Show ML M FARM CK NEED MORE COLTS FOR FARM WORK that the old gray mare aint what nhe he used to be Is 19 indicated by a study which it C iooss of tho the fit farro r in organization and management dopart department part ment college of agriculture university of illinois has hael made of the ages of horses and mules on illinois farms at the beginning of this year these theae farms represented all parts of the state and included horses and mules 8 the average age as shown by the study la is a little more than nine years the num be of nillo year ada was also greater than that of uny any other age making up tip per cent of the entire number EXCL except pt for one aye age the proportion of horses and mules decreased steadily with each III me it from tile the nine year olds down to last years colts which 1 nude made up only 28 per cent of th the horse 1 population on these farms it colts were produced just for replacement of tile barto horse supply the largest numbers of nf horses and mules mul a i ull occur in alio youngest es t ago 11 g a 91 lour ill find gradually decrease decre a so wit with 11 he older gioupis instead the exact H Is true the number of if horses of working uses tige oil 1111 farina are aie no doubt influenced to tome extent by those sold front from tile the firms wit but those below working age aga Ile how far replacement needs ait eds tire are bring supplied those under three years which include the colt crops of the past three years made up tip per cent of the total if it Is assumed that horses average ten years of productive work those under tinder three years should make up HO 30 pe pc cent of the total if no allow ance Is made for sales from the farms to maintain the present horse sup ply with the present rate of breeding would require that tho the period of use falness be extended from 10 years to years or that the horses attain an average age of years without becoming pensioners approximately halt half the farms studied used tractors however there were no appreciable differences in ages of horses on farms tractors ns as com coin pared with those using horses only for or power of all horses and mules included slightly more than a fifth or per cent were under five years of age a third or per cent were five years ars and under ten per cent were ten beak years and under fifteen per cent fifteen years and under twenty and 4 per cent were twenty years or older these figures check quite closely with a similar study made by the federal department ot oi agriculture about a year ago |