26 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN^ ASSOCIATION. 
This statement is made with full knowledge of the excellence all tame grasse: 
attain in this district, which is as good a blue-grass region as the far-famed Kentucky 
and as favorable a dairy country as any in New York or Ohio. 
As to soils : In going over the authorities, it would seem as if each one recom¬ 
mended that soil only as adapted to its favorable growth in which the individua 
writer has it or has seen it growing. But we find recommended the richest loam anc 
the sage-brush desert-land of Nevada. All agree that a close, tenecious soil, with 
hard-pan near, undrained and undrainable, is fatal to it, but so it would be to most 
plants. Neither men, animals or plants can stand “ wet feet ” with impunity, unless 
they happen to be aquatic plants or hippopotami, and as Patrick found his cow to dc 
proportionally better as he increased the proportion of bran and lessened that of saw¬ 
dust in the mixed feed he chose to give her, so alfalfa will undoubtedly do the best in 
the richest soil, but while my experience with it here is on creek bottom land, stray, 
plants of it scattered on upland clay soil, in manure hauled out, flourisned so well J 
am convinced it would do well on any good corn-land. In the San Bernardino Valley! 
California, alfalfa gives eight cuttings a year, of fine quality, and the hay is in great' 
demand. 
C. C. Buell said he believad in seeding land by limiting the plowing to two or three 
years. 
O. S. Cohoon said there was no grass that would reseed but clover, and he doubted 
whether that was a judicious thing to do. 
Prof. Burdick worked under the system of surface culture and did not believe ir 
sowing grass seed with grain, but sow it on the sod; three-fourths of an acre will 
produce grass enough for one cow; would commence sowing grass seed as soon as the 
frost leaves the ground, and would sow as late as October 1st. Does not advocate 
sowing grass with grain. 
John Gould, of Ohio, said the best meadow in his State is one that has been cut 
twice each year for the past fifty-four years ; little or no manure had been put on it. 
and no money could hire the owner to have this meadow plowed. As to surface cul¬ 
ture, he thought the shallower the better. 
Buell—Is there anything peculiar about the meadow ? 
Gould—Do not know that it is different from any other. 
Question.—How is the drainage ? 
Answer.—Porous subsoil. 
Mr. Coe said he raised tame hay. Some people could not cut a meadow out in two 
or three years. He could not. 
Mr. Simonds said there was more money for the farmer to cut two or three crops, 
plow under and then seed again. 
Mr. Green did not reseed at all. Where land is too moist for com it was better to 
harrow in. If a farmer does not get $10 per acre from his farm he cannot make 
money from his farming operations. 
T. H. Baker said with most farmers corn, oats and grass were the main crop; by 
rotation we get larger yields. Seed to timothy, and clover with oats, harrowing once. 
Usually got good resulis by sowing timothy as soon as the oats were cut; top-dresses 
and gets heavy yield—two-and-a-half to three tons per acre. No trouble in reseeding 
clover. 
On motion, adjourned to eight o’clock p. m. 
Evening Session. 
The Association was called to order at eight o’clock. 
While waiting for the audience to get seated, Secretary McGlincy read the fol¬ 
lowing from I. Boies, written from Genoa, Ill., under date of December 11: “ Whole 
amount of milk received from April 1st to November 1st, 1882, seven months, 1,830,- 
777 pounds, from which was made 70,456 pounds of butter, which sold net at home for 
$23,058.30. The past summer has taken more milk for a pound of butter than any 
summer since I have been in the business. I think November milk made 44 pounds of 
butter to the 100 pounds of milk.” 
THE POETRY OF BUTTER. 
BY MRS. FANNIE MCCARTNEY MALLORY, OF STERLING. 
Since the late lamented Horace Greeley wrote his immortal treatise on what he 
knew about farming it has been taken for granted that any one may discourse upon 
