Evening star., 1909-04-27

stantly beat his opponents.
LIGHT HARNESS NOTES.
By L. D. Sale.
During the past week the writer OF this
column has been frequently interrogated
as to the reason why horses are SO high
in price. Notwithstanding the fact that
automobiles have quadrupled in number
within the past five years and that
large amount Of heavy tonnage is being
transported by horseless vehicles.
At first glance conditions may appear
abnormal. AS a matter of fact the prob
lem is not wrapt in mystery. The Cnlte~
States has become the clearing house
Of the world in the matter OF horsefesh
We have not only our individual wants
to supply, which are. vast but In large
measure the densely populated districts
OF Europe. The material development
Of this country Is SO rapid lin fact. so
phenomenaD and our territory SO vast
that we can scarce keep pace with local
demands. to say nothing 1bout those Oh
farmers Of the United States are raising
more hogs, more cattle. more wheat
more corn and other cereals than they
have in past years and less than In form
er years OF horses.
4
This is not true OF the last named II
the statistics Of the Department Of Agri-
culture are reliable. They show that
]. 1.29s. 900 more horses were bred in this
country in 1908 than in the previous year
Of 1pO7. The activity manifested in
breeding circles for 1909 would seem to
indicate a substantial increase over the
previous year, and that even then
horse famine will still exist. The life OF
a heavy draft horse on the streets OF our
great cities is estimated to be about
three years. His ponderous weight. the
immense loads he is called upon to draw.
his fiat feet and the style of shoe he Is
compelled to wear In order % draw
heavy loads. all put him to the bad very
is aged at FIVE: the light harness track
horse lasts few, years longer. although
early racing frequently places him in Inc
discard list long before he reaches his
prime, which is eight years.
4
The scarcest horse in the world today
is the heavy harness horse. The craze
for speed has driven him almost out Of
business and has done more to build up
the motor car industry than any other
thing Agents Of horse concerns in Lon
don, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and in fact in
all the great cities Of Europe, continual
ly scour the United States with fine
tooth comb. as 1t were, for horses suita-
BILE for wearing heavy leather and are
unable to find them in sufficient num-
bers.
New York dealers have agents in every
city Of the United States, whose business
| it is to pick up horses for heavy car
ciage purposes. and have great difficulty
in finding the right type of horse. A
well known society lady of Washington
recently informed the writer that her
agent was for two years getting together
the handsome strawberry roans she daily
sits behind, and that the pair cost her
when landed in this city $1,000, which.
of course, did not include cost Of search,
commission, etc.
Europe Is a stiff bidder against the
United States for proper cavalry mounts
and artillery horses. It so happens that
the European bred horse, other than the
draft, is too light OF bone and carcass
for cavalry and artillery purposes, and
that the American bred horse is of tough
er fiber and lasts longer than their ma
tive bred horses. With Europe to COM
pete with. the government Of the United
States pays for cavalry mounts on the
average Of s125. where, a few years ago,
the average price was sos. Service in our
island possessions has proved especially
destructive to native horsefesh. About
80 per cent of horses bred in the United
States and taken to the Philip
pine Islands die in six months after they
arrive. About Is per cent of horses
exported to South Africa. during the
Boer war, died in three months after their
arrival.
-
Five years ago Gen. Clarence Edwards,
head Of the bureau OF insular affairs, and
q man who had given the cavalry horse
special study, conceived the idea that
he could save the government much
money by importing into the Philippines
q few running bred and Arabian stations,
the same to be crossed on the Spanish
ponies to be found in the islands. Gen.
Edwards informed the writer, when ques-
toned on the subject few days since,
that he was satisfied he was sound in
theory, but, as the prosecution of it was
placed in unscientific hands, the results
first anticipated had not been produced.
It was the generals belief at the be-
ginning (and he still clings to it,, that
with the proper selection OF native mares
the stations he selected would have
produced a superior cavalry horse for the
tropics. This was all the general de-
signed to do, and the failure OF the
| scheme is with him a sore subject these
days
When Magellan discovered the Philip-
pine Islands the horse did not exist there.
When the Spaniards began to exploit the
| islands 300 years ago they introduced
| their native breeds, which were a cross
Of the barbs which the Moors introduced
into Spain on native Spanish mares. A
barb is an Arabian half bred-that is, the
get of an Arabian stallion from any mare
not of the pure blood of the desert The
Bashaw family of trotters. so popular at
one time in this country. had as a COM
mon ancestor the barb Grand Bashaw,
imported into Pennsylvania from Tripoli
in 1895 by a commodore Of the United
States Navy. The dam OF the mighty
Electioneer, sire of more worlds cham
pions than any light harness sire that
ever lived. was lineal descendant Of