140 
Annual Be port of the 
that great attention had been paid to the breeding of draft horses. 
I supposed by this time the vicinity would abound with animals 
of this kind. I was entirely disappointed with the result of my 
visit. There had been no unity of action in the vicinity, and no 
local reputation had been gained. 
I can illustrate this failure near at home. For 25 years a herd 
of Short-Horns has been located in Sauk county. It might reason¬ 
ably be supposed that by this time the country would be well 
stocked with full bloods and high grades, but the efforts at im¬ 
provement have been scattering and no great progress has been 
made. 
One thing that we want is more local experimenting. I do not 
mean that profound research into organic laws which lie too deep 
for common opportunities, but a series of prompt and easily con¬ 
ducted experiments, which will determine the varieties best adapted 
to our own localities. We often hear of some new variety which is 
giving great satisfaction at a distance. We incur expense in in¬ 
troducing it, only to be disappointed with the result. 
There is a great deal said of late about the propriety of changing 
seed. This may be desirable, but does not go very deeply into the 
merits of the case. It is always desirable to change poor seed for 
better, but if our own is the best, it is the proper seed for us to 
sow. If we hunt deeper, we will find causes of failure which can¬ 
not be reached by changing seed. We want to study the adapta¬ 
tions of our own localities. We know that nature recognizes great 
differences in the different parts of the same forty acre lot. There 
will be the oak and hickory ridge, the maple grove on the slope, 
the bliss wood and elm on the flat, and black ash and alder near the 
creek, and coarse grass and cat-tails will fringe the banks. This order 
of things cannot be reversed, and it suggests the great importance 
of intelligent adaptations in our farming. The natural flora of the 
sandy poitions of Sauk county is widely different from that of the 
clay land and bluffs. The Baraboo river draws a line as marked by 
different natural productions on either side as might be found else¬ 
where by two hundred miles of travel. We know that our culti¬ 
vated grains have wonderful powers of adaptation, as cultivation 
has given them a cosmopolitan character, but still it would not be 
strange if we could find varieties peculiarly adapted to our various 
situations. 
