MICHIGAN LIVE STOCK IN 1900. 377 



weather did the damage or whether it was the result of conditions that 

 oeeiirred later, at any rate the crop of wheat for 1899 was the poorest 

 ever grown in the State to that time. The failure was nearly' universal, 

 the crop yielding about eight bushels })er acre, while the average for 

 the last twenty-live years is over sixteen bushels per acre. In accord- 

 ance with the rule that misfortunes never come single handed, the 

 farmers of this State were obliged to harvest a still poorer crop this 

 vear, largely due to the ravages of the Hessian fly. Thus it will be seen 

 that in the last three years we have had the best crop ever grown and 

 two of the poorest crops of wheat ever grown in this State, and the 

 factors that brought about the result in each case were largely beyond 

 the control of anyone. 



While it is not fair for an optimist to point to the crop of 1898 when 

 referring to Michigan as a wheat growing State, neither is it fair for a 

 pessimistic person to assert that it does not pay to raise w'heat in this 

 State, and then cite the last two crops as proof of the assertion. It is 

 lamentable that we have had two failures in succession because of the 

 loss entailed to the farmers, yet on the whole it must be admitted that 

 very little could have been done to avert it. 



It is w^ell that we note and record all facts that occur in connection 

 with our business, even though we have nothing to do with shaping 

 events; still it is far more important that we should study that part of 

 our own w ork that depends upon the effort we put forth and the manner 

 in which it is done. Tliere are a number of things in connection with 

 farming in general that have gone wrong, and all because man willed 

 it to be so. These are the things that should attract our attention at 

 the present time in order that we may quit some practices that have 

 become common and .adopt those that bring successes and prosperity. 



The student of history has read of a time when Spain, now down- 

 trodden and almost forgotten, was the most prosperous country in 

 Europe. As the center of civilization drifted westw^ard, likewise did 

 the center of wealth and prosperity move in that direction. Now and 

 then one may find perhaj)S a. section of country that has continued to 

 be rich and prosperous and has maintained the fertility of the soil 

 throughout the centuries that have passed. Generally these are favored 

 spots, like the valley of the Nile, where the kind hand of Providence 

 annually deposits that which the unprovident mankind of today seeks to 

 rob from the soil. One hundred years ago there was more business, 

 more life and activity in the valley of the Hudson than there was in the 

 valley of the Mississippi, and a thousand New England hills, now dotted 

 here and there with abandoned farms, yielded bountiful harvests to 

 those who tilled them. The early settlers' in this State, largely the fore- 

 fathers of the people of today, came, in most cases, from that same 

 good old New England stock, and were led to make the journey to the 

 West by the many oiii)<>rtnniIi('s that were olfcred here for gaining a 

 home and making a fortune. And now, after all these years, we havr 

 in turn many friends and descendants who have gone still further west, 

 attracted by the same siicn's song which has enchanted and led people 

 since the dawn of civilization. But this tide has now reachtMl the 

 Pacific Ocean, where it must stoj), since it has encircled the earth. 

 What the farmers of this country should have done on their own motion 

 they will now be compelled to do as a matter of necessity. Extensive 

 48 



