LIVE STOCK breeders' ASSOCIATION. I5I 



same time. You may find the desirable animal, but I think she would 

 be limited in both points. 



I want Mr. Harned to make us another little speech. I want him 

 to tell us about the "Missouri alfalfa." For 24 years I have made a 

 persistent effort to get the "Missouri alfalfa" (rag weed) off my farm 

 iind I have about succeeded, but all that time I did not know I was 

 trying to destroy one of the best plants I had. I call on Mr. Harned 

 to tell us about "Missouri alfalfa," or rag weed. 



Mr. Harned — Now I may be able to offer my excuses by telling 

 of other accidents that have happened. Many of you old, grey-headed 

 men like our chairman, remember wEen the bran that was taken from 

 the mills used to be dumped out into the river, and they even hired 

 men to haul it away from the mills as manure, but now it is con- 

 sidered one of the best feeds. It is the same with cotton seed meal. 

 We know the cotton seed used to be thrown away in the South and 

 men were hired to take it away from the gins. 



Now, I do not know whether my rag weed problem will turn out 

 like that or not. 



I will tell you my experience about rag weed. I had cut forty 

 acres of timothy hay one year. I generally stack the hay over the 

 field where it is handiest. But that year I hauled the hay into a hay 

 yard and stacked the stacks together. I was fixing to show a herd of 

 cattle and I wanted some bedding. I had 25 acres of the fairest rag 

 weed and happened to have the time and I had the boys cut the rag 

 weed down and stack it for bedding. I happened to hit the right 

 time before the stalks had gotten woody and we stacked the rag 

 weed by the side of the timothy hay, and in the winter when I went 

 to feed my hay, I turned my cows to the stacks instead of hauling 

 the hay to them, and to my surprise there was not a bit of that hay 

 ever touched until all the rag weed was gone. 



Col. Waters — Had it bloomed out before you cut it? Rag weed 

 is very dusty when it gets in bloom. 



Mr. Harned— If the dust is a bloom, it should be cut before the 

 <lust comes. As good as I think it is, I think if you cut it at the wrong 

 time, you have nothing. 



Mr. Mumford — Have you ever repeated that experiment? 



Mr. Harned — It turns out right every time if you cut it at the 

 right time. I do not believe it will disappoint anybody, not even a 

 cow. That happened in my younger days and I had not had much 

 experience with five hundred dollar cows when I cut that rag weed 

 hay. I had not had much then and have not had as much since as I 



