Wisconsin State Agricultural Society. 207 
it to grow clover. Let us put our land in condition and it will grow 
clover; but let it be in condition for the crop that is put upon it. 
Now, about this talk whether plaster is good, or salt, or anything 
else, why everything is good in its place. I grow every year from 
four to fifteen acres of ruta-bagas. I do not use plaster, but I use 
land on which plaster would do but very little good. I rake up 
every hog yard I have got, and all the back yards, and all my ashes, 
and all I can get, and I mix the ingredients, fifteen, twenty or thir¬ 
ty wagon loads, and put it on and I would rather have such fertili¬ 
zers than anything else. 
Let us know how to work, and we shall not be coming in here 
and finding fault with our politicians. Thank God our state is happy, 
and will always be in spite of all our grumbling. I tell you gentle¬ 
men farmers, when we have a good hearty wife and family, and a 
good healthy farm and everything connected with it, the fault is 
our own if we cannot live like kings, that is all I can say. Then 
let us shut up this eternal grumbling and fault finding, and let us 
work out our own problems on our own farm, and to the whole 
United States of America will be peace and prosperity, long life 
and happiness. (Great applause.) 
Professor Daniells. It seems to me we can tell so well when we 
need to use lime, that every man should know. There is plenty of 
lime in the soil in this country for the use of plants, but if we have 
a soil with considerable organic matter in it and which is not very 
fertile, by adding lime to that soil will hasten the decomposition of 
the organic matter, and so improve the soil for the present. But 
to use lime continuously for any length of time, would ruin it un¬ 
less there was a very large portion of organic matter replaced in 
the soil. It would hasten the decomposition and very soon the or¬ 
ganic matter would disappear. The organic matter in the soil being 
entirely insoluble, lime decomposes it, and renders it capable of 
being taken up for plant food. And so far as plaster is concerned, 
I do not think there is any man in the world knows anything in 
regard to it. 
