Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1894 — Why Horses are Cheap. [ARTICLE]

Why Horses are Cheap.

The question is often asked by our farmers, why are horses so low in price ? There are various reasons. We will mention a few. Five or six years ago horses were high in price and every farmer was anxious to go into the horse business Brood mares, good, bad and indfferent, the latter much more numerous, were bred to stallions little belter than cruhs. This is the crop of horses that the farmers are clamoring t»sell.

The quality is necessarily inferior and such horses must come in competition with cheap western horses. The supply is largaly in excess of the demand. Street car companies have thrown thousands of such horses oi ih** market by using electricity as a motive power for their cars. One company in New York City recently changed to el-ctricity ss a motive power, that bought, on an average, 1,500 horses yearly. Such changes are being made all over the country. Farmers must raise better horses or none at all. The supply of these cheap horses is simply immense in the west One man in Montana sold 1000 bead recently, for 17,500. 500 of these were better than the average horse that is driven through the sire ts of Rensselaer. Farmers cannot reasonably hope to sell this kind of stock at any but a cheap price And wbat is making the matter worse, Mexico, urider the new tarff, is dumping her over supply on us, to further reduce the price. Brother Farmer, as a rule avoid breeding a scrub mare to a thoroughbred or standard bred stallion. In another article I will give my rea-

SOI 8.

FARMER.