722 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



it seems to me, is the most foolish of all wastes and cannot be too 

 strongly condemned. 



In this connection let me say, in regard to o-verstocking the pastures, 

 it will pay much better in the long run to cut down the amount of stock 

 to suit the size and condition of the pasture than to attempt to carry 

 a larger amount through the summer on little and through the winter 

 on nothing. 



I never could see how an old cow could chew her cud all winter with 

 nothing to eat unless she had contracted the habit. Then don't waste 

 the growing ability of your stock by saving the feed. 



Stock of any kind should have as nearly as possible a balanced ration 

 if we expect to get the full value from the feed and then not waste any. 

 In other words, they should receive all the essential food properties 

 in about the right proportion. 



Grain is often wasted in handling also. Not long ago I saw a man 

 haul about five bushel of oats from the granary to another building 

 and drive away leaving a half bushel on the ground. For waste of 

 this kind there is no excuse save pure carelessness, and such men think 

 more of their ease than of their success, or more likely do not think at 

 all. 



Another great waste on the farm is with regard to buildings and 

 fences. The farmer must be ever watchful to keep them in repair, for 

 what can give a farm so forsaken an appearance as to see fences sagging, 

 posts broken, and wires broken and down, while the buildings are un- 

 painted and delapidated? This may be convenient for the neighbors 

 whose stock runs loose on the highway, but means money out of the 

 pocket of the fellow who feeds it. Keep the buildings and fences in repair. 

 It takes but little time when a board first comes loose to put it back in 

 place, but if neglected i,t soon gathers together others of its kind and 

 before long the building will be beyond the need of repair. 



One of the most valuable products of the farm is its manure, yet 

 how often is this asset neglected or disregarded altogether. The waste 

 of this item alone on some places would if judiciously utilized make 

 of the dependant renters successful farmers and often independant land 

 owners in a few years time. There is a partial and a total loss of the 

 soil building properties of manure depending on the method used in 

 handling it. 



And in this connection I cannot do better than call your attention 

 to the experiments conducted at the Ohio experiment station. The results 

 of the experiments are briefly as follows: Manure hauled from the 

 stalls and spread with a spreader at the rate of eight tons per acre 

 gave an increased crop yield of $23.70, or a net value for the manure 

 of $2.96 per ton. Where the manure was hauled out in the spring 

 from the yard all conditions being the same, the net gain was but $2.15, 

 or a loss of 81 cents per ton. Further estimates indicate that the manure 

 if left through spring and summer and hauled after harvest would be 

 worth not to exceed $1.50 per ton, or a loss of nearly half. These figures 

 speak for themselves and no further comment seems necessary. 



All these points and more will occur to the mind of the average 

 farmer upon a casual glance at the subject, but the greater avenue of 



