386 
Wisconsin State Agricultural society. 
value in and of themselves, as fertilizers, as it is the power which 
they possess to stimulate the matter of the soil where they are sup¬ 
plied. 
The theory advanced by some that our soil is worn out or ex¬ 
hausted for certain crops is only true in a small degree, for an 
analysis of those soils shows the same elements to exist now that 
did years ago, and in sufficient quantities to produce hundreds of 
crops. The only difficulty is, the elements are not in form or con¬ 
dition to be taken up by the plant w^e wish to produce. 
For want of this scientific knowledge many a field in the southern 
states has been abandoned to grow thorns and briars instead of 
bountiful crops. This food of plants may be illustrated somewhat 
by the food of our animals. 
For instance, the analysis of a bushel of carrots shows that as 
compared to a bushel of oats or corn, they contain only a small part 
of actual food capable of building up fat, bone or muscle, but when 
fed in connection with either, they afford a stimulant necessary to 
the healthful dig'estion of other food. Old time farmers used to 
tell us to summer fallow or our fields would be worn out. Scien¬ 
tific practice says use proper fertilizers and a rotation of crops, for 
we can hardly afford to let one third of our fields lie idle under the 
mistaken notion that they have got tired and must rest. 
There is perhaps no occupation of man which requires more careful 
thought, and study of natural laws, and confidence based upon those 
laws, than agriculture, and yet how sadly neglected is this branch of 
education. 
It is not my intention at this time to give a dissertation upon the 
production, care or treatment of any particular crop on the farm, 
but simply to show that knowledge of the how and the why is 
quite as essential as the labor bestowed upon its production. My 
own observation and yours is to this fact that he who puts the most 
chought and the most mind into his business is the most successful 
in his chosen occupation. 
I shall now speak more particularly of some of the practical re¬ 
sults of these rules as applied to dairying and the rearing of cattle, 
for if science points out and determines the condition, qualities 
and effects of earth and air, upon plant life, how much more, and in 
a greater degree does it determine the loss or profit to the farmer 
and dairyman, in the kind and condition of cows and bullocks 
which he raises on the farm. 
