12 MR. fay's address. 



think that If they give enough to their cattle In winter to enable 

 them to crawl to the pasture in the spring, it is quite sufficient. 

 The breeders of the fine cattle, which we are importing from abroad 

 at enormous cost, find their account in adopting a very differ- 

 ent course. They act upon the principle that every animal from 

 his birth should begin to fatten with his growth, and never be 

 allowed to fall off at any time in his condition. 



There is also another kind of starvation besides lack of food, 

 which is quite as injurious, this is starvation from cold. Warmth and 

 shelter to cattle form a large per centage of saving in the amount 

 of food requisite for keeping them In good condition, and would 

 soon pay for good sheds and proper barns in which to house them. 

 We must bear In mind, too, that the manure from well sheltered 

 and well fed cattle, possesses far greater fertilizing properties than 

 that from those who suffer in either of these respects. Self-interest, 

 therefore, as well as humanity, demands from us more care and 

 attention in guarding our stock from the effects of the extreme 

 heat and cold, which eminently distinguish our New England 

 climate. 



An abundant supply of manure is an absolute necessity to profitable 

 results in agriculture. Possessed of this, almost any soil if cultivated 

 with a moderate degree of judgment, can be made to produce good 

 crops. This is a plain simple truth, about which there is no question ; 

 but the moment we come to apply it to practice, we are beset with 

 difficulties. There has been so much said and written upon this 

 subject, and so many theories propounded, that it is almost impossi- 

 ible to know what to beUeve or how to proceed. The action of 

 manure is as puzzling and as unsolved to the farmer as the law of 

 perpetual motion to the philosopher, or the squaring of the circle to 

 the mathematician. If one attempts to inform himself from books, 

 he soon becomes involved in a labyrinth of contradictions, and if he 

 consults his neighbors he will rarely find any two to agree. One 

 is for long manure, another for short ; one is loud in praise of guano, 

 while another thinks It hurts the land, recommending phosphates, 

 salt, soda, lime, ashes, bones, or some other fertilizer as the only 

 valuable addition to his home-made manure ; while still another 

 condemns them all, having, perhaps, a nostrum of his own which he 

 considers the only one worth using. Nevertheless we have some 

 well established facts to start with, and if we keep them in mind we 



