148 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



them take the feed as it comes and I find they decline and do 

 not do so well. 



Speaking of working cattle and horses, Mr. Burleigh said 

 he was heartily opposed to so many horses. I fully agree 

 with him, and I think I shall keep on driving oxen. I have 

 lived in this county seven years and have always had a pair 

 of oxen. I am going to stick to them, too. I have never 

 taken any great interest in dairying until this year. I have 

 kept eight cows during this summer. I thought I would try 

 and see whether it would pay or not. The first of January 

 we began to keep account of our butter, and from that time 

 into June we made seven hundred pounds of butter. We 

 have also made half a ton of cheese and about another hun- 

 dred pounds of butter since. We can do well in the dairy 

 business, if we take the right care of our stock. Many 

 farmers in this county manage their cattle so poorly that they 

 had better not keep any at all. Some of them have to go 

 forty or fifty "rods to get water in the winter. Have to be 

 kept in a barn so cold that it is not fit for anything to live in, 

 with such treatment and management. I have my barn so 

 arranged that the cows do not have to go out to get their 

 -water. I keep them in the barn all the time in cold weather 

 and feed on early, good hay, and all they want of it. While 

 they are m milk I feed a small amount of provender. I 

 tliink we want to keep a sort of mixed stock, some oxen, 

 steers, cows and sheep, and just as few horses as possible. 



Hiram Morse of Aroostook. Brother Houlton says he 

 has done well with cows. I have no dou))t of that. He 

 feeds them well, cuts his hay early, and cares well for them, 

 and that is more than half. As to sheep, it is best for us, I 

 think, as he said, to have mixed stock. We want to keep 

 what will pay us best, and we have got to find that out by 

 expei-iment and practice, little by little. We want good 

 sized sheep and y/e want to keep them well. We do not 

 want them hived up where they can have no choice of feed, 

 but Ave want them to have a good chance and then they will 

 do well. I agree fully with what has been said by Mr. Bur- 



