54 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



was $1134.31 for 29 cows. The plan of the barn and the items of cost are 

 reported in Bulletin 149 of the Experiment Station. On or about the first 

 of November next, when the year shall have been completed, a report 

 of the behavior of the herd and of the profit and loss, with an itemized 

 statement of both expenditures and receipts will be made in a bulletin. 



The application of the tuberculin test was made in October. 1897, and 

 repeated in March, 1898. College Rosa Bonheur, a full blood Holstein, 

 daughter of Rosa Bonheur 5th, and Cara, a registered Red Polled heifer, 

 responded to the test in the fall of 1897. In the spring of this year none 

 of the registered herd responded, although one of the grade herd gave 

 indication of the presence of tuberculosis and was slaughtered. 



Excluding the animals isolated and maintained in a separate en- 

 closure for experiments for the veterinary department there are on 

 the farm at the date of this report 48 head of pure bred cattle, distributed 

 among the prominent breeds as follows: Shorthorn, 13; Holstein, 19; 

 Jersey, 8, Brown Swiss, 4; Galloway, 2; Red Polled, 2; Grades, 38. 



The /herd of swine includes: Duroc Jerseys, 10; Poland Chinas, 2; 

 Chester Whites, 11. 



The flock of sheep contains: Shropshires, 61; Hampshires, 11; Oxford, 

 4; Horned Dorset, 4; Merino, 4; Delaines, 3; Leicester, 1. 



FARM CROPS. 



The distribution of the crops for the season of 1897 and the yields of 

 the various fields were reported in the annual report of the director of the 

 experiment station, dated November 1, 1897. A similar report of the 

 distribution and yield of the crops for 1898 will be made in the station 

 report to be issued in November of this year. 



It is well nigh impossible to adopt a regular rotation on a farm of 

 this kind, where so many experiments must be tried in the fields and 

 where so many points must be illustrated to studeDts. As far as possible, 

 the farm is devoted to growing feed for the live stock. In 1898 there are 

 not far from sixty-three acres of corn in fields 11 and 13 and part of 6. 

 This corn will be needed to fill the siloes and for grain. Of oats there 

 are growing forty-five acres in Nos. 5, 8 and 15. The season is not alto- 

 gether favorable for the fields used, and the crop will not be extraordi- 

 narily large. Fields 9 and 10 were devoted to hay, both clover, somewhat 

 mixed with timothy. Some hay was also gathered from the pasture 

 field 12, and from the low land in the west part of No. 16. 



From all these sources sufficient rough fodder will be gathered to carry 

 the teams and other stock through the winter. There will scarcely be 

 enough corn and oats to last to the new crop next year. There is grow- 

 ing also several acres of oats and peas and other forage crops to carry 

 the dairy herd through a possible drouth in August and September. These 

 forage crops are sown in No. 6. handy to the pasture fields, 7 and 12. It 

 is hoped that in the near future there may be silo room enough provided 

 in which to store silage to carry the herd through the summer drouths. 

 It is burdensome in the first place to cut and haul feed every day. and 

 sadly interferes with the other work. In the second place, silage, being 

 uniform and always at hand, whether the weather is pleasant or other- 

 wise, is a much more satisfactory forage than the succession of soiling 

 crops, no matter how wisely planned. Again, no one can forsee the 



