210 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
Farm WimtlmiJls.— C. M. Colby, of Min- 
nesota, asks concerning windmills, whether there is a 
patent. ' ; on a wind-power, consisting of a vertical jhdter 
wheel enclosed in movable blinds, which arc adjusted by 
a governor, to run even." He also asks the expense of a 
windmill for watering stock from a well ten feet deep. — 
We know of two instances in which the flutter wheel de- 
scribed is used, but without a governor for regulating the 
blinds. These are moved by hand. They require a good 
deal of attention, and have not impressed us favorably. 
The application of a governor to these "blinds seems im- 
practicable. A windmill of much better construction, 
perfectly self-regulating, and with power enough for a 
ten ft. well, could he erected for about $100 including the 
cost of pump. 
Spring- Water for Trout IPomds.— 
P. R. "Wagenscller, of Pa., lias a spring so low that he 
can get no fall for a hydraulic ram. He wishes to convey 
its water to a trout pond about 30 rods distant and 12 feet 
above it. He asks : " Is there any contrivance other than 
a hydraulic ram, (which I cannot use for want of a suffi- 
cient fall), or the windmill (which might fail in calm 
weather) by which I could secure the use of my spring 
water to my trout pond ? Is there any way by which 
the spring can be raised above its natural level so as to 
get fall for a ram?" — "Water cannot be raised without 
power. Without a fall the ram is of course out of the 
question ; and it is seldom possible to raise a spring above 
its natural level. As soon as it accumulates a little head, 
it will force an outlet at some fresh point, often beyond 
the reach of masonry. Under the circumstances describ- 
ed, there seems to be nothing so promising as a good 
windmill. By giving a little extra size so that the pump 
may be worked during light winds, there will hardly ever 
he 21 hours together when the pump will not work. 
Horse Papers for Farmers.— Ho. 5. 
Lest it be thought that I attach too much 
consequence to purity of blood in horse breed- 
ing, I desire to give the reason for my belief that 
it is not the only good thing, but much the best 
thing to be sought after. 
"What we know is that the blood-horse is a des- 
cendant, with perhaps a slight admixture from 
other sources, of the Oriental horse, whether 
Syrian, Barb, Turk or Arab. It is claimed that 
the blood-horse, otherwise called the "thorough- 
bred" horse, is even better than his Oriental an- 
cestor, and in point of speed he undoubtedly is 
so. He is also of better size and better adapted 
to our uses. In gaining these advantages, how- 
ever, he has lost much of the beaut}' and some 
of the wonderful endurance of the Eastern horse. 
General Daumas, in his report of the horses 
of the Sahara, which was published with the 
approval of the French Minister of War, gives 
the result of long and careful investigations, 
carried on in Algeria under the most favorable 
circumstances. His account of the feats of en- 
durance of the Arab horse would be incredible, 
"were they not proven by most reliable evidence. 
He says that it is not rare, in time of war, for 
horses, under the saddle, to make from 150 to 
180 miles in twenty-four hours. A tribe, learn- 
ing that its enemies meditate a raid upon it, 
sends out scouts, mounted on the best mares, 
carrying but one ration of barley for the evening 
feed. They sometimes extend the scout from 
75 to 90 miles am}'. If their observations lead 
them to fear an immediate attack, they return 
as rapidly as possible, but if there seems to be 
no danger, they return more slowly but still ar- 
rive at their tents before the evening prayer, 
after having made sometimes from 150 to 180 
miles in 24 hours, (50 to 00 leagues). If there is 
a battle the next day, these same horses are able 
to take part in it. He cites an instance in which 
the favorite mare of an Arab, which had been 
selected by the tribe to which he belonged to 
be given to the Sultan as the price of peace, 
being ridden by the Arab's son 80 leagues (240 
miles) within 24 hours, during which time it 
drank but once and ate nothing but the leaves 
of a date palm. General Daumas says that this 
young man swore to him "by the head of the 
Prophet" that he could have slept the next 
night at Gardaya, 45 leagues (135 miles) further 
on, if his life had been in peril. 
These are but two of man}' instances within 
Gen. Daumas' own knowledge, of wonderful 
feats of speed and endurance. The Arabs of 
the Sahara thus sum up the perfections of a 
horse; " He ought to carry a full grown man, 
his arms and change of clothing, food for both, 
a blanket for bad weather, cany a corpse in 
case of need, and run the whole day without 
thinking of water or food." Of course we shall 
never see and we shall never have occasion for 
such feats of endurance as are here indicated ; 
but all that is most valuable in our own horses, 
is inherited from the race to which such feats are 
possible, and in proportion as we are able to 
infuse this blood into our own stock, shall we 
add to the worth of our horses. 
For the drawing of heavy loads and for farm 
work, we need more weight of body than the 
Arab or the average thorough-bred possesses; 
but the extent to which size may be sacrificed fot 
the sake of blood is greater than would be at 
first supposed, for blood brings not only intelli- 
gence, energy and endurance, but actual physi- 
cal strength. The bones of a blood-horse are 
much stronger and more compact than are those 
of a cold-blooded cart-horse. The one is com- 
paratively like chalk, the other like ivory; and 
the fibre of the muscles as well as the strength 
of the tendons, shows an equal superiority in the 
case of the blood-horse. When, therefore, we 
combine the vigor aud vim of the high-bred 
horse with his greater rapidity of motion, even 
in walking, we shall see that a moderate sized 
horse, requiring much less food for his support, 
will actually accomplish more work in a day 
than the heavier but more sluggish cart-horse. 
