258 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



instead of cotton and tobacco, and several million cattle and grain 

 growers exchange the world's demand /or their products for that of 

 our tea makers, and strangle over a poor article at several dollars per 

 pound. That is just the size of it. It is not saving money at home,, 

 but exchanging labor here should be the object. Save money, when 

 every nation with any sense makes its own money at will, whether of 

 gold, silver, copper, bronze or paper. A wave of the hand creates 

 money under law. Mot all the law-making in the world can create a 

 potato — nothing but that source of all wealth of man — brain-directed 

 labor in the earth. 



It is a common complaint here that " I have fed cattle all winter 

 and they came out little better than than they were last fall." Had 

 there been greater variety of vegetable production this complaint 

 would not h(^ heard, for experience would have taught us long ago that 

 brutes as well as men require variety in nourishment. One may preach 

 constantly that a varied diet is needed, but unless we have it there can 

 be no practice, and theory soon passes into oblivion without practice. 

 Peas and beans contain more nitrogen than almost any other foodi» 

 'Huxley and Youman, in their little work on hygiene, tell us that ani- 

 mals fed exclusively on fat-producing food begin to die of nitrogen 

 starvation. The animal begins to absorb its own bones and muscles 

 and becomes really carniverous. The whole body becomes reformed 

 in a few months instead of seven years. Just think of an animal de- 

 prived of all bone producing food. A beautiful mare, owned by a for- 

 mer neighbor of mine, strayed off a short distance from home one fine 

 winter morning. The neighbors were out looking at and admiring her 

 when the owner came along — a man who thinks himself to be a great 

 farmer and is so reputed. Compliments were paid to him on his own- 

 ership of such a splendid animal. "Yes, she is my pet; I would not 

 take $500 in gold for her. Aint she a beauty?'" " She is very fat,"" 

 said one. " She ought to be ; she just goes and eats corn with the fat- 

 tening cattle, and eats nothing else." " But why do you let her do 

 that," inquired a farmer? "O, I do it because I want to see how fat 

 she will get," replied he, patting and fondling her. Just then the mare 

 laid down to roll and in getting up she broke both hind legs square off. 

 This is an actual fact, and its like is by no means uncommon. The 

 spectators were amazed at this mysterious dispensation. One allowed 

 it was a judgrnencon the owner's vanity. All went ofl' puzzled; not 

 one seemed to suspect the cause — nitrogen starvation. The bones of 

 the animal were litetally honey combed. 



Lately a farmer assailed the writer severely for " attacking the 

 grand staple product of the country," " The healthiest, heartiest horse- 



