THE DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



207 



tron of the agents, who led us to believe that it would do ten times what 

 it would do. Just at this time a friend of mine over in Utah, Jesse 

 Smith, told me it was economy to use old style oxen, and so we started 

 in and bought up oxen. This country was too modern for that class of 

 work, so it became necessary for us to do business. So we commenced 

 and bought all the old bulls in the country and the first step in making 

 them useful for our purpose was to yoke them to a sled and let them 

 break themselves. One of my neighbors, a cattle man, sent word that 

 he had a bull for sale. He put a very low price on him and I went up. 

 He said: 'He is broke to lead, and is well trained,' but I didn't compre- 

 hend what that meant. I took him down home and yoked him up and 

 put him in the sled, but I soon saw he had a disposition like his former 

 owner, so I stood a little clear of him. But when I came along in the 

 yard I saw the chain was unhooked, so I stepped up to hook the chain 

 and when I woke up I was eighteen feet from the sled. I examined 

 myself for my nose and face and I thought it was gone, and the next 

 thing I discovered was two teeth missing. So I got up and went to town 

 to see a doctor. The doctor said, 'your nose and face are all right. You 

 don't need a doctor, you need a dentist,' so I went over to the dentist, 

 who said: 'You are in bad shape, Mr. Bell,' I said I am aware of that. 

 Must as soon as the impression of that bull's foot gets out of your 

 mouth and I can take an impression with plaster paris, I will make you 

 another set of teeth,' said he. 



"The boys wanted to know if I wanted the critter killed. I said, J 

 don't know what to do with him, but I will tell you what we did with 

 him. We put him in between a leader and a wheeler. He was the most 

 obstinate animal I ever saw, but if you people have any kickers in your 

 part of the counry that you don't know what to do with, send them over 

 and I will make them leaders and wheelers and send them back in the 

 fall, C. O. D. Now I told you I had disposed of all these original speeches 

 but my wife prepared something for me and with your permission I will 

 read it: 



Lamb Fattening. 



"If my memory serves me aright, about fifteen years ago we fed 

 our first lambs on grain. A very few were fed at this time. Lambs at 

 this time were worth from 75 cents to $1.25 per head. Corn was con- 

 sidered a very high price at 25 cents per bushel, often sold as low as 

 15 to 18 cents per bushel.. Lamb feeding increased to such an extent 

 that corn has sold for the last nine years at an average price per bushel 

 of forty cents. In the last nine years lambs have sold at a price on an 

 average of $2.65 per head. You will notice that both corn and lambs 

 have made a gain of over one hundred per cent. These results do not, 

 however, stop here. 



Increased Values. 



."Mr. Farmer, your land has also doubled or trebled in value. Mr 

 Sheepman, your entire herds have also doubled and trebled in value 



