70 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



I am telling you all of this because it has its application in what 

 I am to say to you a little later in regard to what I did on that 

 place. I put in tile, and succeeded in making that old field dry. 

 I did not care what it cost. I had made up my mind that I 

 would make there something that would pay. I had made up 

 my mind that in that wet, cold ground, as the result of work, 

 I would make it dry, and make it yield something worth while, 

 I made up my mind that I would make it rich, so that clover 

 could grow on it ; so that somebody, even if I did not do it 

 myself, would be able to keep more stock. I intended, of 

 course, to avail myself of it, and I was determined some day 

 to make that thing pay. I used to talk with my father about it, 

 but he had been used to a different order of things. He had 

 faith, however, in hiy push, and he said to me, " You will 

 never believe what can be done here until you try it. Go ahead 

 and do whatever you are a mind to. If you do it, then you will 

 believe it." Well, I went to work on that farm. I had always 

 thought of raising lambs, more or less, but the only trouble was 

 I had not thought of it enough. The idea at that time did not 

 come to me what possibilities there were in that business. But 

 all this work that I was doing, as it turned out afterwards, was 

 simply preparatory, and was work which needed to be done. 

 The farm was poor. The first problem that I had to face was 

 to build up the fertility of that farm. I well remember the 

 first summer. I had to face the same kind of a problem that 

 many of you here undoubtedly have had to face. I said to my 

 father, " I want bigger fields. I want more room. I want to 

 keep more stock." I had made rich a little spot on that farm, 

 but the most of it was poor. I was anxious to make it do the 

 best it could. I said, "Father, I am used to more cattle and 

 more stock. We haven't any sheep. We have only a few cat- 

 tle. I am used to more cattle than we have here. I am not 

 satisfied to take care of six or eight head of cattle. I have 

 been used to taking care of large numbers. We must arrange 

 things here so we can take care of a good many more than we 

 have." I thought at that time that we could. I told my father 

 that I thought I knew how it could be done, and that I was 

 going to try it. He said, " Go ahead and try it if you want to." 

 I went to work with a will at that farm. I tore out some of the 

 wood and brush and scrubby portions of some of the fields 

 on that farm. I tore out some of the fences and made another 



