The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-12-16

There is considerable talk about
the horse going out of style on the
farm during the next few years, and
the substitution of other motive pow
er; preferably 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 projected and utilized, especially
in those sections devoted to live stock
growing and dairying /; but the horse
is the most general and the best mo-
tive on the farm He has been in
the past and I believe will for long
time to come, mans best friend and
assistant in farm life and practice.
The horse can be utilized where no
other power can be safely and eco
nomically relied upon. There is
constant demand for good horses in
this section of the country at the
present time, and it seems as though
it would pay some of our brother
farmers to raise a colt or two each
year of the general purpose variety.
Nothing ever pleased me more than
to hold the lines attached to a good
three horse team, each animal weigh
ing in the neighborhood of twelve
hundred pounds. ! spent many long
hours when a small boy driving some
horses that were old and lazy and one
or two things that were balky.
Later on it seemed fine when we got
some good horses to work with. 1t
really does not pay a farmer to keep
a poor lazy ,old or broken. down horse.
But a good horse that has outlived
its usefulness and become favorite
in the family should be put on the re-
tired list in its old age and be given
the best there is.
Allow 1t to roam the pastures at
its own sweet will during pleasant
weather and provide a comfortable
stall for its shelter whenever needed.
Never allow srch horse to be sold,
loaned for use or given away. If you
cannot afford to keep it on the farm,
then hire some neighbor to shoot and
bury it in one of the back fields, with
out any of the children knowing
about the time or details.
A poor, lazy, balky horse costs
more than it is worth, and it even
tually deteiorates the morals of the
owner or driver thereof, even though
he be an 'active member of his church
and in good standing If we farm
ers wish to keep our boys ON the farm
and interest them in farming, good
horses will accomplish more to make
the daily rountine attractive than any
thing else in the way of farm equip
ment. 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 or
them, one being All 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 horsepower 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
two horse tread power for running the
cream separator, churn and butter
worker in our farm creamery. In fact
we have had experiences 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.-Wew York Tribune.