126 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



absolutely without grit. When he gets sick, he lies down and dies. He 

 is particularly susceptible to diseases from exposure. 



How are you going to get the lambs? — that is a question. They don't 

 grow on bushes. Our friend has told us where we are going to get them, 

 the grade Merinos and other fine sheep. The grade Merino is the best 

 mother the feeding lamb has, but what are you going to do about it, 

 under the present conditions? If the paper applied simply to the imme- 

 diate future of sheep in this State, why the immediate future could be 

 settled easily, and probably with the least trouble, by buying a Gatling 

 gun, loading it, and working with it each way through the flock. But we 

 must have a dififerent future for sheep. Michigan and its agriculture 

 cannot, in my judgment, exist successfully without sheep. There is no 

 other kind of stock to take. its place, and the best breed of these lambs 

 is the wool bearing sheep. The legislation of this country should be 

 changed in a direction that will make it possible to raise the mothers 

 from which you can raise this kind of sheep. I do not want to talk poli- 

 tics, but I think I will say this. 



WILL FEEDING FOR BEEF PAY IN MICHIGAN? 



HON. W. E. BOYDBN, DELHI MILLS. 



I could answer yes or no to this question and sit down without fear of 

 being contradicted. But I believe this is a subject of too vital import- 

 ance to the farmers of Michigan. While I feel incompetent to advance 

 any profound truths that are new, or point out any royal road to great 

 profits along the line of beef production, I can perhaps say something 

 that will cause farmers to give the subject some thought. Were other 

 farm products in demand at profitable prices it would seem useless to 

 attempt to argue that beef could be produced at a profit. But after 

 looking over the whole list of farm products I fail to find but one that is 

 selling on today's market at a price that is profitably above cost of pro- 

 duction. And this crop is hay. But were we to figure the area given to 

 hay, the yield was so light per acre that I fail to see any profit in it as an 

 average Michigan crop for 1895. 



SOIL FERTILITY. 



In my mind one of the vital points in future successful farming is soil 

 fertility. If we are to grow anything like profitable crops under present 

 unfavorable climatic conditions, it will be from a soil well stored with 

 available plant food. Were it not for robbing the soil I would feel 

 almost like saying, sell everything from the farm possible and let the 

 other fellow chase the cattle. But we must aim to increase the pro- 

 ductiveness of our farms, as right along this line will come a great help 

 in times of depressed prices. Ten bushels of 50 or 60 cent wheat per acre 

 means a sure loss; but 30 or 40 bushels per acre will give a profit. 

 Some will no doubt claim great profit in the use of commercial fer- 

 tilizers. In fact there are some soils under favorable conditions that 



