116 



Marion: Voryftoocl; I'oed plonty ; \ve;ithcnTiy. Jefferson: Not w> good as last year; 

 winter too lont;;. Brown : Moderately good, considering the long winter. Fayette : 

 I'lrst rate ; never better. 



IMiCiiro.VN. — Ottatra : Lojig ^Tinte^ and scareity of feed will cause loss of animals, 

 also of butter and ebcerie. Clinton : As erage ; unusual amount of straw and grain 

 feeding. Mcco:4a : Tliin, but in good heart. Lidcnnw: Not very good ; food scarce 

 througli long, hard vriuter. Tuscola : Very good, congideriug the high price of hay. 



IXDiAN.^. — Hamilton : Fine ; Ijotter than common; winter favorable to out-door ibcu- 

 ing. Cass: Better than for many years; forage well r-aved ; weather favorable. Clark: 

 Tolerably good; would have been better but for the burning of prairie-grasR la.st fall. 

 Decatur : Ciood ; dry winter; favorable for close feeding. All Iced, except corn, .scarce, 

 Craicford : Poor; iced Rcarcc. Feeding-season commenced sis or ejglit weeks earlier 

 than usual, after many farmers had rdLI their hay. Wayne : Cattle wintered welK No 

 cold rains or sleet. Parlcc : Grftd ao far, but feed becoming scarce. Union : Average ; 

 scarcity of feed made \\\> l)y better care. 



Illinois. — Winnohago : Cattle that have had plenty of water have done avcU, Sup- 

 plj" of water very lijuited. Mercer : Fine ; abundant stallc-foddcr. Clinton : Fine 

 when well cared for. Edwarch : Good, though feed is scarce ; winter dry. Alexander : 

 Good, but not equal to last year. Scliui/ler : j?.emarkably g;ood. Bureau: Thin, though 

 food is plenty. 



Wisconsin. — Fondilu Lac : Thin from long-continued winter — one hundred and thirty- 

 live days of unbroken sleighing. Feed badly dried up before the snowiell. Ontonagon : 

 Will bo poor before grass comes again. Junran : Good so far, l)ut will bo f>lim by next 

 grass. Jefferson: Good, considering the long winter. Trempealeau, : Extra good. 



Minnesota. — Blue Earth : llKcellent. MceJcer : Generally good, but winter iirotracted. 

 TVatomvan : Remarkably good. Houston : Excellent gencr.ally ; feed plenty and cheap. 

 Winona: Poorer than usual. Coodhue: Yery good; winter mild; fted abundant. 

 Dakota : Better than la.st year. 



loAVA. — Plymouth: Good in Bi)ite of the hard winter; hay feeding and shelter exten- 

 sively provided. Regularity of feeding with .a regular salting havo been found of 

 great A^alue. Folic: Unusiially good; corn abuiulant. J^fahaska: Better thau usual. 

 Hardin : Fir.st rato ; very littlo feed except what is found in the stalk-lields. Claijton : 

 Poorer than for fifteen years. Lee : Unusually gQod; better thau last spring. Jasper : 

 Better than: ever known. Humholdt: Excellent. Grundjj: Poor; county new. Proper 

 care not taken. Monona: Fair; some large herd.s almost fat. Grass vdll not coiue 

 before May 10; the average condition will then be depressed. 



lu Missouri but twelre of sRventy-two counties rftpoftiug sliow super- 

 ior condition : 



MLSsouni. — Cajje Girardeau : Thin, but ])lenty. Ja'ipcr : Never better than now ; 

 feed jdenty and cheap. Moniteau : Good, but at heavy expense for feed. Eaten : Never 

 worse thau this spring ; winter cold ; feed scarce. Jolinson : Much better thau usual. 

 Howard: Poor condition; winter extremely cold and blustery. Franldin: Poor; winter 

 veiy severe ; hardest frosts ever know in ]Missouri. Fhclps : Average, but has re<{uii'ed> 

 mora than usual teed. Dc Kalb : Look hard for want of shelter and feed. Lawrence: 

 Tweuty-tivo per cent, better than last spring. Barton : Cattle have doue unusually 

 well ; freer from disease than for many years. The winter has been remarkably favor- 

 able, being very dry. Leivis : Sheltered cattle have done well. 



lu Kansas and ]!!?"ebraska there lias been uiiicli suffering among tiie 

 domestic animals, a large proportion of it among the unacclimated 

 Texas cattle, immense numbers of whicli Avere kept over by drovers 

 rather than sell at prevailing prices. IsTative animals are reported in 

 good condition in about half the counties. 



KANSA.S.— Os«(/c : Many cattle very weak, others dying ; seem to be starving to death 

 while fed an abundance of prairie-hay which was cut very rank. Only straw and corn- 

 fodder has kept cattle alive. One man lost three hundred and fifty Texans out of six 

 hundred. Many Texas cows do not; give milk enough to keep their calves alive. 

 Marion : Very poor. Losses through starvation from "20 to 75 ijcr cent. ; last fall most 

 of the prairie-grass was burned. Native cattle, average ; Texans horribly poor. Dick- 

 inson : Very iioor and weak. Lack of shelter and food. Thousands of Texans have 

 died. Washington: Native cattle, fau- ; Texas and Cherokee very poor ; many dying 

 from inanition. Saline: Winter harder than ever known. Native cattle have lost 

 lightly; Texans about one-third. Sumner: Stock went into winter-quarters x>oor and 

 are couung out poorer. Cattle kept in the range without feeding have suttered fear- 

 fully, some herds losing 75 per cent, and others 50 per cent. Those feeding hay have 

 lostless, from 10 to 25 per cent. A series of cold rains would just now complicate 

 matters seriously. Lahctto : Better thau ever before. Feed excellent and abundant. 

 Better shelter afforded. iJo(ir&o« ; Poor, but no worse than usuaL No shelter. Shaw- 



