152 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



would like to. I think it was in the spring, February or March after 

 I had wintered my herd on rag weed hay that I had my first $500 cow. 

 The first season I stacked my rag weed with the hay, but I cut it 

 another time, stacked it and hauled it out and put it in a rick and a 

 man from Peoria, Illinois, who visited my farm was very much amazed 

 and rather doubtful when I told him what it was. He walked up to 

 the stack and said: "Is this alfalfa?" — it was when alfalfa had begun 

 to be talked of — I told him it was rag weed hay. It is the prettiest 

 hay you ever saw when you put it up right. The man came away 

 stunned from seeing my cattle eating it. He says: "What kind of 

 Shorthorns have you got that eat old weeds?" 



Mr. Henderson — I cut a very weedy piece of new meadow last 

 summer. It was more than half rag weed. I cured it and cast it 

 abroad to horses and I noticed to my surprise that my horses and colts 

 would deliberately take out the rag weed and eat it up clean before 

 they ate the hay. It was allowed to cure thoroughly before it was 

 scattered, and I do believe that it is a good feed. 



Mr. 1 have been raising corn and feeding stock all my life 



and my first business was to try to get rid of rag weed. I made it a 

 rule to send my hands over the field and chop out all the rag weed. I 

 bought sheep to clean my pasture and kept my sheep mixed with the 

 cattle. Now my sheep did not do as well after the rag weed was gone. 

 I put my sheep on meadows which had rag weed in them and I value 

 a meadow with rag weed on it more than red top. I would give $2 

 more a ton for rag weed hay than for red top. It is no trouble to 

 keep rag weed in the pasture, but T advise you to keep it out 61 the 

 corn field. 



LEGISLATION NEEDED FOR THE PROTECTION OF MIS- 

 SOURI LIVE STOCK. 



(Dr. I). 1'. Lucky. State Veteriuarian.) 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



In choosing the above subject I do not mean for you to infer that 

 the present State laws pertaining to live sock are in any manner 

 greatly deficient. In fact, I believe that we already have the mo.^t 

 adequate set of laws for controlling contagious diseases of live stock 

 to be found in the United States. Section 10547 authorizes the State 

 Veterinarian or a deputy to place in quarantine any live stock which 

 are capalDle of spreading a contagious disease, and requiring them 



