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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1946-10-03, Page 14T .E GODERICA SIGN -STA' ocTo • History of Horse s a Ts Interesting rirst fonaesticatedI • in Asia Ntzkor iu Egypt The International Plowing Match is held not' only in the interests of skilful .plowing, but also for the development of the horse. This will beAbly demon strated at Port Albert in the Inter- national Victory Plowing Match. Ile is essential to the success of the match and it„snight be of interest to review briefly a few facts regarding,his early ' history. ' According to the earliest historical records,, species of wild horses roamed at large in Europe and Asia. but it was -Asia Minor and Egypt where• the horse was first domesticated, and trained to servo man. L'.ater.in'Greeee, Rome and tl, e remote parts of Asia,, his ire was recognized. It was in Spain, France ,and the British -IMO that the greatest strides were made in the development of the horse in aneieet tunes. Horse in History - The development and- domestication • of the horse i,, parallel with the' ad- . vaneement of civilization. Julius Caesar, in his accounts of the wars in Brttain,jnentions the rase -of the horse by the early Britons and the speed and skill with which they used the • horse in battle. The horse was later used in state and religious ceremonies, which added to the glory and pomp of such occasions. During the reign of ° { William the Conqueror, tapestries were woven showing a horse attached to a crude wooden harrow. This horse was attended by a man, and it is the first record of the horse in the agricultural industry in Britain. The horse was trained ' to play his part not only in war pageantry and industry, but in sport. The mail -clad knights. mounted. en fiery steeds dashed to defeat or victory while the crowds applauded. • The War • Horse The first type of English horse was the "great horse" 'or "war horse." He Was used during the Crusades and up _to about 10.00. This horse wasde- --reloper b;i fi?le,use•. Fier isritms.t allitns imported from Normandy and for near- ly 500 years British breeders centred their attention on size: from these two' breeds evolved the Clydesdale and Shire. . The T'ereberon breed was built tip from the heavy diligence or stage coach horse. this horse was selected for gaze and speed, but with the advent of the steam coaeh this horse found its way into the agricultural industry. TheBelginn horse was developed in Belgium from the old Flanders horse which wss native to this area. The Flemish •blood played a 'part in the development of ,onir draft breed.. Draught Horses - When a demand arose in cities for, a horse to move Ileavy loads- through the streets the Clydesdale and Shire ,frow Britain, and the Percileron and Belgian . frobi the Contintant, met the requirements. From ' ancient times. until the present, man lias,been striving by breeding and selection--to---produce_ a horse to -snit •the• work -he- must per form,' until today we see the horse industry striving for a draughty horse, deep -bodied, Well' muscled, moving ,on clean, flinty legs, springy pasterns, with good large`` hoofs. with a told straight stride, and if he 'meets the demand he must be pleasing to the eye. - N o work horse can be a good one without the' cardinal points of good feet,and legs, good walking action, and a robust ,constitution. No foe dare molest. where in union are join'd _ The plow, loom, and chisel, with com- . mer( -0 combined. PRQPER, CULTIVATION OF LAND REAL. FACTOR IN CROP GROWTH tee - (By J. Longheed, Two b0ndrecl years ago Jethro Ttrlt, one of the foremost - autheritics on agriculture at that time. made the statement_ that "tillage' is manure." 1Ieemphasized a fact that has re- mained true to this day, namely : that proper 'cultivlition of fire land is an important factor in crop growth. It is not difficult tri' find instances of great. variation in crop yields en two ad- joining farms of similar. soil, equal fertility and where good seed has lie sowen' on" both. - The development "of the plow 'with all the modifications that it has under- gone down tlt'rough the years, and the fact thalt it leads ,first place among the • iMplenients. of tillage, -is one of -the Most- .iatsrestialg'-pllgea5- in the`. history of agriculture. Pliwing is• tlie`.lirst step that is- taken in getting ready for the iiew crop, but if it is not done weir 00 amount of subsequent work will produce a good seed bed or check the growth of weeds. The iuWortauce of early plowing should not be overlooked. Old meadows that are to. be „broken up- should be plowed as soon as the hay is taken off: if the ,laud is workable. 'There is. .c'15'rimenlal -evidence to show. that sod plowed at three different dates and sown tow seat: early in t;epteniber produc•c>d nnuehithe largest yield Where the plowing was done'early=about the • '1 farmer who eau HON. Provincial Hurn County Is Fortunate One As Host Co inty,Huron Will, Benefit Materially from Plowing Match (Written Specially for The Signal -Star • by I on,.'�, L. Kennedy, Provincial Minister of Agriculture) Ville revival, of, the annual Interna= • tional Plowing IiatciiA,_ after five gears' suspension • on aceount of the exigencies of War, is an inipiortant event in the history of Ontnri."o's post-war agricul- ture. Huron County is fortunate in having been chosen as the location for this great match, which will bring to- gether the best plowmen from all parts of Canada and the United States. As the host cduuty, Huron will reap Many benefits, direct Jud indirect, from the T. lb' KENNEDY fact; that the match is being held there. Under agricultural conditions such Miinister of Agriculture as they are_ in Ontario, good plowing is ione of the foundation stones of good farming, and the International Plow,. • some extent on the type of soil.