VOL. XLIX. NO. 2 ii 3 . NEW YORK, JULY 26 , i89o. 
PRICE, FIVE CENTS. 
$ 2.00 PER YEAR. 
A MERCIFUL MAN IS MERCIFUL TO HIS BEAST. 
HE pictures shown at Figures 175 and 176 are re¬ 
engraved from photographs taken on the streets 
of Vineland, N. J. They were sent us by the 
Gage Tool Company. There is no reason to suppose that 
because a horse is a horse he does not need special treat¬ 
ment in hot weather. Many a horse has sickened and 
died from the effects of the heat, that might have been 
saved if ordinary precautions had been taken. The time 
was when men were laughed at for carrying umbrellas in' 
the hot sun, or preferring cultivators or other riding tools 
that were furnished with a canopy. Many a man who has 
scorned to “ make a woman of himself” by using an um¬ 
brella or canopy has been stricken down in the sun and 
deprived forever of a portion of his strength and useful¬ 
ness. There may have been men foolish enough 
to laugh at the “mercy” that provided these 
horses, with an umbrella. The- world is full of 
people who do not or cannot recognize kindness 
or justice when clothed in auy new or novel dress. 
Such men when asked why horses should not be 
nrotected from the sun would only be able to 
say “ They are nothing but horses any way.” So 
they are, but has not a horse feeling, is he not 
affected by the heat, is he not liable to disease, 
is not his capacity for labor measured by his con¬ 
dition ? At this trying season it is our duty to 
remember our dumb friends. They work faith¬ 
fully for us and show their appreciation and love 
by many little caresses. No right-feeling man 
will abuse a faithful servant; he will rather try 
to make the servant as comfortable as possible, 
both as a reward for past services and as a prepara¬ 
tion for future work. The horses shown in the 
picture appreciate the shade provided by the 
umbrella which their careful driver has fastened 
to the pole. This is proved by the way they hold 
their heads. The umbrella has tipped to one 
side, so that the sun falls full in the face of one 
horse while the other is shaded. Notice the dif¬ 
ference this makes. Oue horse holds his head 
upright, while the other drops his in evident dis¬ 
comfort. 
While you are planning to make life easy for 
the horses, remember your own wants. You are 
not made of leather and iron. The same sun, 
wind and rain that ruin oak logs and stone 
walls try their force on you. If you have auy 
regard for your health, it is your duty to protect 
yourself whenever you cau do so. Whenever 
you cau work in the shade, do so. You can use 
your brains to better advantage under a canopy ; 
you will live longer, have a clearer head and a 
better temper. When a man does business 
enough to justify him in hiring help, he should 
expect his hired men to do the heavy work and 
devote himself to managing and planning when¬ 
ever there is any of it to be doue. What has this 
to do with riding under an umnrella? Try it 
and see. Keep yourselt comfortable and see if 
you cannot work your brains to better advautage 
then you can when completely tired out. In 
“ old times ”—uot so very ‘ old ” either—the hay¬ 
makers used to begin work at 4 o’clock A. M. 
There was a “nooning” from 10:30 till 2:30 and 
then work till 6:30. This was for men, however; 
the “ boy ” was expected to “ turn the hay ” while the men 
were resting If the farmer provided a hay tedder with a 
good canopy, the “boy” of the present might uot find 
fault with this arrangement to-day. 
Watering and Feeding in Hot Weather. 
1. How long should the team remain in the stall before 
being fed grain and watered on coming in at noont 
That depends on circumstances. If the water is fresh and 
cold from the well, aud the horses are very warm, at least 
half an hour should elapse before watering. Our plan 
(when we do uot take water into the lot with us, to water 
in the middle of fore aud afternoon) is to pump enough 
water in the wateriug trough in the morning for the horses 
at noon, allowing them then to drink all they want. 
Should the water be too warm, so as to be insipid, we 
usually temper it with cold water directly from the well. 
We should judge of our horses’ needs in hot weather, and 
supply them just as we do for ourselves, always using 
judgment aud care. When I have fed mixed cut feed, 
I always feed right after watering. If dry grain is fed 
give it from one-half to one hour after coming to the barn. 
2. Shall we feed all grain dry ? I do not believe there 
is any loss in feeding dry grain; in fact I think it the 
proper thing to feed farm horses. I have had horses that 
would not eat all of their mess at noon; then it would 
sour, and would not be fit for horse feed; whereas if fed 
dry, it would be eaten up clean. There are exceptional 
cases, but when a horse has good digestion, I prefer from 
two to three quarts of cracked corn, and about the same 
quantity of whole oats, the amount depending on the 
age and size of the horse. 
