:
"A Cleveland Bay mare may be to adj
vantage put to a three-fourth bred or
a Hackney stallion. 1t is most i'm
| portant to remember that like pro-
duces like therefore this fact should
be taken into consideration with re-
gard to the selection of the parents"
| What rot this is to be sure! If Cleve-
land mares are selected as the best
molds from which to produce farm
horses like" will only produce like
when the breed is kept pure. The law
of heredity teaches that only the fixed
characteristics of a given breed are
hereditary and transmitted to the
progeny. Why then cross the pure
bred mare with a three-Quarter bred
stallion or cross with a stallion of an
other pure breed? 1t was by making
mistakes of this sort that the country
became flooded with nondescript horses
which could not be used for breeding
purposes and were of little profit or
utility being without any special quail
ihcations for anything. Only where
one breed of horses has been chosen
and stuck to has real progress been
made in filing district with uniform
stock OF good qualifications for the
special breed purpose of the breed
adopted or bred up to by continued
grading in the same direction by con-
1nuous use of pure bred sires of the
m
plished by the use of a three-quarter
bred stallion, bull, or boar in breeding
towards a desired ideal or type and
nothing viii ever be accomplished by
such foolishness in breeding Little
has been accomplished by the crossing
of one pure breed Of horse with an
other pure breed outside of the product
of the first cross and that cross can
not be successfully used for breeding
purposes. The three-quarter bred
horse and the cross-bred horse possess
no fixed breed characteristics hence
they have no prepotence from heredity
TO reproduce their own good qualities
upon their progeny. For this reason
the three-quarter bred stallion should
not De used for breeding purposes and
this is equally true of the cross bred
progeny or two pure breeds. The fe-
male progeny should be retained for
breeding purposes but should always
be bred to the same breed of pure
blooded males which gave them origin
Five top crosses Of pure blood of the
same sort upon females graded up in
this way from native or improved
stock will result in a practically pure
bred animal and even that animal
should not be used as sire; the blood
should be further improved by con
tinued use Of pure sires upon the fe
male high grades. For farm use W.
want a suitable animal for the giYeI
work to- be done but no matter wnai
breed is considered best improvement
will never be attained by occasiona
changes of blood by crossing or admix-
ture with other breeds.
The high price OF ebony has Lex