one cow can be made as good as that from a dozen ; and the farmer 
having his business divided, consequently does not suffer as he would if 
it were exclusively dairy. 
“Another disadvantage we labor under, but which is being fast reme¬ 
died and can be altogether, is the want of green feed early in the spring 
and late in the fall, for it is well known that though our wild pastures 
(with a large range) are very nutritious while in perfection, still they 
remain.so only about two months in the year—June and July—and after 
the first appearance of frost in the fall, are entirely worthless. But this 
is soon overcome by seeding the land to the cultivated grasses—timothy, 
red-top, and clover; and when this is generally done we will be much 
better off than we are now, under the almost universal system of crop 
after crop, spring wheat after winter wheat, sometimes burning the 
straw, and often moving the sheds and stables to save the labor of draw¬ 
ing away the manure. It is an old and true adage that continual drop¬ 
ping will wear away a stone, and it is equally true that continual crop¬ 
ping will wear out the best farm in the State. We would urge the farmers 
of Wisconsin, or those who do it, to abandon the present excessive sys¬ 
tem of cropping, to seed down their lands and keep more stock of all 
kinds—cattle, sheep, horses, hogs, or either of them, as the peculiari¬ 
ties of the farm may seem best adapted. Very abundant and nutritious 
feed is obtained by sowing rye in August, or as early as it can be done, 
and pasturing it during the fall; it can also be pastured until the first of 
May in the spring, without injury to the growing crop, and we believe 
spring feeding to be a decided benefit. 
“We think we have shown that one of the disadvantages under which we 
labor can be remedied, and by so doing it would be a great benefit to the 
country. The other (droughts) and from which our Eastern neighbors some¬ 
times suffer likewise, is more than made up by the cheapness of our land in 
comparison. In extensive dairy sections in the Eastern States they are getting 
rich making butter and cheese, on lands worth from forty to one hundred dol¬ 
lars per acre; and if we cannot successfully compete with them in making 
large cheese, we can in making butter and raising stock, besides all the grain 
which should be raised on the farm. If one cow will make fifteen dollars 
worth of butter, raise a calf, and keep a pig during the summer months, aside 
from the benefits of the manure made from her, without interfering with the 
