132 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



exercise, and they give a boy a stone hatchet and send him 

 out to cut down a white-oak tree, in order that he may get 

 exercise enough. I would give hira a good steel axe and 

 let him cut down more trees. I would have all the tables 

 and statements made just as clear and plain as they can be. 

 I was f'lad to have the gentleman touch upon that point, and 

 I want the secretary to bear that in mind. I want to say to 

 him, that notwithstanding those little compliments that I 

 paid him yesterday, I think he might have these statements 

 and tables made much more simple, and save much time 

 on the part of those who examine these reports. Now let 

 me say, that after every single statement is made as clear as 

 possible, after every single table is worked down to the 

 smallest possible result to give the real result; then, af- 

 ter all that is done, let me say that you never can reach 

 what you want to reach without hard study in the farmer's 

 home, night and day. You have got to work as hard as 

 you do in the hayfield. I know what it is to work in the 

 hayfield ; I know what it is to build a plough and plough with 

 it ; I know what it is to mow my swathe in the field ; I have 

 to teach men who come to me to learn how to mow — that 

 is one of the last points, ahnost ; but I did not work so hard 

 in the hayfield as I do in my study at night in order to un- 

 derstand these tables. I have to work to understand them. 

 And now let me say, that after everything is done that can 

 be done, after all the chemists in the world. Professor Goess- 

 mann and the whole army of them, have done all they can 

 to tell you exactly how much nitrogen, oxygen, carbon and 

 phosphates are found in any given food for cattle, they will 

 never do enough to bring farming down to a mere machine 

 operation. The farmer has got to understand that his farm 

 needs brains, a mind quick to observe, and studying 

 every day, as the physician does who comes to your bedside. 

 Medicine is called a science, but how much difference be- 

 tween one doctor and another ! Why, 1 have made lots of 

 them. I saw one here yesterday that I helped to make, and 

 I do not know but there are others here this morning. I 

 say medicine is a science, but how much difference between 

 one doctor and another ! Because one doctor can see a differ- 

 ence in patients, and he does not give the same medicine 



