150 



T. -^ GENESEE FARMER. 



nnniber, a friend of mine called on me for a social 

 visit; and in his conversation he told me that (in 

 accordance with my suggestion to him that Indian 

 meal was the best food for dairy cows,) he had 

 found, on trial last spring, tliai it was so ; and so 

 easily fed, too, that he was highly pleased witii the 

 experiment. As tiiis is the season to try it, I would 

 suggest that persons interested in tlie dairy depart- 

 ment try this the spring, and be sure and have the 

 grain ground fine: as an old farmer said to me to- 

 day, " Make flour of your grain, then one bushel 

 is worth two, a* ordinarily ground for feeding pur- 

 poses " — which is my motto for stock feeding. 

 Now, Messrs. Editors, the wintering stock is not 

 so much of a knack, after all, as tlie getting them 

 from grass to hay, or from hay to grass ; and as 

 the former has been done for the winter just past, 

 I will say nothiu^j about it at this titi.e, but will 

 give you a little of experience and some observa- 

 tion on the latter, as that will need immediate at- 

 tention ; and as many farmers are in the habit of 

 selling all the grain they can — considering that it 

 is lost, or nearly so, if fed to neat cattle — I will 

 relate a saying of an old farmer; th-it is, "That a 

 bushel of coni-meal fed to an animal, when being 

 turned from hay to grass, is worth three dollars." 

 Now, that may seeui too much, and perhaps it is; 

 hut first let us look at it in this wise : an animal 

 fed a quart a day, in the montli of May, with what 

 hay they will eat at night in the stable, and turned 

 to grass days, he says will gain 50 lbs.; whereas, 

 if turned to pasture alone, will lose 50 lbs. thereby 

 — making a difierence of 100 lbs. in the month. 

 In an experiment made three years ago this spring, 

 with a pair of yearling steers, and fed but about 

 20 days, one quart each, they gained in the month 

 of May 105 ll)s. — which would make the meal fed 

 as valuable as stated by the farmer just quoted. 



I have also found, by other experiments, that 

 there is a great difierence in the manner of getting 

 animals to grass. When turned out early, with 

 little or no other feed, they fall awav greatly ; on 

 the contrary, if fed all the good hay they will eat, 

 niglit and morning, with a judicious feeding of 

 meal of some kind, (and I prefer mixed feed — that 

 is, mixing the difierent grains together before they 

 are ground — to any one variety,) they will soon 

 begin to gain finely by such a course, and carry 

 their extra weights through the season. In an ex- 

 periment now being conducted, I have a cow that 

 has, since the first of December last, been quietly 

 laying on her two pounds per day (or nearly so), 

 and her feed has been only moderate, as I am no 

 advocate for forcing, but simply good fair keeping 

 and care ; then, with good animals, we are sure of 

 a fair remuneration for care and feeding. 



1 would that what I have already written could 

 reach the eye of every farmer in these United 

 States ; and that each one would set himself about 

 making at least one experiment in the care of farm 

 stock, and then publish it, whether successful or 

 not, with all the particulars, for the benefit of his 

 fellow-laborers in the art of breeding and feeding 

 farm stock of all kinds. What a fund of knowl- 

 edge might thus be obtained, and how easily dis- 

 seminated ! 



I have said nothing thus far of breeds, or races 

 of farm stock, prefering to let each judge for him- 

 self; knowing, that when farmers set themselves 



to ascertain by actual experiment the growth of an 

 animal, or tlieir animals, they will then learn which 

 is best for them — well knowing, that one breed is 

 not fitted for every farm and purpose so perfectly 

 as to exclude all others. In a future number I may 

 give my experience with the different breeds, and 

 the one I prefer, with the reasons for such prefer- 

 ence. . J. TALOOTT. 

 Rome, N. Y., 3farch, 1 S60. 



SHALL AGRICULTURE BE TAUGHT IN OUR COMMON 

 SCHOOLS 1 



Eds. Genesee Farmer: — The above question is 

 one of no trifling import, and one which needs 

 more than a passing notice. The farmer has been 

 called " the mud-sill of society," which is in part 

 true ; for he is emphatically the foundation of all 

 society, and all enterprise. And this is far from 

 admitting that his position in society is of neces- 

 sity a menial or degrading one, or that he is, as has 

 been too often supposed by those who call them- 

 selves the "upper ten," the "filth and sediment of 

 society." The "good time is coming," yea, has 

 already come, when tilling the soil will no longer 

 be looked upon as a degrading, plodding occupa- 

 tion, unworthy the notice of any otie who has wit 

 enough to enter the 2^^'ofessions, or study a little 

 science. 



It is true, Messrs. Editors, that the tiller of the 

 soil has been, and still is, too ignorant of the sci- 

 ence of his profession. 



If the "time of this ignorance has been winked 

 at," knowledge and light are now demanded. The 

 importance of educating farmers' sons has often 

 been ad vocated by abler pens and sounder heads tJjan 

 mine. And yet, I look upon the subject as one 

 far from being exhausted or worn "threadbare." 

 And if it is so imi)ortaiit for farmers' sons to have 

 an agricultural education, why is it not equally 

 important to educate those who are to become their 

 wives — the mothers of their eliildren ? What sci- 

 ence — what profession — what calling in life, or of 

 all combined, needs- so extensive, so thorough a 

 knowledge of tlie great laws of nature — the prin- 

 ciples which govern and control all his labors — as 

 the farmer? It is true he may plod on in the "old 

 beaten paths," without a scientific education. 



But can he give an intelligent reason for the ag- 

 ricultural hope that is within him ? Can he tura 

 to a profitable account the resources within his 

 reach ? — the elements which are waiting, like the 

 philosopher's stone, his touch to turn all his lead 

 into gold. 



Assuming it, then, as a fact, that the farmer, to 

 attain and retain the high and honorable position 

 which he is destined to occupy, must be more highly 

 refined and educated, the question is readily sug- 

 gested : How is a state of things so commendable, 

 so desirable, so absolutely indispensable, to be 

 brought about? I would answer: First, nega- 

 tively ; not by any sudden, mysterious, or unex- 

 plainable act of legerdemain ; nor is it to be done 

 by supineness or inactivity; nor yet, is it to be 

 done l^y the old fogy cry, "Don't go too fast — be- 

 ware of new-fangled notions." But, secondly, it 

 can le done by beginning at the right place, in the 

 right way, and at the right time ; which, if this 

 meets with approbation, may become the subject 

 ( of another article, w. 



