HORSE V. TRACTOR

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 928, 22 March 1930, Page 27

HORSE V. TRACTOR

AMERICAN EXPERIMENTS HORSES CHEAPER Surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have tended to the conclusion that for most "drawbar" operations on the farm horses - furnish the cheapest power. TJnfor-

tunately, as in this country, the farmer has consistently borne the burden of costly experimentation of tractors which were not adapted to his particular farm or which he should not have at all. says an English writer. In an issue of the New York “Rider and Driver,’* Mr. J. O. Williams, of the department's Bureau of Animal Industry, quotes some figures with regard to The horse population of America. Statistics recently compiled by the department indicate that the total number of horses on farms in the United States on January 1. 19J0. was 14,029,000. Mules at the same time numbered 5,447.000. Approximately 500,000 colts are foaled annually. Assuming that the average length of life of the farm horse is 15 years, about one million foals are annually required to maintain the horse population of the States at its pres ent level. Colt production, therefore, is. now only on a half-rate basis. The number of stallions and jacks enrolled for the three-year period of 192t> to 192 S shows a continued annual decrease in the numbers of stallions and jacks licensed for public service in the States which have en-

rolment laws. The greatest decliue. however, was in grade, scrub, and censed. 82 per cent, of ail stallions licensed being purebred, while 60$ per cent, of the total jacks enrolled were their breeding operations for raising colts for replacement purposes. It has been said that horses eat when they are idle, and it may con versely be said that they do not eai when they work. Some of the distinct advantages of animal power are (1> Lower initial cost. 1 2> Cheaper power for tractive operations. *3* Xo cash outlay for feeds necessan. (4» Replacements tcoltsl can bo raised. ts> A!ore flexibility of power —units can be added, to suit the job. (6) Reserve power for emergencies. (7) More dependable. tS> Can be used in various types of soil and work and topographies of land where tractors cannot.