Newspaper Page Text
VOL. XXIII. NO. 14.
The Cajrtersville Express.
ENtabliHlied Twenty Years
RATES AND TERMS.
SUBSCRIPTION.
One copy one year $1 SO
One copy six months 7o
One copy three months 60
Payments invariably in Advance.
ADVERTISING RATES.
Advertisements will be inserted at the rates
of One Dollar par inch lor the first insertion,
and Fifty Cents tor each additional insertion.
Address, S. A. CUNNINGHAM. '
About Mixing Soils.
Deep plowing may be injudicious in some
cases. The deeper soil may contain some
substance that is harmful to vegetation.
This fact can usually be discovered by the
previous step, always to be taken before
deep plowing in moist lands, namely deep
draining, that should be done before any
attempt is made at deep plowing. Even
good draining is rarely effective at once.
Time is needed for water to find its proper
channels. Possibly for two years, or more,
a subsoil plow may raise as much subsoil as
may be profitably mixed with the surface
soil the first and second season. In all
cases of deep draining and deep plowing,
exposure to a winter’s freezing and a sum
mer’s fallowing will improve and mellow it
—will <lry and oxygenate it so that it may
do but little harm if well mixed with the
surface soil.
Such draining and deep plowing should
he done in the latest autumnal months, that
the frost of winter may mellow the soil and
kill the cocoons or insects that have found
a winter’s home in the deeper soil. We see
then great room for discretion in the deep
plowing. Failures in crops do not show
the principles on which deep plowing is
baaed to be false, but local peculiarities ex
ist that demand wisdom in their treatment.
Successful cultivation of large treats of land
must be based on science and experience.
No royal road to the cultivation of the soil
is known.
One result of value in draining and plow
ing is that they have a tendency to mix
soils that are near each other, one above the
other. Some soils do not possess all the
constituents that contribute to the growth
of plants. They may possess too much of
one and too little of another. Peaty soils
contain too large a per cent, of vegetable
material; they may be improved by sand or
clay or lime; a sandy soil needs the aid of
clay to give it more consistency. A clayey
soil may need sand to give it more porosi
ty. Sandy soils sometimes rest on clay, and
clayey soils may rest on sand ; mingle them
and they yield paying crops; this course of
treatment improves greatly the qualities of
the soil; it consolidates the peats and sands
and renders loose and porous the nearly im
penetrable clays.
The productiveness of a soil depends on
its physical condition scarcely less than on
its chemical constituents. It needs a full
supply of all those inorganic matters that
special plants need for nourishment, growth
and health. Tf these matters are in a full
supply, possibly these soils may need sand,
to separate its particles and render the to
tality more porous. In improving any land
we need to consider its chemical and phvs-
ical condition. Here again we see the value
of science and experience ; we should not
trust to chance, another name for human
ignorance. U ually the good effects of add
ing clay to peaty or sandy soil are mostly
due to physical and chemical alteration ;
adding clay renders all light soils firmer
and more able to yield a prolific crop; add
ing marl to land does a double duty; it
makes clay lands more friable and porous;
to all soils it adds the carbonates and oft
en the phosphate of lime. Both these
limey salts are needed to foster vegetable
growth and health. The food plants con
sume graduates their value as much as the
food animals eat gives a value to their flesh.
And we clearly see how important and even
absolutely necessary mixing various earthy
and chemical constituents may be if we
wish to secure paying crops. It is the pay
ing faculty of some soils that gives them
their value. And so farmers wisely ask:
Will deep draining and deep plowing pay?
The proper answer to this question involves
the simplest elements of arithmetic and a
competent amount of common sense. In
some districts they do not pay; in others
they do. The difference does not depend
entirely upon the soil, but partly, if not en
tirely, upon the minds who runs it.
The Sweet Potatoes in England.
Gardener’s Monthly.
