74 AGRICUI.TURE OF MAINE). 



faith in its ability to produce the crops wanted for home con- 

 sum}»tion. The years are bringing their lesson and it is one 

 calling for consideration. Certain signs point to a surrender 

 of the dairy and a specializing on other single crops. Just 

 as sure as this becomes general, rural life and conditions will 

 suffer within the next (juarter of a century. 



Somehow contact with animals balances a man as no crop 

 ])roduction can. There is that innate relation which the stock 

 feeder holds towards his animals which gives a (juality of mental 

 fibre, a standard of citizenship and an atmosphere in home life, 

 never to be obtained by hard work in croj) production six months 

 in the year. 



God has ordained that animals shall be the companions as 

 well as servants of man and in diversified agriculture, with stock 

 husbaiidry as the chief reliance, there has followed and will 

 follow a type of manhood differing materially from that relying 

 upon specialized efforts. Success is not to be measured by 

 dollars and cents liut l)y mastery first over the realm of nature 

 and later over one's self. Wisely has it been ordered that stock 

 husbandry >hall be at the foimdation of jtermanent success in 

 agriculture and justly may we claim that true success in stock 

 husbandry is to be found onl}- in fields covered with waving 

 grain and glistening with the ripening corn. Today above all 

 else let us exalt our northern corn crop. 



To still further enforce the lesson of quality the result of 

 selection. Dr. Twitchell secured from the Director of the 

 Experiment Station an analysis of dift'erent samples of flint 

 corn. The average of 68 samples of New England grown corn 

 figured upon the same basis gives the following analysis : Ash, 

 1.6; protein, 10.7; fiber, 1.7; nitrogen-free extract, 71.9; 

 fat, 5.1. 



A comparison with those given below indicates clearly what 

 may be accomplished in breeding yellow corn and increasing the 

 per cent of protein. 



