corn is glassing; I do not wish to have the ears ripen, and if I lost anything in the ripening of the corn, I more than made it up in the value of the fodder. I set up a hundred hills; I believe I have, some years, set up more, and set it up all at once, and I never have had it heat but one year, that was, I think two years ago, I had a little that heated, and some of that was some of the Yankee corn that I bound up. I prefer binding and hauling, using it as I would tobacco. Take about the last of November, or some time after it is cured, go out when it is a little damp, and one man will bind as fast as a couple of men will haul. Bind it with twine and put it into a barn or stacks. It is very convenient in feeding in such times as it is now, when corn is frozen in, and then we don't have to go out all the unpleasant days to get it. I have a machine that cuts up corn and all. You can put on a horse power, but I have not done that largely, but when we have time we use that, and cut it, and I find it a great saving. If I want any shelled corn I buy it. I take a load of oats and go into Beloit and sell it, and turn round and buy the amount in shelled corn. I feed some shelled corn all the time, and I think there is a profit in cutting up the corn when we can.

THE CLYDESDALE HORSE.

BY ALEX. GALBRAITH, JANESVILLE, WIS.

In asking your attention for a short time to the subject of the Clydesdale horse, I do not wish to appear as a special pleader or advocate of this particular breed of draft horses, but simply to give a short and necessarily imperfect history of the breed, with such general observations as I judge may be of some interest to those present.

Much has been written from time to time on this subject, and it would require the talents of a genius to serve up something that would combine the charms of novelty with a strict adherence to fact and history. What I have to state is "a plain unvarnished tale," gathered from actual experi

ence and standard writers, and without the slightest attempt whatever, at fine phraseology or original conception.

The history of the Clydesdale horse proper, dates back only to the beginning of last century, but to get at the origin of the breed we must go as far back as the year 1066, when what is known in British history as the Norman Conquest took place, and in which William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England, accompanied by the Earl of Flanders, and a strong force mounted on the very finest chargers in the world. These were Flemish horses, said to be descended from a combination of the strong, black horse of Flanders, the Arabian bay, and the original Asiatic white horse, and they subsequently became so popular in Great Britain that a century afterwards King John imported one hundred of them into England for the purpose of improving the draft horses of that country. These Flemish stallions are described as follows: "Color black, with white markings on face and feet, and frequently with all his legs white up to the knees and hocks. He was tall, rangy, muscular, well developed at the vital points, and stood on broad, flat, cordy limbs, which were strongly jointed both above and below, and the backs of which were fringed from the fetlock to the upper end of the cannon bone with long hair. The dominance of the black stock in him gave a short neck and a rather clumsy head, but he possessed enough of the blood of the bay to give him the long sloping shoulders, the long arms and thighs, the oblique pasterns, the splendid style and action for which as a war horse he was distinguished. The abundance of lime in the soil of Flanders contributed liberally to the growth of his osseous frame work, and in size and quality of bone he never was and probably never will be excelled."

Early in the 14th century another large importation of these Flemish horses into Britain was made by King Edward II, and in the year 1352, King Edward III, granted to William, Earl of Douglas, a free passport to allow his taking ten of these "large horses" from Scotland into his English possessions- the strong probability being that these horses were also of Flemish stock. These stallions were crossed

on the native Scotch mares of about 1,300 lbs., very much in the same way as draft stallions are being used on American mares at the present day.

To come now to a much later date, it is reported that the Duke of Hamilton brought over from Flanders into the Clydesdale district six black stallions for the purpose of improving the Scotch breed of horses about the middle of the 17th century, but at all events it is certain that a Scotch farmer named John Patterson, of Lochlyoch, in the upper ward of Lanarkshire and the valley of the river Clyde, brought from England into his own district a black Flemish stallion for the use of himself and his neighbors, and from that horse is descended in a straight line the well known Lampits mare, dam of the noted Glancer, alias Thompson's Black Horse, which was foaled about the year 1810. From this time downwards a correct record has been kept of nearly all the colts bred in that country till the present day, this being rendered less difficult on account of the comparatively limited area over which the breeding of Clydesdales was carried on during the first half of the present century. The Clydesdale horse is therefore in all likelihood descended from-first of all, the black horse of Flanders, from which he inherits his great strength, size and quality of bone. From the white horse he retains the markings on face and legs, while from the Arabian bay, he partakes in a large degree the color, endurance, and hardihood so characteristic of the breed. There has undoubtedly been a vast improvement effected during the last half century in the breeding of Clydesdales, and while the original stock contained the elements of what was really good and substantial, the cli. mate, soil and pasture of Scotland, and especially of the Clyde valley, were specially favorable to the development of bone, muscle and general strength and hardiness; but probably the most powerful agencies of improvement are to be found in the careful and judicious selection of the best and most suitable stallions and mares, the result of intelligent ideas on the science of breeding, also the castration of nearly all inferior or unworthy colts and the friendly rivalry engendered and promoted by competition for premiums at

