Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-12

The true test of progress today seems
to be the extent to which science and
system have been brought to bear upon
subject. The man. be he of the
country or the city. who clings to Gus
toms of a past generation. because his
father used to do it that way is be-
ing left hopelessly behind in the march
of progress. A casual knowledge ola
subject is broadened into life study
of the question, and things which used
to be left to Providence are today fig
ured exactly
This applies to the land which today
is scientifically titled and fertilized. to
the implements which are used, the
seeds and plants which are grown. and
now to the animals which help in the
work of farming. The easy-gOing
farmer who makes his leisurely way to
Squash Center to swap horses has
only himself to blame ii he finds he has
been sadly cheated. And if his COW
does not come up to the eloquent &C
counts given by her preceding owner.
he likewise can blame himself.
x =
Science has been applied to this phase
of the farm question by the animal
husbandry division
Work at of the Department
n.u of Agriculture. A
oeAtS'iAAo oAA' striking example
of just what it is doing to improve
farm animals is shown in series OF
experiments being carried on at one oil
it's experiment farms at BeltsVllle
Md. This farm is situated in portion
of Maryland where the ground Is more
or less level. hard and uncultivated
The ground of the farm itself had
probab bly, never been furrowed below
few inches. officials of the division de-
clare. This was due to two things. Not
only is the ground unusually hard, but
the horses which the ordinary Mary
land farmers in that section were in
the habit of using were understood and
not strong enough to pillow more than
the mere crust of the earth The ex-
periments being carried on include
breeding horses of size and strength
sufficient to plow the earth deep enough
to make profitable cultivation possible
as experts in the division declare that
by properly blowing the ground results
equal to those already accomplished on
the farm itself can be obtained
throughout that portion of the state
That is but one phase of the horse
breeding experiments. Mounting our
troops forms an even more important
part Of the work.
'The mounting Of troops in an army is
most serious problem said Mr..
George M. Rommel. chief Of the division,
who also has charge of the horse breed
vision be made for a supply of horses
sufficient to equip the mounted service
for the ordinary routine work during
peace. but horses multiply slowly. and
reserve must be provided for use in
case of an outbreak of hostilities.
I'm the solution Of this problem the
European countries, with the exception
of England, have for more than CEN
fury expended large sums OF money in
the encouragement Of horse breeding. by
maintaining breeding farms. by granting
subsidies to stations. by prizes for
horses bred to suitable type. and by
grants to breeders associations, prizes
for racing, etc. England has heretofore
been content to rely upon the resources
Of her colonial possessions and the
United States for such horses. but her
experience in the Boer war ten years
ago. when she was forced to drain North
America Of a large proportion of the
horses suitable for military purposes,
has compelled her to accede to the de-
mands of the army, and a grant of 5000, =
600 has been made by the board of agri-
culture to encourage the breeding of
military horses at home. That the
United States faces similar condition
is a very widespread opinion.
Next to Russia, the United States
leads the world in the number of horses
it possesses. These horses are the de-
scendants of animals brought from the
old world after the discovery of America
by Columbus, as there We're no horses
on the American continent at that time.
Prior to the civil war the horses Of the
United States were of the light type,
with but one prominent exception. Fol-
lowing that war there began the rapid
importation of draft horses from Europe,
and this trade has fourished until the
present time
Today the requirements Of the army
for horses is about 1900 year. Take.
however, the conditions