We called attention recently to the cu
rious fact that only now, after a hundred
years of American experience, were the
English people beginning to know any
thing of sweet potatoes. In a recent
number of the Garden we find this further
note: “I amused myself on one of those
recent cold days by roasting some sweet
potatoes in hot ashes —roots that I bought
from Mr. Garcia in Covent Garden. I
mean the sweet potatoes of North America,
which is so good when roasted or baked.
For the first time I found that these Co
vent Garden specimens turned out very
well. The sweet potato is an excellent
vegetable, and I should advise our Ameri
can friends to send us quantities of well
ripened roots, and also tell us how to
them. I noticed in America that, just as
with our common potato at home, there
are wet and dry tubers, mainly owing to
differences of soil. I understand those
grown in the sandy soils of the South are
much better in America than those raised
elsewhere It seemed to be a greater
favorite than the common potato, which
was there called the Irish potato, to distin
guish it from this one. I believe it to be
more nutritious than the common potaco,
and, when good, it turns out something
between a sweetmeat and a vegetable. To
import a vegetable which our climate pre
vents us growing, and which, in conse
quence, is a novelty to most people, is very
desirable. Ido not know if their price is
high in America, but it would be a great
boon if they could be sent here in such
quantities as would allow of their being
used as food. At present they are merely
Covent. Garden curiosities.”
Flower Garden aud Pleasure Ground.
The.following seasonable hints we take
from the Gardener’s Monthly for April :
The best time to plant evergreens is
always a disputed point—some preferring
the early, others the later spring. But the
average planter takes the earliest advan
tage, for there is always enough to do
when the last chance to do anything ar
rives. The real difference in season is
hardly in favor of one over the other;
much more depends on the manner in
which the tree is taken up, and manner in
which it is planted, than on the precise
month in the year. More trees die from
bad planting than from a bad season, or
bad digging; and bad planting consists
more in not having the earth rammed in
tightly about the roots than even some
good tree planters imagine. It is all very
well to spread out the roots with the fin
gers, and to punch a fist full of earth here
and there. It is not because one spends an
hour over a job that it is done well. Nor
is it any proof of good planting that a
large hole, or a deep hole, or a hole full of
good soil, or a dozen buckets of water, or
the prevention of drying by the roots, oj
the cutting off of the wounded were all
scrupulously attended to. We may do all
this, and the tree be very badly planted
indeed. The man who takes a heavy pav
ing rammer, and rams in lightly every
shovelful of earth as it goes on the roots,
and who may perhaps finish the job of
planting even a large tree in fifteen min
utes, we should regard as much the best
tree planter. If the tree has been badly
dug. this may be remedied by cutting back
some of the weaker branches, and leaving
the stronger ones ; but nothing will make
up for a loosely packed soil about the
roots.
Where evergreens can be benefitted by
pruning, April is a Very good month to at
tempt it. If a tree is thin in foliage at the
base, the top of the tree, leader and all,
must be cut away. It makes no difference .
what the kind is, all will make new leaders
ifter being cut back, if properly attended
to. We make this remark because there is
a prevalent idea that pines will not stand
this cutting. Of course the trimming
should be done in a connical manner, so
as to conform to the conical style of the
evergreen tree. Sometimes an evergreen,
especially a pine, will rather turn up some
of the ends of its side branches than push
out another leader; when this is the case,
cut these away, and a real leader will form
the second year.
Evergreen hedges should be trimmed
now, cutting them conically, so as to give
light to the lowermost branches.
There is so much to be done in April
that the briefest hints must suffice. First,
of course, we must prepare the ground for
planting. Soil loosened two feet deep dries
out less in summer than soil one foot deep.
Rich soil grows a tree larger in one year
than a poor soil will in three. Under
drained soil is cooler in summer than soil
not underdrained. The feeding roots of
trees come near the surface; therefore,
plant no deeper than necessary to keep the
tree in the soil. If there be danger of its
blowing over, stake it, but don’t plant
deep. One stake set at an angle is a good
as two set perpendicularly. Straw or mat
set round the tree keeps the bark from rub
bing. Large stones placed around a trans-
planted tree are often better than a stake.
