52 THE HORSE. 



order to enable tliem to perform tlieir work in tlie most 

 satisfactory manner. Very heavy and weighty draught 

 horse^s are out of place on farms and small lioldiuas which are 

 hilly. 



Breeds. — The Shiro represents the heaviest type of farm 

 horse, but it must be remembered that Shire horses are not 

 all alike as regards weight and size. Some Shires are con- 

 siderably bigger and heavier than others, hence there is much 

 scope for the selection of a suitable team-horse among puie- 

 bred Shires. In Suffolk, the Suffolk horse is much used as 

 team-horse on farms, and it is exceedingly suitable for this 

 purpose. Anyone farming in Suft'olk may with advantage 

 select Suffolks as team-horses. The Suffolk also represents a 

 heavy stamp of farm horse, though not quite so heavy and 

 weighty as the heaviest type of Shire. In Scotland, the 

 Clydesdale breed furnishes a heavy stamp of farm horse; 

 Clydesdales are also, to a certain extent, used as team-horses 

 on farms in the North of England. Only the minority of 

 farm horses are pure-bred Shires ; by far the larger proportion 

 are part-bred Shires, which contain several crosses of Shire 

 blood. Such j^art-bred Shires, or " Shire-bred " horses, pos- 

 sess the characteristics of the pure-bred Shire to a greater 

 or less extent, and they resemble the latter pretty closely in 

 general appearance. The part-bred Shire liorses are excellent 

 for farm work, and, speaking in a general way, they may 

 bo said to be the most suitable kind of agricultural horse. 

 Part-bred Shires, of course, vary very greatly in regard to 

 weiglit and size, and their ranks, therefore, aft'ord plenty of 

 choice, and furnish farm horses suitable for every class of 

 soil and for all districts. 



The Team-Horses which are used for tillage purposes 

 on farms and small holdings, will also perform all the carting 

 on the road that crops up in the course of the year. Such 

 carting work consists in delivering the produce at the corn- 

 factors' or at the station, and in fetching artiticial foodstuffs, 

 brewers' grains, etc., from the neighbouring town or station. 



