SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 781 



As most of you know there have been a good many cattle, hogs and 

 horses raised at Maine Valley farm. I can speak from actual know- 

 lelge for only the last 18 years, but during that time a veterinarian has 

 been called only two or three times and a regular M. D. only four times, 

 and we have lost comparatively but very few animals. "We may be kind 

 of "grannies" and we keep on hand a few samples remedies to use when 

 necessary, but I think that the general good deal health of the animals 

 has been to a great extent due without much exercise and burn them up 

 with grain. If you want healthy animols turn them out on a good 

 pasture. 



Except when at the very hardest work turn your work horses out in 

 the pasture nights and Sundays. 



If an animal gets a barbed wire cut do not take it up to the barn, 

 but wash it out and put on medicine two or three times a day. The 

 poison from the stable will do more hurt than your doctoring will do 

 good. Just put into the fresh cut a little boracic acid, air slacked lime, 

 turpentine or even kerosene and turn the animal out in the pasture, sim- 

 ply watching to see that the flies do not blow it. or proud flesh get into 

 it. Most cases heal up smooth and nice. 



A pasture may be abused indirectly by failing to keep a good fence 

 around it because injury done stock by a poor fence will be charged 

 against pasturing. The ideal fence spoken of is too expensive for general 

 use at present, but we all can have good barbed wire fences. We often 

 hear what a terrible thing a barbed wire fence is, but usually it is not a 

 barbed wire fence but simply an excuse for one that does the damage 

 part of the posts rotted off and leaning over, wire slack so the stock 

 reach over or through it, ends of broken wire lying where the legs of 

 animals get tangled up in them. 



Perhaps one of the worst things is to build a barbed wire fence across 

 where stock is used to running and not show them it is there. When 

 such a fence is built the stock should be led or driven to it. and against 

 it a little if pessible, letting them know it is there, and the probability 

 is they will not run pell-mel against it and be bady cut. 



Another way to abuse a pasture is to allow a growth of brush or ten- 

 acious weeds. If a certain kind of weed grows in the same place year 

 after year they better be looked after or they will take that piece of 

 ground and spread out for "new" fields to conquer." But I am not so 

 afraid of weeds in a pasture as some are. They protect the grass from 

 the burning sun in a dry time and stock will eat a good»many kinds for 

 spice or variety. A good healthy patch of weeds is preferable to a spot- 

 of bare ground — they show that soil is under them, and they will decay 

 and make it all the richer. Who ever saw ground become worn out by 

 growing weeds? 



Stock may tramp a piece of ground till they destroy all signs of 

 vegetable life, but nature will develop the seeds she has stored up and 

 the weeds springing up will loosen up the hard, compact ground. Men 

 may adopt a systematic plan of soil robbing but nature will seek to restore 

 fEe feritility of the soil by growing weeds. 