They keep the soil moist, admit the air,
and encourage surface roots. Shorten the
shoots at transplanting. This induces
growth, and growth produces roots ; and
with new roots your tree is safe for another
season. Unpruned trees produce leaves,
but little growth, and less new roots.
In arranging flowers in beds, aim at vary
ing from last year. And to obtain this
ever-changing and pleasing variety, annu
als are the very things for the purpose.
But they must have good soil and careful
attention, or the seed will be sure to fur
nish a good excuse for neglect or bad prac
tice in many instances. Very fine seeds
may be sown quite on the surface, and a
little moss, dried and powdered, spread
thinly over the seeds. The common cause
of failure is deep sowing. The nearer the
surface the better, provided they do not
ever become dry—which is as fatal as deep
planting. It is a happy practice that can
just hit the middle way. Climbing annu
als are particularly interesting. Tube
roses are best planted out as soon as all
danger of frost is over, in a rich, moist,
warm, sandy soil, if perfection is desired.
Roots that flowered last year will not
flower again for two seasons.
Peter Cooper, an invalid in his youth,
I has reached the age of 90,
CARTERSYILLE, GA., FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1880.
A Dream.
From the Dixie Farmer :J
I dreamed of drifting down a stream—
A turbid, restless tide—
With wrecks oi broken crafts afloat,
All drifting by my side.
I looked below, and darker still
I saw the flowing tide ,
I then cut loose my feeble hold
My own life’s boat to guide.
I had not rowed thus far or long
Until I found at last
That what I had of strength was gone,
And chances almost pa t.
I cast a longing look of hope
Upon the turf bound shore,
And thought of all my helplessness
Or what I could do more.
My dearest friends were looking on,
But heeding not my fate;
My feeble cries—a wretch undone !
I’d almost past the gate,
When, lo! I thought of One above
Whose strength, with might and main,
Gould succor me from deep distress,
And bring me back again.
My hopes returned, but strength was gone,
To Him I left it all—
The one to whom we all should come,
I made my last weak call;
'Twas not in vain, for soon I found
Myself upon the shore,
Singing prai es long and loud,
As not by me before.
And now, my friends, the landing’s made,
Butyonder goes the wreck,
With precious souls still clinging on
That soon must strike the rock—
The rock which wrecks the last of hope,
And leaves them all undone —
Shall we stand by and not cry out,
Behold, your Saviour’s come ?
T.P. C.
East Nashville, April 2.
How to Apply Fertilizers.
Wm. M. Brown, Macon Telegraph & Messenger.
There is a wide diversity of opinion
among farmers upon this subject. Certain
ly there is a wide diversity among them in
practice. Home apply fertilizers deep, some
shallow, some in the drill, some in the hill,
and now and then there is one who applies
them broadcast. In reference to the dep th
at which they should be applied, our own
experience teaches to put them in deep, and
our reason for this is, that when the fertil
izers are put in deep, the fine food-finding
and food-absorbing roots are developed at a
depth under the surface where they are not
injuriously affected in time of drought,
whereas, when they are put in shallow, the
roots being chiefly developed just where the
fertilizers are deposited, these roots put
forth where they will languieh and die when
the surface soil becomes parched under the
scorching influence of the sun during the
droughts which generally occur during the
first months of summer.
It has been abundantly demonstrated, we
think, that plants are endowed with a
sort of instinct which enables them to
search for food and select that which is
best suited to their several species, and that
the roots which search for, find and absorb
the food which nourishes the plants, are most
largely developed immediately round the
matter upon which they feed. Therefore
this development should be encouraged to
take place where the effects of a protracted
drought will be least felt. There is a very
common error that roots are provided at
their extremities with spongioles resembling
the mouth of a leech, by which they suck
up nourishment and that it is wholly in
this way plants are fed. It is well proved
that this is a mistake, that the extremities
of the roots and rootlets cannot absorb
liquids at all, but that is through the young
and tender surface of the roots that they
absorb nourishment from the earth. The
old tough roots have no power of absorp
tion.