As Herbert has expressed it in his Hints to 
Horse-keepers, — "Now as to what constitutes 
value or excellence in all horses. — It is indispu- 
tably, quickness of working, power to move or 
carry weight, and ability to endure for a length 
of time; to travel for a distance with the least 
decrease of pace ; to come again to work day 
after day, week after week, and year after year, 
with undiminished vigor. 
" The horse which can plow an acre while 
another is plowing half an acre, or that which 
can carry a load of passengers ten miles while 
another is going five, independent of all con- 
siderations of amusement, taste, or what is gen- 
erally called fancy, is absolutely worth twice as 
much as the other. It is not only not true, that 
speed alone is the only good thing desirable from 
blood, but something very nearly the reverse is 
true. It is very nearly the least good thing. 
That which the blood-horse does possess, is a 
degree of strength in his bones, sinews, and 
frame at large, utterly out of proportion to the 
size or apparent strength of that frame. The 
texture, the form and the symmetry of the bones, 
— all, in the same bulk and volume, possess 
double or nearer fourfold the elements of resist- 
ance aud endurance in the blood-horse that they 
do in the cold-blooded cart-horse. The difference 
in the form and texture of the sinews, of the 
muscles, and in the inferior tendency to form 
flabby, useless flesh, is still more in favor of the 
blood-horse. Beyond this, the internal anatomi- 
cal construction of his respiratory organs, of his 
arterial and venous system, of his nervous sys- 
tem, in a word, of his constitution generally, — 
is calculated to give him what he possesses, 
greater vital power, greater recuperatory power, 
greater physical power, in proportion to his 
bulk and weight, than any other known animal, 
— added to greater quickness of movement and 
to greater courage, greater endurance of labor, 
hardship, suffering, — iu a word, greater (what is 
called vulgarly) game, or pluck, than will be 
found in any other of the horse family." 
As I write this, I call to mind a horse that I 
owned during the war. He was very nearly it 
not quite, thorough-bred. He was raised in Ten- 
nessee and had been used as a race-horse. I 
rode him almost constantly through a severe 
cavalry campaign that lasted for more than a 
year ; and during the whole time, he never flinch- 
ed from any duty, never faltered under the in- 
fluence of bad weather and scanty forage, and 
was always a cheerful and willing friend and 
servant. One Monday morning I mounted him 
at half-past four, and set out on the march. At 
half-past eight we struck the pickets of Forrest's 
cavalry and spent the next two hours in beating 
the bush and skirmishing. From half-past ten un- 
til half-past twelve, we were engaged in a sharp 
fight that required me to keep in active motion 
over the field. From this time until half-past 
four, being nearly out of ammunition, we were 
kept in scouting duty on the flanks. At this 
time, our arm}' being defeated and in retreat, we 
had to hold the rear until nearly dusk and then 
go to the front to open a way for the infantry. 
The retreat was rapid and unintcrmitted until 
six o'clock on Tuesday morning when we had 
passed a dangerous fork of the road. Here we 
halted for half an hour, during which time my 
horse was unsaddled and allowed to browse 
among the weeds of a barren stubble field. After 
this short rest, we mounted again and re-com- 
menced the retreat, which was continued during 
the day without other intermission than was 
afforded by some active skirmishing in our rear. 
During the day I hardly dismounted for five 
minutes at a time until night-fall, when we halt- 
ed for less than half an hour for consultation. 
Mounting again, we rode the whole night 
through, and until half-past ten on Wednesday 
morning, when we' reached the lines of our main 
army. My horse had been on duty fifty-four 
hours, carrying a weight, (including saddle and 
arms), of not less than 200 lbs. During the 
whole time he was not more than thrice water- 
ed and was almost absolutely without food. 
Yet he came whinnying into camp, not as fresh 
as when he started, but by no means in an ex- 
hausted condition. In a case of life and death, 
I believe he could have gone another da}'. I 
had in my command over two thousand horses 
fit for duty. Of these hardly another one stood 
the work as well as mine did, and I attribute 
his superior condition solely to the fact that 
he was much the best bred horse of the brigade. 
Let not this narration be considered out of 
place here ; for while no farmer is called upon to 
ride two days and a quarter without intermis- 
sion, there is not one who would not appreciate 
the advantage of having a horse that would thus 
carry him if necessary. "If it had been a case of 
plowing instead of fighting, or of hauling ma- 
nure a-way from town instead of carrying a 
whipped cavalry man away from the enemy, I 
am confident that my Tennessee horse would 
have shown the same superiority over the low- 
bred animals of the country, that he did under 
the circumstances described ; and I leave his ex- 
ample to reinforce all that I have said in favor 
of breeding to thorough-bred sires. My future 
papers will be devoted to other branches of the 
subject; but I trust that my readers will con- 
tinue to realize, that the very kevstone of all 
