The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-16
FOoDSAv!N!G F!O]!o|l!!],;S !l, !I!l!l'.||| BY SUBSTITUTION OF
 CARS FOR HORSES

OHElV 1VlA HlVnt&AO
 The announcement that grains suit able for human food will no longer be fed to horses in Great Britain calls at tention to the possibilities of gradually enlarging the production of the worlds food supplies by utilizing for that purpose the vast areas now de- voted to producing grain for horses for which the world is rapidly substl- tuting power driven vehicles and cul- tivators.
 A compilation by the National City Bank of New York shows that this process of substituting the motor for the horse on highways and farms has already made rapid progress in the United States. The number of horses on farms in the United States in 1917 \ is no greater than ip 1910, while popu- ], lation has meantime increased IS per cent, and tEese changes do not in ciude the horses in cities, where the ! substitution of power driven vehicles { for those drawn by horses is even greater than on the farm. The total ! number of horses in the entire United / States in 1917, including farms and cl- ties, is probably less than in 1910, while population to be fed has 1n- creased 18 per cent.
 Meantime the transfer of produc-s 1 ton from oats,i chiefly used as food i for horses, to that of wheat as food ] for man, seems to have made even more rapid progress. The number of ! acres devoted to the production of oats ! in 1916 showed an .tncrease of less than II per cent over that of 1910. while the acreage dveoted to wheat in 1916 showed an increase of 27 per 1 cent.over that of 1910, corn also show | ing an increase, though not as great as that of wheat.
 During the 1910-1s17 period in | which the horses in the country show , ed a slight decline. and the acreage devoted to the production Of their I food showed a less gain than that of 1 food for man. the production Of pe- 1 troleum used as food for the. road and farm machinery taking the place of ! horses shows an enormous increase. The quantity of petroleum produced in the United States was in 1910 B. ! so1, ,o0o, 900 gallons, and in 1916. 12,-
 264.oO0,0o0 gallons an increase of ap-
 proximately 50 per cent
 Meantime there has been an enor- i mcuss gToYthfn ths number of power l sdrtvep road and farm vehicles and l tractors the census of 1915 showed over $500 ,OO0, 600 worth of automo- piles produced in 1914 against pro- | duction of Hess than $200, 100000 worth shown by the census of 1910. l Of farm tractors the statistics while i Incomplete are sufficient to show :, plainly that they are now performing { much service for which the farmer J was formerly dependent, upon the !, grain consuming horses. A recent : statement by the Department of Agri- culture shows as q partial census Of tractors in the United States 34.37f
 actually in commission and represent {. ing every state of the Union. Very re- cent reports indicate large numbers ,.of farming tractors being purchased for community uses, and a single { misunderstanding c6ncern in Ohio re- l ports contracts for agricultural trac- tors aggregating at present $15. 5.000,- 1 900, with prospects of $50,000,0o0 dur ing the year. ts, [ Figures of world production of the l various cereals indicate that the sub stitution of petroleum fed power ma chimes for the grain fed horse could also materially increase in other coun-
 
 of food for man. The area devoted to the production of oats. chiefly food
 for horses. aggregates for all coun- tries, for which figures are available about 140 million acres, wheat 280 millions, corn ITO millions, rice 40 millions, rye 100 millions. World pro- [ duction in normal years, is. in very round terms, oats approximately 41-2 billion bushels wheat 4 billions corn
 4 billions. rice 5 billions. rye 2 bil- lions. and barley 1 1-2 billions. In the United States where oats and
 wheat grow side>by side on lands ca pablo of producing either grain, the area devoted to oats was, >in 1915, the
 banner crop year, Al million acres,
 and to wheat, 60 million acres. sug-
 gesting that the gradual substitution of the petroleum fed roadster and l farm implement for the grain fed
 horse, as the present generation of horses passes out of existence, might largely increase the wheat producing ] area, while a similar substitution
 might follow in other part of the
 world, as a whole, in which the area devoted to tine production of oats is
 about one-half as great, as that de-
 voted to wheat.
 Meantime world production of that
 substitute for horse power on roads
 and farms, petroleum, Is increasing
 with remarkable speed, the total world
 production of petroleum. having grown
 from 150 million barrels in 1900 to
 s2s millions in 1910, and 430 mill
 lions in 1915.
 .-