It is astonishing to what a length the
roots of familiar plants are developed. Ex
periment has sown that in a rich, well
broken and thoroughly pulverized soil, a
barley plant will produce as much as 128
feet, and an oat 150 feet of roots. Wheat,
in less than two months after being sown,
has been found to have sent its roots as deep
as seven feet, and clover and lucerne have
been known to extend to a length of thirty
feet.
We thus see to what a depth the roots of
plants will penetrate, to what a large extent
their combined volume is equivalent, and
how they feed and absorb nourishment. All
this teaches the necessity to healthful plant
growth of deep breaking of the soil, of ex
tending as much as possible the area of
nourishment, and of encouraging the great
est developments of feeding rootlets where
drought and heat can do the least injury,
by putting the fertilizing material designed
to be absorbed by them, where an ordinary
drought can do no injury.
We wish that some of our friends would
make experiments on the subject this year
and report results. Our own practice, to
which we mean to adhere until convinced
of its error, is to open the rows with a long,
wide shovel, deposit the fertilizer at the
bottom of the furrow, diffuse thoroughly
in the soil by running a subsoil plow in the
fertilized furrow, and then finish the bed.
' * *
.
Choice Tobacco Seed.
The treatise on tobacco, by Robert L.
Garland, of Halifax county, Va , gives the
following:
The choice of seed, suited to several
grades, is of paramount importance. No
one but a novice would sow Bull Face and
Big Frederick for the fine manufacturing
grade, or choose the'fine varieties for
heavy coarse stock. A careful, sensible
man will select those varieties which ex
perience has demonstrated will produce the
grades for which his soil and climate are
best suited.
We recommend for the dark, heavy ship
ping grades, the Long Green, Big Freder
ick, Bull Face, and Medley Pryor, with a
preference for the latter where a rich black
leaf is wanted.
For a desirable cutting grade and heavy
“drinker”—that is, a porous leaf that will
absorb much manufacturing material, we
recommend the White Burley.
For mahogany wrappers and sweet fillers,
there is nothing that excels Sweet Oronoko.
For bright wrappers, Yellow Oronoke,
Yellow Pryor, White Stem, and Gooch,
each has preference according to locality
and fancy.
But what is of transcendant importance
to every planter who studies his interest, is
to produce first class goods, whatever the
grade, and, where it is possible, to place
upon the market only what is sure to please
the best class of customers.
Improved Poultry.
We will suppose that you now have
your stock and breed selected, and that
you have secured a trio or more of chick
ens. In the first place see that they have
grounds and range as roomy as possible.
Chickens can be bred in close and confined
quarters, but the best results in health,
vigor, and beauty are connected with a
large range, and good pasturage. An ash
box is a good dusting pan, but an open
roadway or a mule wollow in an adjacent
open lot is far better. If roosts and nests
are kept sweet and clean with whitewash
and carbolic acid the biddies will dust off
all mites and insect pests.
In the next place, see that your hens
have moderately roomy, secluded, safe, and
clean nesting places to lay their eggs and
do their hatching, and when the young
ehicks are out, burn the old net, clean and
whitewash the nest box, and replace the
•Id straw or hay with new. When you set
your hen spinkle the bottom of the nest
with powder of sulphur, in which a few
drops of crude carbolic acid has been thor
oughly mixed, being careful not to let the
powder come into direct contact with the
eggs. And it is well, also, when the hen
and chicks are removed, to rub a little of
this mixture well among the feathers of the
mother, especially under the wings and
around the neck.
