l82 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



class of farmers, who, as I said a moment ago, make the situation 

 so bad. These men buy as good stock as the others do, take them home 

 and dump them out on their land. They thereafter receive no care 

 and the scrubbiest of scrub treatment. They have to take their chances, 

 and without suitable food, water or shelter, they are kicked and cuflfed 

 about and receive no extra attention whatever. Perhaps the females 

 are mated with unregistered males, the increase is not made anything of, 

 and the owner mentally kicks himself when he accidentally sees one of 

 them and wonders why he was such a fool as to pay out good dollars 

 for these poor critters. If he wants to sell them he does not go about 

 it in a business way, since he takes no care of the pedigrees, and really 

 is in ignorance of the value of what he has. A pretty dark picture 

 surely, yet it is the truth. The man loses out on his stock, loses the 

 money invested and gives the pure-bred stock industry a black eye in 

 his neighborhood. 



We little fellows, beginning in the business, perhaps don't have 

 the situation so well under control that we can care for our animals 

 as we should, but we are working toward that ideal I spoke of a few 

 moments ago, and to reach it, it seems almost a necessity to have what 

 you might call a personal acquaintance with each animal. Haven't you 

 noticed in your herd of cows that there is always one cow who bosses 

 the whole thing and is first in war and first in peace and another one 

 who is gentle and patient and seemingly knows what you say to her 

 and what you want her to do. You will remember how this individ- 

 uality was brought out by the professor in charge of the Jerseys in the 

 'World's Fair test. He fed and cared for each cow according to his 

 knowledge of her. That was a substantial and gratifying piece of work. 

 Those cows were as dififerent from each other as persons are. Even two 

 hogs, stupid and gross as they seem to be, differ; one is less stupid than 

 the other. We raised two pigs by hand one winter ; called one Napoleon 

 and the other Josephine. Napoleon acquired several tricks — ^vould shake 

 hands, nod and shake his head for yes or no, and ask for food. Joseph- 

 ine never learned anything; she just ate and slept, and while it has 

 nothing to do with the point I am coming to. 1 might remark that both 

 Napoleon and Josephine came to violent deaths. Napoleon was sold, 

 and soon after that became overheated and died, and Josephine was 

 killed on the railroad track. The point I have come to and trust to 

 make is, that it is a part of the business and the great .secret of success- 

 ful business to care for and feed and shelter \our stock and try to know 

 them and study each one as an individual. Don't you believe it? 



The spring of the year is the most interesting and attractive season 

 because then the growth of plant life commences anew, and each bud 



