68 



ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



the tame grasses, among which corn is one, an annual that will continue to play 

 an important part, as long as cattle raising and dairying are followed. 



3d Proper shelter for everything; all live stock of whatever character^ 

 ,nd farm machinery. I am confident that the loss from the exposure of farm 

 ^hCyThitughout the West is much greater than the amount of your taxes 

 r r al purposes; town, county, State and national. There is a fearful waste m 

 h s d taction. The waste from exposure of live stock to the inclemency of the 

 ^athet still greater; there is no way in estimating the loss resulting from 

 This neglect. There are both extra consumption of food and loss of product 

 Good shelter and even a resort to artificial heating in cold weather would be 



Ue 4 6 th 0n We' should stop the fearful waste of corn fodder and straw which is 

 everywhere prevalent throughout the West. Prof. Sanborn, Dean of the Mis- 

 souri Agricultural College, estimates this waste in his State to be equal to the 

 food required for the support of all the live stock. I do not doubt that he is 

 correct in his estimate. The time will soon come when it will be found absolutely 

 necessary to save this, and you will husband it even more carefully than it is 

 now done in the East. These are worth something now as they are burned or 

 plowed under to fertilize the soil, but not a tithe of their full value is secured. 

 5th Much is yet to be learned on the feeding question. The farmers must 

 learn how to balance their rations, and thus avoid waste. For illustration : if a 

 farmer has an equivalent of one ton of clover hay and two tons of corn-stalks 

 to each animal to be fed, it would be great waste and downright cruelty to begin 

 and feed all clover hay as long as it lasted, and then feed all corn-stalks as long 

 as they lasted. Neither food would be properly balanced; the animal would 

 have to eat too much of the corn fodder to get nitrogenous or muscle-producing 

 material enough, and too much clover hay to get carbonaceous or heat-producing 

 material enough; but if the two were fed in conjunction-in the proportion of 

 two pounds of corn fodder to one of clover hay, the animal would not only do 

 much better, but a good deal less food would produce the same result. Little 

 or nothing would be wasted. I do not say this is the exact proportion for a 

 balanced ration, but give it as an illustration. We must learn the economy of ] 

 feeding animals properly balanced rations. The same principle applies to human 

 food- but we have a chance to select according to appetite, which is a very 

 good' guide if bv improper indulgence the appetite has not become vitiated 

 while the animal, it must be remembered, is afforded no such choice in winter 

 It must take whatever we give or go without. 



I mignt go on with my enumeration, but will stop here, as my paper wa^ 

 designed to be only a short and suggestive one. I think you will agree with 1 

 me when you come to reflect a little, that we are nearing the end of our tethet 

 in the waste of carelessness and the extravagance of ignorance. We shall soor 

 be crowding each other on this broad continent, and the question will be hov, 

 to procure the necessaries of life for all. The broad acres for settlement 

 exhausted, we must resort to better cultivation and the practice of true economy 

 It will be for our immediate benefit to begin at once to work in this direction 

 and our posterity will have occasion to thank us for any lesson of economy o 

 wisdom which we may transmit to them. 

 Music— Ladies' Trio. 