3. When we stop for supper at 6 o’clock, our team stops 
work for the day. If the animals have come in very warm 
and sweaty, we have time to properly care for them before 
night. Our horses are not turned out to grass, for we can 
give them better care in the stable, and there they are less 
liable to accident. A brood mare needs the run of a pas¬ 
ture, omitting corn in her grain ration. Grass is cut for 
our horses from the time we can cut a fair swath in the 
spring till after we get new hay in the barn. After that 
occasionally they get a mess of grass. P. Or. FRUTCHEY. 
South Livonia, N. Y. 
Farm Notes for Hot Weather. 
When the team come in at noon let them munch on dry 
hay for 15 minutes; take off all the harness; then when 
the horses feel cool give them a half pail of water each and 
feed them; then when they go out to work again let them 
drink at the trough, but do not let them drink freshly 
pumped water. Have water enough pumped so that it 
will be warmed a little by the sun before the team have it. 
At night follow the same line, only let them stand a half 
hour, and then give them the heaviest feed of the day. 
The noon feed should be light, as an animal working 
digests very slowly. F. H. c. 
Summer Care of Work Horses. 
As my grain is right in the clover hay, kept there by 
cutting it early enough so that it has not changed to 
woody matter, we do not have to worry over these grain¬ 
feeding questions. Our grain is in such shape that no 
carelessness with it can hurt a horse. By the way, a 
rather skeptical farmer from a distance came here the 
other day with his team and brought his oats. There was 
some of our early cut, bright clover hay in the mangers 
when he went to feed the oats to his team. He poured in 
the grain and they paid no attention. He took hold of 
their heads and tried to show them the oats ! As though 
a horse were a fool! Did not I enjoy it ? and was not he 
disgusted ? But we try to make our horses comfortable in 
hot weather, and all the time for that matter. We have 
cool, rather dark box stalls for them in summer. 
They are in the basemenn of the barn, but not 
underground. They are kept in there all day 
when not at work. They are comfortable and 
the flies do not trouble them. There is no foul 
odor, either, although the manure is left under 
them for a month at a time, with always plenty 
of dry straw on top. A sprinkling of land plaster, 
each day, absorbs the gases. They are fed three 
times a day, in the stable, and they are cleaned, 
too. After they have bad their suppers, and it 
is late enough so that the flies will not trouble 
them, all but one of them, are turned out in a 
pasture for their comfort. One is always kept 
in the stable for use in case of sudden sickness. 
The next morning, before the flies trouble them— 
usually about 5.30 to 6 o’clock—they are brought 
back to the stable and fed. 
I have four pretty old horses now, and they 
have done their full part towards furnishing the 
means of making ourselves comfortable, and we 
should feel guilty if we did not let them share 
our success. One of the pleasantest things a 
kind neighbor ever said to me was, after looking 
at our stable and covered yard : “Your horses are 
just as comfortable here as you are in your 
house.” T. B. TERRY. 
Summit County, O. 
English Treatment of Farm Horses. 
An English agricultural writer gives the fol¬ 
lowing advice regarding the treatment of farm 
horses at this season. These views are indorsed 
by several of the leading English agricultural 
papers: At this season of the year, he writes, 
farm horses are generally turned into the pas¬ 
tures or fed with green food in the yards at night 
or when not at work. Either of these plans is 
beneficial to hard-worked animals that have been 
living for months principally on dry food. The 
cool, green food acts as a natural medicine, pur¬ 
ifying and giving tone to the system, and the 
feet of those turned into the pastures benefit by 
their cool surroundings. Under these circum¬ 
stances, many people make the mistake of think¬ 
ing that horses require less care and attention, 
and that the green food is sufficient for them, 
and so it is, if they are not required to work ; 
but horses that have to work on the mowing and 
reaping machines, etc., should be allowed some 
grain and be groomed and cleaned to remove the 
sweat and dust from their skins. Negligence in this re¬ 
spect, he believes, often lays the foundation of future skin 
troubles. He is not in favor of giving them grain alone, 
but mixed with chaff. Many horses, too, are improperly 
watered, which is a fruitful source of stomach ailments. 
Water is often withheld during working hours, with the 
result that when allowed to go to the pond or drinking 
trough the horse drinks more than is good for it. A little 
water that has been exposed to the influence of sun and air 
rarely does any harm, even while the animal is at work, 
especially to those that are accustomed to it. For horses 
in the hay and harvest fields some water, with a little oat¬ 
meal stirred in it, is both nourishing and refreshing. Any 
one who has worked in a hay or harvest field must know 
how refreshing a drink is, and how much better he can 
work after one, than if tormented with thirst. The same 
applies to the horse. Wnen horses leave off work for the 
day they should be allowed to cool before being watered, 
after which they may be fed and cleaned, and then turned 
into the field or yard. When the water supply is obtained 
“A MERCIFUL MAN IS MERCIFUL TO HIS BEAST.” 
From a JPhotograph. Fig. 175. 