local and provincial shows or fairs throughout Scotland. The Highland and Agricultural Society which was organized in 1784, for the purpose of improving the condition of the Highlands of Scotland, has been of incalculable benefit in awakening the people to the necessity of improving their stock, and their annual exhibitions are held in rotation at all the principal towns with liberal premiums offered for competition in all the various classes.

The modern Clydesdale may be described as a horse of from 16 to 16 hands high, weighing at maturity in fair flesh from 1,700 to 1,900 pounds, although some weigh 2,000 and over. The prevailing colors are bays and browns with white markings, these being the most popular shades, but there are quite a few blacks and also an occasional grey. Chestnuts are rarely met with unless when crossed with English Shire blood. The Clyde horse has a fair sized head with considerable width between the eyes; profile straight, ears moderately long and active, which are large and prominent, expressive of vigor and mildress of temper; under jaws cleanly cut, neck of good length and well arched on to the shoulders, which are deep, powerful and tolerably sloping. His chest is broad and full, denoting a good constitution; his back short, firm and pretty straight; body round and ribs well sprung, with short couplings; lengthy quarters; arms and thighs powerful and well muscled; hocks broad and clean; cannon bone flat, strong and cordy, with nice fringe of long hair from knees and hocks to fetlocks; pasterns sloping and elastic; feet good size, strong and tough, with heels square and prominent; large knees and joints; general apperance noble, symmetrical, and majestic.

The popularity of the Clydesdale is due in a great measure to action and general disposition. In trotting the action is level and straight, knees and hocks well bent and reaching forward with much life and elasticity getting well over the ground. In walking his superiority over other breeds is quite apparent, as the stride is long and swinging and the whole gait expressive of activity and power. This enables him to get pretty quickly over long distances with very heavy loads, indeed the strength and willingness of these

horses is very apparent to any one who has seen them moving rapidly along the crowded streets of Glasgow and noted the fact that two-horse carts or wagons are quite unknown in Scotland. While full of spirit and vigor the temperament of Clydesdales is as a rule, mild and docile, easily broken to work and very pleasant to handle.

The manner in which Clydesdale horses set themselves to pull heavy loads is noteworthy. He plants his hind feet far forward under his body, his fore feet deliberately thrown straight forward with toes firmly clutching the ground, his head on a line with his body, but not too high, then by a slow, steady pull gaining a strong leverage from the natural bend in his hind legs and bringing into play, all the weight and strength he possesses, he moves off with his load of four or five tons quite cheerfully. Some horses might make a sudden dash with such a load only to recoil backwards, but the deliberate Clydesdale with shoulders and pasterns tolerably sloping goes forward, onward and if need be upwards without any trouble or hesitation. Not the least important characteristic of the Clydesdale horse is that peculiar impressive faculty which he invariably shows when crossed with native or grade mares, the produce in most every case being a strong useful animal, with marked resemblance to the sire.

The Clydesdale work horse, as used in Scotland, shows I think a measure of greater intelligence than any other animal I have come into contact with. In the cart he is guided entirely by word of command, while in the plough he shows a degree of sagacity and intelligence that is positively surprising.

Any one who has witnessed a Scotch plowing match can not fail to have noticed the careful "measured step and slow" which these horses take as their masters hold the plough handles (or "stilts" as they are called), like grim death trusting to the horse's steady, constant, mechanical motion to help them in securing the much coveted prize. It is on such an occasion that the Clydesdale horse is seen to the greatest advantage when fifty or sixty teams decked with ribbons and with their highly polished harness glanc