370 Wisconsin state agricultural society. 
proper place again in the soil. By this course you have lost noth¬ 
ing, except the increased weight of the animals to which it was 
fed, as I believe it to be well settled that animals excrete daily in 
about the same proportion as they ingest, the weight averaging 
the same. These animals thus fed are soon in condition to sup¬ 
port a higher type of animal life, to wit: man, where the same 
care should be observed to save every particle of the concentrated 
constituents of this animal food, so that after having served its 
full nutritive function, it may become again the food of plants. 
With an economical system of farming in Wisconsin, none of tho 
constituent elements of the soil ought to be lost, except those- 
contained in grains and stock shipped to eastern markets for con¬ 
sumption. In return for this exhaustion which must gradually 
go on, not only in our own state, but in all others where the pro¬ 
ducts produced are largely in excess of the amount consumed, our 
large cities ought to be manufacturing an honest concentrated fer¬ 
tilizer, at a price so cheap, and of a quality so rich, that every farmer 
could afford to supply this waste. I may have occasion to speak 
of fertilizers again ere I close this paper. 
I look upon thorough culture as next in importance to the sav¬ 
ing and use of manures^ A fine pulverization and mixing of the 
soil, while it adds no nutritive qualities or strength, will make 
available elements of plant food which otherwise might remain in 
an insoluble condition, and hence practically useless for years. I 
doubt not that the profitable productiveness of the soil could be 
much longer retained without the aid of manure, did-farmers fully 
understand the vital importance of thoroughly preparing the land 
for their crops, until it is in that pulverized state that the fine, deli¬ 
cate fibres of plants can seek and find sufficient food. An inci¬ 
dent in my own farming operations, is perhaps worthy of men¬ 
tion here. Having prepared with much care an acre of prairie 
land for onions, in the spring of 1867, by plowing, harrow¬ 
ing and rolling until the soil was finely pulverized, and really 
looked like a well prepared garden, I sowed what seed I had, ap¬ 
plying it somewhat more liberally than I at first intended, and when 
the seed was exhausted, I found that I still had left about 1-8 of 
an acre of this garden prepared soil, upon the side adjoining the 
land I was in a few days to putin wheat. I sowed this strip with 
