miles with no chance to rest themselves, crowding and pushing till 

 they are all in a sweat and then allowed to cool off by the winds 

 striking them through the unprotected sides of the car, and without 

 food or water. 



Eailroad companies should be compelled by law to provide suita- 

 ble cars for the shipment of horses. These cars should be built so 

 as to protect the horses from the wind, yet thoroughly ventilated. 

 Each horse should have room to rest himseli and a place for water 

 and feed. 



One reason why most horses that are shipped are in bad condition 

 for a long time, becoming acclimated, horsemen say, is that they 

 catch cold and get themselves out of condition in the transit. 



Let Congress look into this matter, order proper modes of ship- 

 ping horses, and we will see a marked decrease in diseases among 

 horses* 



Special to the Farmer. 



The necessity for improvement in farm stock to meet the exigen- 

 cies of close times, of which considerable has been said of late, is 

 one which does not end with cattle, sheep and swine, but includes 

 the horse stock as well. Perhaps the improvement in these other 

 descriptions of stock is of more importance because of their greater 

 numbers, but a great deal can be gained by giving more attention to 

 the character of the horse produced and maintained on the farm. 

 Horses cannot be dispensed with on the farm, and no one makes the 

 attempt, as the major part of the farm work is performed with their 

 help, but the cost of their keep is a heavy burden. Many farmers do 

 not realize this, because the food they consume is produced upon the 

 farm ; but inasmuch as if not consumed by them this food could be 

 sold, or something saleable raised in its stead. The support of the 

 horse stock is a very material item of farm expense. On a very 

 large proportion of farms, if not upon the majority, the class of horses 

 maintained is such that practically no return is secured from them 

 beyond the labor they perform. This i? a good deal, of course, but 

 it is not enough, for with a better grade of foundation stock and 

 more care in the selection of stallions, the production of horses can 

 be made to contribute very handsomely to farm revenues withoul 



