TO RETURN TO VEGETABLES. 133 



close by where my farm is. Of course there were some nubby 

 and imperfect ears left, not suitable for the market, and I looked 

 upon that six acres as something that I could feed in the win- 

 ter time. I said to myself, " This will extend my hay crop ; I have 

 got something here to feed to my cows ; " but my pastures got 

 short, my mowing fields were not in a good condition to feed, 

 and I had to go at this standing corn. I had to cut this sweet 

 corn, standing there, dnd it did just what I supposed it would ; 

 it increased the flow of milk from my cows, and was a useful 

 food to give them. Why ? Because it had arrived at a degree 

 of maturity in which the plant could nourish the animal and 

 increase the flow of milk, and that I go for ; with this excep- 

 tion, that I cannot afford to raise anything on my farm to con- 

 sume in the summer time which I can pack away in the barn 

 to feed my cows on in the winter. That is a fact. I am so 

 sensitive on that point, that I will not allow my farmer, or any 

 other person in my barn, to feed a lock of English hay to any- 

 thing except to the horses that have been driven on the road. 

 If a yoke of oxen cannot do my work and get their feed in the 

 pastures, I do not want to have them around, and I am sure 

 I do not want to feed any animal with that kind of provender 

 which I can store in my barn to use for winter food. 



Now, I think I have explained myself fully. Com fodder I 

 believe in ; I will go with the rankest corn fodder man clear 

 through to the bitter end. I have committed myself to that 

 point, haven't I ? But fodder corn I despise and repudiate, as 

 usually known in the catalogue of green food for cattle. I 

 might, perhaps, if I could take my pen and write it all down, 

 explain myself still further, but I cannot do it now. I put it 

 exactly on the same principle that I put the hay question ; that 

 is, it is a question of economy to the farmer and a question of 

 nutrition to the animal at the same time. 



Now, in regard to vegetables, just one word. I agree with all 

 that Mr. Goodman has said. I agree with what he has said in 

 respect to the profits of raising vegetables. It requires nice 

 farming, careful agriculture, the proper application of manures, 

 the proper mixing of soils, the most economical use of fertilizers, 

 the utmost care and watchfulness, to raise any kind of vegetables 

 for the market. It takes just as much vigor, activity and skill 

 to run what we usually call a market garden, as it does to run 



