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68 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



our neighbors. Some years I think it pays — some years I don't 

 know, but have a fool idea that good farming will pay in the end. 



Our second crop in importance is clover, but we usually have 

 more acres of clover than corn. We try to cut the hay early and 

 sometimes get a profitable seed crop afterward. In about twenty 

 years' experience in farming I have had a very few failures in 

 getting a stand of clover. The few times have hurt, but the many 

 successes have been glorious. I often sow a little timothy with 

 the rye or wheat in the fall to make a heavier scd, if I expect to 

 pasture, and then sow clover in the spring. 



Cow peas are another valuable crop in case Ave are short on 

 clover, and many times I have sowed them in every unoccupied 

 corner, in the corn on thin land, and elsewhere, and think it has 

 always paid. One winter our cows had nothing but cow peas and 

 corn and we got fine results — as much as the previous winter when 

 we had to buy bran and cottonseed to balance up with corn and 

 stalks. 



Alfalfa is another valuable crop, but we haven't begun to 

 grow it very largely; however, we believe that in time we can 

 make it the best farm crop for dairy cows. 



We think it wise to grow all our feeds, yet when necessary to 

 balance the ration we do not hesitate to buy. The question of feed- 

 ing economically is as great as farming economically. The man 

 who contended his cow could live on fresh air didn't quite suc- 

 ceed, because she died about the time he got her down to one 

 straw a day. No doubt he was feeding economically, yet it didn't 

 pay. We have various tables showing analyses of feed stuffs; we 

 work out a ration that we think best, then usually have two or 

 three authorities criticise same. We use our best judgment, study 

 fhe capacity of the cow, weigh and test her product, then feed ac- 

 cordingly. We make mistakes, lots of them we never know, no 

 doubt, yet in the main we are constantly increasing our herd ; our 

 land is getting richer; we are getting more buildings, more and 

 better equipment, etc. Whether this is economical dairy farming 

 or not T leave for others to say. We have no bank account be- 

 yond our everyday needs; no money loaned out; no bank stock; 

 no railroad bonds. Yet it is as much satisfaction, perhaps, to seo 

 our nice heifers, colts, fat pigs, and to know that we are trying to 

 carry on a progressive and up-to-date line of work, even if wo 

 can't count our profits in dollars. To farm economically is much 

 like any other business. One must spend money to make money. A 



