242 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



of a prophet, but the facts show that the statement I make is 

 correct. Some parts of Connecticut are adapted to the grow- 

 ing of fruit ; some parts of your State, as I see it, are adapted 

 to dairying, but there are great areas in this State that are 

 adapted to none of these ordinar}' farm practices. Sheep, and 

 nothing else, will help solve the problem of profitable agricul- 

 ture on these farms. But you say we have tried this. We 

 have tried it and we have met with difficulties. We have met 

 with obstacles, and we have not been able to overcome them. 

 I want to say to you, and I say it sincerely, that there is not 

 an obstacle in the way of successful sheep breeding in the State 

 of Connecticut that you cannot overcome if you will. And I 

 also want to say to you, that there is a tremendous obstacle in 

 the way of your ever successfully growing grains or cereals 

 upon a profitable scale in your State. I was over in one of 

 the best parts of this State this fall. They were thrashing on 

 the farm. And the thrasher boasted at night that he had 

 thrashed out four hundred bushels that day. I went to a 

 large fair, where I judged all of the farm machinery, and 

 among the prizes offered was a prize of one hundred dollars 

 for the best exhibit of farm machinery. A part of that ex- 

 hibit was a thrashing machine. The superintendent of the 

 department came around and rather apologized for the 

 presence of that machine there. He said it was a good ma- 

 chine, in a way, but, he says, it is of no use to us because it is 

 too big. If that man would take that same machine out into 

 our county he could not get a job to do with it because he 

 would find it was too small. That illustrates the difference in 

 the grain raising capacity of the soil in different sections. 

 That man thought it was a big day's work because he had 

 thrashed four hundred bushels that day. Within a few days 

 I went into a large thrashing machine establishment and I 

 looked at a grain carrier and thrashing machine capable of 

 handling four thousand bushels a day alone. The sections of 

 the country that are capable of growing grain calling for 

 machines of that capacity are the sections that can control that 

 particular branch of farming. We cannot, and you certainly 

 cannot compete with growing grain carried on upon any such 

 scale as that. We people might just as well turn about and 

 make up our minds that we cannot do it. I do not know 

 whether any further preliminary explanation, Mr. Chairman, is 