For feed for the young chicks at the
start we have found nothing better than
corn meal fed raw and boiled alternately as
we find the little ones relish it, with an oc
casional bit of boiled fresh meat, chopped
fine, and mixed with their food. This we
have found all sufficient, and chickens
grow and thrive upon it until they are
ready for the whole corn and oats, but even
tliis is best when once in a while boiled
and mixed with vegetables and green food
food chopped fine, and we feed this to young
and old.
One thing, be sure not to forget to salt
the food a very little for the chicks, and
when quite young, but as they grow older
and for the mature fowls all food should
have as much salt as is ordinarily used in
seasoning human food, and strict attention
to ibis will go far in warding off many dis
eases, and will add much to the beauty of
plumage and general vigor of your flock,
and will improve both the flavor and con
sistency of the eggs.
We are giving your readers the result of
five years experience. Of course where
few fowls are kept, and there is a wide and
open field and barnyard range there will,
in summer, be little need of feeding except
for the young birds, but in (he fall, and ear
ly spring, and winter you will find that it
will add largely andprofitably to your egg
production, and will materially and notice
ably increase the health, vigor, nnd beauty
of your spring chickens.
Brevities.
American Poultry Yard.
Spring wheat is the best of all grain for
making eggs plenty.
Dust baths are highly essential, where
fowls are restricted to limited space, at any
season.
Set your hens this month, whenever they
become broody. There is no better season
than April, ordinarily, for this work.
Eggs for sitting are best not over a
fortnight old. If much older they are
longer in hatching, and the chicks are not
so thrifty.
Sitting hens, turkeys, ducks, or geese all
incline, when “broody,” to seek out retired
places in which to commence this opera
tion.
If the purchaser of valuable eggs would
always perform his duty as faithfully as he
expects the seller to perform his, we would
hear less charges of dishonesty, less fault
finding with express companies, etc.
One cure for egg-eating is to take a sharp
knife and cut off the ends of the fowl’s
beaks enough to make them bleed, then
throw down some china or painted wooden
eggs for them to try their raw bills on for a
few days, and you will not be troubled any
more.
Whitewashing can be done advantageous
ly in the months of April and May, for the
spring cleansing of hen houses. This
should be performed at least twice every
year, and at each season it should be done
thoroughly. Do not mince matters, but
ply the brush vigorously. Use plenty of
whitewash, and pay especial attention to
the corners and crevices.
Training Saddle Horses.
H.. in New York Sportsman.
I see ** N. O. S,” of Pike county, Mo.,
wants to know how to train saddle horses.
When I came to this State twenty odd years
ago, breaking and training horses was a
business. Then, the vast plains that are
now cultivated farms were used as cattle
ranges. The cattle were, almost as wild as
antelopes, and necessarily had to be handled
entirely by men on horseback, hence the
need of well trained saddle horses. The
stock business was a condition of things
when the Americans came here. We soon
found that the Mexicans were better men
to break and handle horses than we were.
It was my lot to go on a stock ranch, and I
found but few men of any nationality that
could break a horse perfectly,and not more
than one horse in twenty-five that was ca
pable of taking the instruction ; but occa
sionally an American was found who could
break a horse properly. John Funk, of the
Willows Ranch, was one of the best in the
early days. I beg the reader not to con
found breaking horses with riding, as riding
vicious horses is purely a mechanical art,
or nearly so, while breaking one to bit re
quires the most delicate judgment, perfect
self-control and firmness, of anything man
is called upon to do. This may seem a rank
assertion to many, and, in fact, to a large
majority of horsemen, but a perfectly bit
ted horse can litterally be set upon his
haunches with a light tow string, when at a
full run. All men who have broken horses
to saddle have learned that horses are right
and left-handed so to speak; that is, they
learn to turn to the bit one way easier than
the other. They turn easier to the left,
and there are a few driving horses even
that will turn as readily to the right as to
the left, especially young horses. Now, it
is absolutely imperative that a saddle horse
should turn as well to the left, as to the
right, and vice versa. It is impossible to
have a pleasurable riding horse without a
perfect mouth. The business of California
in early days required such horses for the
safety of the limb and life of their riders.
