The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1905-08-17
THE HORSE STILL AHEAD.
Remains the Farmers Best Friend ant
Motive Power.


Motive Power.
There is considerable talk about the
horse going out of style on the farm
during the next few years, and the sub
stitution of other motive power; prefer
ably the gasoline engine or the electric
motor
Until about twenty-five years ago the
only motive power on the farm was
the OK and the horse. Since then. and
especially during the last decade, other
motive powers have been perfected and
utilized, especially in those sections
devoted to livestock growing and dairy
ing; but the horse is the most general
ana the best motive power on the
farm. He has been in the past. and
believe will be for a long time to come.
mans best friend and assistant in
farm life and practice. The horse can
be utilized where no other bower can
be safely and economically relied upon.
There is constant demand for good
horses i'm this section of the country at
the present time, and it seems as
though it would pay some of our
brother farmers to raise 4 colt or two
each year of the general purpose vari-
ETY..
Nothing ever pleased me more than
to hold the lines attached to a good
three-horse team. each animal weigh
ing in the neighboThOod of twelve hun
dred pounds. I spent many long hours
when small boy driving some horses
that were old and lazy and one or two
things" that were ballly. Later on it
COnn1n1 Nx-hO
horses to work with 1t really docs
not pay farmer to keep n poor, lazy.
old or broken-down horse. But n good
horse that has outlived it's usefulness
and become n favOrite in the family
should he put on the retired list i'm its
old age and he given the best there is
Allow it to roam the pastures at it's
own sweet will during pleasant wealth
er, and provide comfortable stall for
its shelter whenever needed. Never
allow such 4 horse to be sold. loaned
for use or given away. If you cannot
AFFORD to keep ii on the farm. then hire
some neighbor to shoot and bury it
in one of the back fields. without any
of the children knowing about the
time or details.
A poor. lazy. balky horse costs more
than it is worth, and it eventually
deteriorateS the morals of the owner or
driver thereof. even though he be an
''active member" of his church and in
good standing" If we farmers wish
to keep our boys on the farm and inter
est them in farming. good horses will
accomplish more to make the daily
routine attractive than anything else
in the way of farm equipment. Ask
your boys if that isn't true.
Other powers are valuable on the
farm, and the windmill will in all
probability never go out of style for
pumping water. We have two of them.
one being an immense power mill with
Sixteen-foot steel wheel This mill is
sixty feet from the ground and twenty
seven and one-half feet above the ridge
of the barn. 1t will develop eight horse
power in good wind, and has been
used for cutting fodder grinding feed.
shelling corn. elevating both ground
| and unground feed into bins. etc. We
have also used twO-horSe tread power
for running the cream separator. churn
and butter worker in our farm cream
cry. In fact. we have had experience
with all kinds of farm motive power.
and think the gasoline engine the best
for many purposes. But the horse will
still remain the farmers best friend
and motive power for many long years
to cOme.-New York Tribune.