No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 195 



and compost heaps is worth 14 cents a pound. A handful of gyp- 

 sum or plaster scattered over the stables or escaping vapor, will 

 fix it so that it cannot be volatized. Where ground is reasonably 

 level, the sooner manure is placed on it the more benefit will be 

 derived from it by the farm. The simple fact that you place ex- 

 creta of cattle upon land does not enrich it any more than the same 

 plant would have done had it been left on the ground. The grain 

 you give the animals is the agent that enriches the farm and the 

 grain you sell impoverishes it. 



The farm buildings should be large, aii'y, roomy, filled with sun- 

 shine, with large airing courts protected from the cold winds. Cat- 

 tle should be soiled, not pastured, as they tramp more grass than 

 they eat. Scrub cattle are an expense, not a profit. The bull is 

 half of the herd. It is a matter of prudence to have your herd tested 

 for tuberculosis and not purchase an animal that is not tested. Sev- 

 eral of our most admirable herds have been nearly exterminated by 

 the introduction of fine cattle with tuberculosis. The Singerly 

 herd has this unsavory record. The tuberculin is furnished by the 

 Agricultural Department free of expense, and with the aid of a 

 clinical thermometer and a hypodermic syringe you can test your 

 animals without ^ny expense and determine whether your cattle are 

 immune. 'The demand for cattle is size, with the butter and milk 

 strains fully developed. 



It is advisable to decide whether you will raise milk or beef cattle. 

 You cannot combine the two profitably; they are distinctly separate. 

 In order to secure size I am favorably impressed with the Durham 

 cow, crossed with the Guernsey bull. This theoretically would give 

 a large frame with the noted milk and butter strain of the male. 

 They would be the ideal large, yellow skinned cows, which are as 

 much in demand as the yellovi' legged chicken. I would not pasture 

 a foot of ground, beyond using in pleasant weather and enclosure 

 for sun and exercise; where a farm has a woodlot it would be well 

 to use it for this purpose. In addition to preventing the waste of 

 pasturage and solidifying the ground, it would save the expense of 

 fencing, which is a large item of fixed charges independent of the 

 item of lost ground. A farm of 160 acres has a loss by roads and 

 fencing of five acres, worth on an average $300, for which you pay 

 taxes and receive no benefit. It is a matter of economy to raise your 

 calves and keep them growing. A stunted calf is like a stunted 

 pig — of no value. When a steer is two years old it sliould weigh 

 from 800 to 1,000 pounds. It has not cost you anything beyond your 

 labor, and being soiled, all the excreta remains as a valuable plant 

 food. A test that I made in a small way illustrates it. Two lots, 

 150 by 200 feet, gave a scanty subsistence to my cow. The land was 

 in a high state of cultivation. By keeping the cow in a shady, cool 