I will now suppose that some wild colts are
to be broken. First, they are corraled, then
for the purpose of bitting one perfectly, one
is selected which will have the utmost pains
taken with him. First look for one in the
band of just the rightsize and build, which
will vary a little as to whether he is to be
used on a level or a mountainous or hilly
range. He (never a mare, for notone mare
in two thousand can possibly be given a
perfect mouth to do business with, although
for simple cross-country riding they will do
as well as the horse,and for roadsters in har
ness are better,) for a hilly range, should be
a little more stocky, and from thirty to 60
pounds heavier than for the plains. He
should be good in the loin and flank, and
unexceptionable in the chest and shoulders,
standing square on all feet, with legs a lit
tle under him, the hinder legs slightly the
most so. Of course the neck should be long
and well up, and above all the head. Just
the forehead you would pick for; a bright,
intelligent horse, full, bright eye, clean-cut,
lengthy ear, with an active, sensitive play,
a good strong jowl, and the nose from the
eye down strong and full; not large in pro
portion to the rest of the head, but not a
whit below the size requisite to proportion ;
nostrils large and deep and open, but not
thin. When you find these characteristics,
you have the form that will give you all
the fashionable gaits, and the disposition
and intelligence to train into a good horse.
Now the practiced horseman will pick this
colt from a band in a moment; in fact, he
will have had his eye on him as he has been
growing up. Whiz ! goes the lariat, the
noose drops over his neck, and if he does
not choke down quickly, another goes to
his fore feet and he is thrown. He then has
a blind put on, then a hackamore —which
is the halter and bridle both in one. He is
let upon his feet as quickly as possible.
This is not barbarous, because it is necessa
ry ; you would injure the colt to try to
tame him otherwise. He is taken by sur
prise, and has no time to become sullen or
vicious. He is then handled at the end of
the halter a little; pulling him first to the
right is preferable, but alternate to the left,
not more than two or three times each way.
The blind is then pulled down, the saddle
put on, the blind raised, the colt led out of
the corral, and the rider, blinding him
again, mounts. Two other horsemen should
accompany, so as to turn the colt either
way without the use of the rein. If the
colt bucks, he is allowed to do so without
any notice being taken of it, unless he per
sists, when the outriders will whip him to
start him into a run, when the rider will
pull gently and firmly enough to steady his
head. After a time the rider will pull
sharply and firmly on the right rein, turn
ing the colt end for end, or more. He will
then be urged into a run again, and turned
to the left; this is to be repeated two or
three timfs each way, when he should be
turned toward home by the outriders, and
the reins used no more. If the colt tries to
bite the rider’s legs he should be punished,
but not to an extent to get him sullen, and
the same treatment if he kicks at the rider’s
legs. The utmost care should be used to
avoid sullenness, for when that is done, you
have lost the highest character of your
horse, scarcely ever to be regained. When
you get home take off the saddle and wash
the colt all over. A bath is the most re
freshing to disturbed temper of any treat
ment in the world. Take off all but the
blind, and put a long rope on the neck and
turn him loose in a corral or stable. Sad-
S. A. CUNNINGHAM.
dle him every day for a few days, and then
every other day. Then twice a week, and
as the length of the interval increases, in
crease the distance ridden. The second
outriders may be dispensed with after
a few days, on the judgment of the
colt’s rider, and after a few weeks, or
even less, the colt can go alone. It is bet
ter to start out in company and let the com
pany leave him while out, but this is a
matter of judgment. Do not try to force
the colt to a fast walk until he has been
ridden a long distonce, enough to tire him
somewhat, as you will thereby get a much
purer gait. Let him run, lope, or trot, not
so long at once as to get hot, as that hurts
his temper and courage, and if his courage
does not prove to be high—above the aver
age—do not fool away your time on him,
for you have made a had selection and you
must start anew. Although tho*.poorer
animal should have as near the same treat
ment as you can afford to give him, you can
never make a high-toned horse of him.
