Vol. LXVI. No. 3005. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 31, 1907. 
WEEKT.Y. 11.00 PER YEAR. 
A MARKET FOR HORSEFLESH. 
Horses for Profit. 
For many years western Pennsylvania has been 
noted as productive of fine horses, particularly draft 
horses. In almost every section we have breeders who 
make the raising of horses a business. We, however, 
will deal with the subject of horse raising by farmers 
whose chief vocation is the raising of grain and general 
farm products with horse raising, on a limited scale, 
in conjunction. Since raising grain of any variety is 
not considered very profitable in this section, the most 
successful farmers endeavor to keep sufficient live stock 
to consume the product of their farms and market this 
product in the form of beef, pork, mutton or horse¬ 
flesh. The kind of horses best suited for this purpose 
is a matter of consider¬ 
able controversy, but it is 
generally conceded that 
some kind of draft horses 
pay best. As to breed, 
there is again a great 
diversity of opinion, the 
two breeds which at pres¬ 
ent have the most ad¬ 
mirers being the Clydes¬ 
dales and the Percherons. 
As to which of these two 
is better is largely a mat¬ 
ter of personal choice. 
As to the advisability 
of keeping draft horses, 
would say, that they are 
absolutely essential in per¬ 
forming necessary farm 
operations, and to fail to 
make the raising of colts 
a part of the business, is 
to eliminate a consider¬ 
able source of profit, for 
it has been demonstrated 
repeatedly that a good 
brood mare will raise a 
good colt each year, and 
at the same time make a 
good half team. In rear¬ 
ing horses we should aim 
to procure, in the begin¬ 
ning, a good brood mare 
—purebred if possible— 
but at least possessed of 
those qualities which will 
produce the horses in 
greatest demand in the 
section in which you live. 
Next, breed to the very 
best purebred t a 11 i o n 
within your reach. The 
days of grade stallions 
are past in this section. Be just as careful in your 
choice of a sire as of a dam; breed to produce size, 
style and action. The best sellers now are horses 
weighing 1,600 pounds and upward. It is claimed by 
authorities on the subject that, everything else being 
equal, horseflesh sells at 25 cents per pound additional 
for each pound between 1,600 and 1,800 pounds; for 
50 cents per pound between 1,800 pounds and 2,000 
and for a dollar a pound from 2,000 to 2,200 pounds. 
Thus the heavy ones are the ones we should all aim 
to produce, because at best we shall get plenty of the 
light weights to meet the demands for the same. 
Horses in the local markets bring comparatively high 
prices. One man recently sold a grade Percheron 
weighing approximately 1,500 pounds, three years old, 
for $300. Another sold a team of matched Percherons, 
five years old, weighing 3,400 pounds, for $600, and 
another, a three-year-old Clydesdale weighing 1,600, for 
$325. These sales were all from our immediate neigh¬ 
borhood. The action of draft horses is a point which 
is receiving more attention than formerly. A horse 
to command the highest price must move well. He must 
be good at the walk and must trot fairly well. These 
points should not be overlooked in selecting either the 
dam or sire for your colts. 
As to feed, would say that good, clean Timothy hay, 
and oats, corn and bran form the best horse feed; 
thought it is generally conceded that in the interest 
both of results and economy, the corn should be ground. 
As to quantity, circumstances will largely decide this; 
size of the horse, kind of work, etc. A brood mare 
should have wheat bran as a part of her daily ration, 
and whenever her colt is large enough, its growth will 
be hastened considerably if it is fed a little oats and 
bran at each feed. If this course is pursued both the 
colt and the mother will thrive much better. After the 
colt is weaned care should be taken that the colt has 
access to plenty of good fresh water, and wheat bran 
should form a part of its daily rations, with a couple 
of tablespoonfuls of oil meal two or three times a 
week. During the Summer the colt may be turned out 
on pasture, and the expense of raising be considerably 
lessened, but plenty of clean fresh water should be 
provided, and it should have salt regularly. With a 
little care, the average farmer will do all his work 
with a team of good brood mares, and at the same time 
produce two good colts each year. A neighbor, when 
asked his opinion a few days ago, said he has a mare 
weighing about 1,400; she makes a good half team each 
year, and for the past seven years has raised a colt 
each year which at present prices would, at four years 
old, sell at upwards of $200 each. In conclusion I 
would say start right; breed to produce what your 
market demands. Use common horse sense in caring 
for both the colt and its mother, and you will be well 
repaid for all your trouble; will be able to sell your 
grain at high prices in the form of horseflesh and will 
be able to contribute largely to the fertility of the soil 
by means of stable manure, which would be lost if 
your grain and hay is sold. E. e. c. 
Mercer, Pa. 
MUSLIN SCREENS AND THE DIFFUSION 
SYSTEM OF STABLE VENTILATION . 
If the farmers and dairymen desire to use muslin 
screens for stable ventilation it is of the greatest 
importance that they understand fully the principle 
upon which these effect 
the change of air in a sta¬ 
ble and the rate at which 
they are able to do so. 
Your correspondent, C. S'. 
Greene, page 602, whom I 
am informed by Mr. San¬ 
tee is using the muslin 
screen method, appears to 
be under the impression 
that the change of air in 
his stables takes place 
chiefly through the process 
of diffusion, and so speaks 
of it as this system. 
Muslin screens do not 
ventilate chiefly by diffu¬ 
sion. The process of dif¬ 
fusion is an extremely' 
slow process, even in the 
movement of gases, when 
compared with wind 
movements and convection 
currents. If we reflect a 
little upon our own expe¬ 
rience we may be readily 
convinced of the truth of 
this statement. When we 
sweeten a cup of tea, for 
example, we do not wait 
for the sugar in the bot¬ 
tom to diffuse upward 
through the tea, but has¬ 
ten it by prolonged stir¬ 
ring. Fish breathing in 
the water cannot depend 
upon slow diffusion to 
supply their system with 
oxygen, but, as everyone 
knows who has watched 
a fish in the water, gill 
covers are kept contin¬ 
ually in motion, bringing a fresh supply of water con¬ 
stantly moving over the gill surfaces. None of our 
ordinary lung-breathing animals depends upon diffusion 
to supply oxygen or remove carbon dioxide from the 
system. All are provided with a mechanism for forced 
ventilation, which changes the air bodily by a positive 
force and very frequently. In our own case, for ex¬ 
ample, as many as 15 to 25 times or more per minute, 
according to the rate at which oxygen is being used 
and carbon dioxide is being produced and must be 
thrown off. 
We can give no direct measurements of the rate of 
diffusion through muslin screen, but the rate at which 
it takes place through very thin layers of dry, loose 
soils has been measured, and has been found to be, 
for carbon dioxide, at the rate of only .04 cubic feet 
per day of 24 hours at Summer temperatures and per 
square foot of surface. This rate, too, was observed 
A PENNSYLVANIA COLT MAKING HALF A TEAM. Fig. 319. 
