Woodruff County news., 1907-05-09
FARMING IN
 THE SOUTH
DRAFT HORSES IN THE SOUTH
Increase of Population in Cities Has Opened Up a Market.

l
 The breeding of draft horses has
 not made as much progress in the
 south as it should have done This
 is particularly true in sections where | limestone predominates and blue grass
 ttrives naturally. The excellence of the light horses produced in this sec | tion is positive proof that draft ani- mals of superior merit could also be
 raised if the right type of sire and dam were available for the work. The | light horse has been such favorite, | however, as to almost exclude the consideration of any other type of ami nal until within the last few years. This was really not surprising, for the old-time farmer of the south depend | ed almost entirely on the mule as a beast of burden, while the horse was | used chiefly for saddle purposes or for driving; and the light horse was of course better suited to this purpose than any other type of animal. Even | today the light horse is in great de- | mand, and animals of excellence and | merit bring profitable prices and find ready sale; the one misfortune in this particular being that the supply is | quite inadequate to the demand and there is not enough system and care exercised in the breeding of light horses to overstock the market with animals of superior merit as long as the demand for good horses of this type is as great as at the present time.
 The great demand for draft horses during recent years has caused this industry to look up materially Snd there is certainly an opportunity for it's development in the entire region mentioned with success. The rapid increase of population in our cities and the growth of various industrial concerns has opened up a market for draft horses for dray purposes which was comparatively restricted a few years ago. and this demand is likely to increase for a number of years to come, for only high-class animals are purchased for this work, and after all there are comparatively few of these bred at the present time, and the market does not seem likely to be ovSrstocked in the immediate future.
 The experience of those who at tempted the breeding of draft animals was so unfortunate in many instances that it is little wonder that farmers lost interest in breeding this type of horses. The early sires introduced were, as a rule, defective in many re- spects. and when bred to mares of varied conformation, many of which were also unsound in one or more particulars, it was not surprising that the offspring was neither draft or intermediate type and quite unsuited to the market demands of that day Past experience has therefore taught the farr1er to be rather shy of breed ing draft animals, and has led in many instances to false conclusions con- corning ;he possibilities of this fea- ture of the horse breeding industry.
 Some have concluded that the draft animal is quite unadapted for use in the south. In the far south and in the cotton fields this is probably true, but throughout the Appalachian re- giCn it iS certainly not the case; for while the draft animal may not be needed by the average farmer. still he may be successfully grown in this section and sold at good profit because the region is so contiguous to the great markets of both the east and west, and buyers occasionally passing through this section Joking for ami mals of the draft type even at the present time; and, of course, it would be easier to stimulate an interest in this class were the industry more widely and favorably considered There are a few draft animals in va rious sections of the region mentioned. but they gre so few and far between that it can hardly be classed as a special industry up to the present time. In certain places, like Harrison burg, Va, the breeding of draft horses has become quite wei established, and monthly horse sales are held, to which buyers from distance come because of the good qualities of many of the animals offered for sale This shows how quickly merit in this class of horses is appreciated and how easy it is to establish a market for any animal of merit raised on the farm.