If on use, the jaws become sore underneath,
treat them as carefully as possible; per
haps it will become necessary to turn him
out a week. He should not be kept up
more than six weeks at first, when he
should be turned loose with some gentle
broken horses for three or four weeks, the
association of gentle horses being requisite
after you begin to break your colt. After
yoa have given him a rest and taken him
up, you will find that he is much more
gentle and tractable than when you turned
him loose, though he may be a little suspi
cious the first day. Never allow yourself
to strike or pull him in anger. Get angry
as much as you please, but never let him
know it, even by going about him with an
angry breath, for he is sure to discover it,
and it is sure to hurt him. If you cannot
keep your temper for time of need, do not
attempt to break colts that are of any par
ticular value. When you have handled
your colt for six months he should be so
well broken to the hackamore that he will
turn end for end like a flash, with both
reigns in one hand, with a very slight pull
on the jaw and a slight pressure on the rein
side of the neck, and turn as easily to the
the right as to the left. He is then at a
point to have the bit put into the mouth,
which should have a little brine put on it
to make the taste attractive. No reins
should be put upon the bit for several days;
this is to prevent any any possibility of us
ing the biton him until he gets used to it.
After he has begun to champ the bit and
play with it, it may be used very carefully
and in connection with the bridle for three
or four months. During all this time, or
from the end of the first two months, the
colt can be used at such work as driving, or
handling young stock, but never take him
out to fill the place of a horse. Let him
merely go along to learn- not to work.
Writers have eulogized the trainers of
Goldsmith’s Maid and other strong-willed
ones for their patience. The patience of
the saddle horse trainer and breaker must
never give way ; he is in closer contact with
his horse than the driver. A man who can
thoroughly bit a saddle horse is a great
horseman. Ido not believe it is possible to
bit a horse well by the plan taken from the
Rural World. I remember the Arab stal
lions given to Grant were spoken of as be
ing capable of guidance with a silken string
or thread. I can readily believe it, and
presume the Arabs use a similar mode of
bitting their horses to that used by the na
tive Californians. If I were going to break
to saddle a lot of high-mettled colts that
had been leared gently, I would use a bit
ting harness on them most thoroughly, and
teach them to turn to the bit quickly, right
and left, before they were saddled. Then
give them the same patient treatment I
would a wild one, never forcing. If a colt
gets sullen, stop, and if you can’t do bet
ter. take off the saddle and go home on
foot. Bitting a colt, or giving him a
mouth, is one thing—training him to gaits
is another. In early days here, we had oc
casionally hoisesthat would wa'k 60 miles
in twelve consecutive hours, or get over a
hundred miles in the same time at any oth
er gaits. They were of the despised mus
tang breed; but they were of royal blood
nevertheless. In reference to gaits, I would
teach saddle horses to rack (single foot);
it is easy for the rider as well as the hor a '\
I believe a method can be adopted that will
make it easy to teach any fair-gaited horse
to rack as it is now easy to break a pacer
to trot. Perhaps there is now a method, but
Ido not know of any. To revert to the
breaking, I will say I have seen Rarey,
Taffe, and other tamers of vicious horses,
and I believe for a horse that has been
spoiled, their methods of handling are
good ; but for a colt, if I had the physical
ability, I would handle him as I set forth,
and if I wanted a royal saddle horse—if I
did not have that physical ability—l would
use just as little of those horse-tamer
methods as I could possibility get along
with And now, whether “N. O. S.” has
wild or gentle colts, whether he wishes to
break them, and give them a royal mouth,
or just to get them into the market at
moderate prices, he can take his choice of
styles of handling. I fear this article is
too long, or I would like to add a word of
inquiry about park horses, and a word
about a park horse standard. I am cer
tainly in favor of a standard, as it will
tend to the development of that class into
a pure breed. I think they should be re
qnired to have certain heights, weight, and
speed. Please give us your ideas.