78 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



product is 307,000,000 bushels. In wheat we are the second State 

 in the Union, with a product of 615^2 million bushels, second only to 

 Minnesota in all the United States. 



So much for our crop reports and the manner in which they have 

 been collected. Our Veterinary Service has grown to be of immense 

 value. For some time it was supposed that one veterinarian would 

 be able to attend to all the various contagious diseases of the State, 

 but so rapidly has transportation and interstate commerce with the 

 various states disseminated the various contagious diseases from the 

 south and west that I think at present there arc five or six deputy 

 State veterinarians in the State watching that matter. Now if there 

 are some cattlemen here, they will recollect the time, not but a few 

 years ago, before this Veterinary Service was placed under the super- 

 vision of the State Board of Agriculture when it was impossible to go 

 to any of the great feeding markets of the cities during the warm 

 months of the year and purchase any feeding cattle. In my country, 

 forty-five miles east of Kansas City, we lost thousands upon thou- 

 sands of dollars in that way. One of my neighbors, a breeder of Gal 

 loways, went to Kansas and bought two car loads of feeders with- 

 out knowing that that there was any infection near them aud brought 

 them home and lost between thirty and fifty head of thoroughbred 

 Galloway cattle, besides a hundred ordinary individuals. Now the 

 Missouri cattleman goes to the feed yards with the assurance that he 

 is protected by this Veterinary Service. The Veterinary Service has 

 not only saved Missouri millions of dollars, but it has assured a 

 steady supply of cattle the the whole year through. 



I would much rather that Mr. Ellis, the Secretary of the Board., 

 would have discussed the farmers' institutes, but probably when Col. 

 Waters gets an opportunity, he will say something about it. Years 

 ago when the Legislature first appropriated a small sum for the 

 farmers' institutes throughout the State it was scoffed at by a great 

 many people, and, in fact, the attendance was small. In those local- 

 ities where the institutes have been in session this year the gentle- 

 men who were at the institutes tell me that there have been great 

 crowds in attendance and that the institutes this year have had much 

 greater success than formerly. They have introduced a new feature 

 in carrying along on certain railroads a car with the products of Missouri 

 in it, and they have made that car a success. It was supposed wc had on 

 our institute force men who wore good educators but not cattle raisers, 

 theoretical but not practical men, but such is not the case. Every 

 man on the force is known for his practical knowledge, when he 



