68 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



hundred ; perfection has never been attained. A fond 

 grandmother, speaking enthusiastically of her grandson a 

 few years ago, calling him byname, said, "He is over a 

 hundred in most of his studies." 



Mr. Sage. My friend Whitmore has raised five thou- 

 sand dollars' worth of tobacco on ten acres. We know why 

 he cannot afford to raise calves. 



Mr. Burt (of Easthampton). There is one point I 

 would like to bring out. I understand Mr. Sessions to say 

 that if a heifer does not show up well the first six months, to 

 throw her away. Is that right ? 



Mr. Sessions. As a rule, a good heifer will do well the 

 first year. 



Mr. Burt. A heifer that does well one year is apt not 

 to do so well the next. We have been told to get rid of the 

 cows that do not do well. In the course of nine or ten 

 years there will be a year when a cow will not do well. Do 

 not throw her away. I would not throw her away if she did 

 not do well the first year. 



Mr. Sessions. I might give a little leaf from the experi- 

 ence of my son, who raised cattle in Dakota. They ran on 

 a ranch in the summer, and fed at the stack in winter. He 

 brought twenty-five to Massachusetts ; among them were 

 eight or ten yearlings. The quarantine laws of the State re- 

 quired that they be tested. They had never been tied up. 

 My son loves a cow as well as ever I did, and he used to go 

 out once a week and call his cattle to him, salt them, and 

 keep up their acquaintance. The cattle commissioner came 

 to test the cattle. He had just been having a severe trial 

 with some cattle from Dakota, and he expected a terrible 

 time with these. He asked my son how he was going to 

 get along with them, and he told him if he would let him 

 have his own way there would be no trouble. The com- 

 missioner gave the permission, and my son went to the yard 

 where the cattle were, and put his arm around the neck of 

 one, talking to it and patting it while the commissioner in- 

 jected the tuberculin. The same course was repeated with 

 each one in turn, and the commissioner said he had never 

 dealt with a herd of cattle with so little difiiculty. They 

 had every confidence in their owner, and would submit to 