• where ani :1latch offers to the farmers of the land is new, care iuust be taken ,not to turn up too much of the subsoil. Most of the- land in old Ontario has been cropped Ong enough to permit of fairly deep plowing. This allows plant Foots to --penetrate' the soil fair plant 'food, Permits the passage of air and water and helps to destroy the weeds. A plow should cut, lift and turn the furrow. If it fails to clean, the ,Mouldboard may be scoured with a piece of brick dipped in water. Good work can only be done with, -plenty of power in front of the plow. On a Well - plowed field every root should he cut and no trace of vegetation left on top: Clay land and alfalfa roots have developed -good. plowmen in Ontario, but there is always room for improve- ment. In this connection _the plowing mittch is of -great value in that it serves as a .model, just as prize animals Or show seed, have done so much to raise the general quality of livest ck and field crops. It is noticeable that the plowing is usually .of a high order in sections where a plowing match is held each year. - IR -ACTOR ',LOWING get most plowing done before the land freezes up is fortunate.- It lessens the pressure• of spring work and per- mits earlyse'eding, which is very im- portant. ,Plowed land exposed to the coon •of frost and Aylmer weather a beclnues friable and can be easily worked into.- Ka • .n lellow..__saedbed.. Fall plowing- .also destroys many' insects of his that winter in the soil. ('laL land is usually productive but it must 'be, plowed and worked With great skill-: An, Essex farmer who. is muted for fine crops on his heavy farm, remarked reeently , that lie thought there was only one day last spring when his 100c1 was fit to work- and he missed that day. judging from his crops this year. Pew soils can be cut, about 1/2 ineh wider than breast, pYowecl to advantage When t1ey are of plow and .the centre of coulter. very t •et. This is especially' true f directly over point of share When heavy 'clay. Some. sandy soils stn be crossing the field the .first tinge, the plowed almost any time Withhnt injury. 1 rear coulter should be set about 1/2 The depth of plowing will depend to inch wider, in order that this furrow Ontario a splendid opportunity to ,o - serve ob- serve the best plowmen of the contin- ent at work in both tractor and horse classes. ` Further, it it -evident that the dis- plays, exhibits • and demonstrations of farm machinery will be on a larger and more practical scale than at any pre- vious International Plowing Match. This is important Ito Ontario farmers. The age of mechanization is here, but it is vital that in planning for farm machinery and equipment great -atten- tion be..paid to the utility ,and economic value of the units acquired. The dis- plays at the match this year will be of a broad character, and will have, spec- ial relationship to the pressing prob- lems of weed coutrul1.soil conservation and the clearing -of land. This feature alone will make it worth while for any Ontario farmer, to attend •the International Plowing ' Match near Godericli. - - The, officers and directors pf the Ontario Plowmen's Association have left no stone unturned to make. this match an outstanding- success. They have labored long and diligently in planning a'.program of great interest and merit, and , it Is my sincere liope • and wish that their ,efforts,, may be 'crowned 'with --complete success.. ..- .. In starting a Crown with a tractor, the plow--should-be -tilted to:..uthe.land side: in order that front 'bottom will Out about 23/4 to 3 inches in depth, and the rear bottom about 5 inches. When using . a 3 -furrow plow it should be tilted so that the front' Bottom. runs idle, the centre bottom cutting about 21/2 inches to 3' inches and the rear bottom about 5 inches deep, depending upon the condition of the land. Tractor coulters should. be set to be of sufficient width: In, conning back the front coulter should be set'tbout 1/, inch par-roii r than usual, and it may prove advantageous to release soiiae of the pressure off the frbnt board in order 'that this furrow may not be _ too wide and have sufficient depth so that it will Jneet and match 'the first furrow ; the other one or two furrows being deep enough to bring them up level with the preceding crown furrows. From' now on all furrows must be of a uiiifOrm size and of cor- rect depth and width. Ao. THE ONTARIO DEPARTMENT 0F AGRICULTVRP--EXPENDS A- WARM. WELCOME TO ALL CQMPETITORS, EXHIBITORS AND VISIITQRS ATTENDING THE VICTORY "PL WING' . PORT ALBERT, OCTOBER 1.4 TQ 18, 1946 • Revival of the International Plowing Match ,and Farrn Machinery Demonstration this year is a major event in Ontario's Agricultural History of 1946. Maintenance of soil fertility and sound ' management of our soil resources are fundamental to a continuing prosperous agriculture - in Ontario. Good plowing. stands in the foreground of the essentials of scientific soil management.' At this great match, our farmers will have an opportunity of seeing plowing at its best, and of t`a'king part 'in competitions in vyhich they can match their skill and knowledge against those of 'their fellow -farmers of the North American continent. Come to Pert Albert for the Victory Plowing Match, and see how .plowing shoild be done. ONTARIO EPARTM HON. THOMAS L. KENNEDY Minister r 4, NT The age of Farm mechanization is here. New and better machines are being developed for all types of job, large and small, which have to be done to make farming successful. At the International Plowing 'Match, there will be -demonstrations of machinery for weed control work, so important to Ontario agriculture, hedge clearing, ditching, land clearing' and break- ing, showing how the Ilse of machines can be made to put dollars and cents in the pockets of our- farmers. Ontario fathers can spend their time profitably as well _as pleasantly by„ attending ..tils great farm iaehi'ner d'e nstrat on and bring.,. the rest of the family along for the trip and the holiday. It will pay r divide• nds. AGRICULTURE' W.R REEK Deputy -Minister'