ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 367 



Mr. Hoffman : Did you get better results from clover than al- 

 falfa .' 



Prof. Kildee : I would not say that our results would stand for- 

 ever. We had two lots of each. We secured a trifle larger gain on 

 clover than alfalfa, but it was just one year's work and should be 

 checked over. The pigs on the clover did better than on the alfalfa, 

 but in the fall the alfalfa stayed green and the animals did better 

 in September and early October. 



Mr. Cooper: 1 want to ask when you plant soy beans alone do 

 you sow them or drill them? 



Mr. Hoffman: Drill them and plant as quickly as you can to 

 avoid frost. 



Mr. Yoder: What is the matter with putting rape in with the 

 corn and soy beans? 



Mr. Hoffman: It does not balance the corn at all. They are of 

 the same nature. There was a professor at the college one year that 

 claimed that rape was equal to alfalfa. I told him he might make 

 me believe it, but he couldn't make the hog believe it. 



The paper of Mr. W. H. Cooper, of Hedrick, Iowa, on the sub- 

 ject, "Private Sales or Public Sales," followed this discussion. 



"This subject is one pertaining to which there has been a great deal 

 of agitation. It is one upon which I feel I can hardly do justice. How- 

 ever, I will give my views. 



We, as breeders of pure bred swine, (I emphasize swine breeders in 

 this instance, but my argument should appeal to all breeders irrespective 

 of the kind) when we are fortunate enough to have a crop of hogs ready 

 for movement are confronted with the proposition of how to do it with 

 the least possible expense to realize the most profit, as the profit is 

 that which makes the business most fascinating. 



To confront a man with the public sale proposition as a method of 

 disposing of his offerings, he will possibly reply that the expense is so 

 intense it will leave him nothing but a great deal of extra labor and 

 worry to get the same amount he could get for them at private treaty, 

 leaving off the expense and labor but not selling them so high. Possibly 

 this is true with some breeders whose offering will not justify extensive 

 advertising, a ring full of auctioneers, and the seats half full of field 

 representatives, free dinners, free hack to town, and everything free 

 but the hogs. This kind of expense will cut down the profits, to be 

 sure. To make the public sale more profitable one must learn to be con- 

 servative, yet not tight. 



The public sale method of disposing of property, especially pure bred 

 stock of all kinds, has been abused more, probably, than any other. It is 

 this that has poisoned many contemplating and prospective purchasers, the 

 unprofitable, confidence shattering booming of prices. This one feature 

 has put many practically out of business and kept just as many from 



