22 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
year or so without other sacrifice than one of convenience, 
since they are all the time increasing in weight and value. 
There is no dead loss at all—unless they die outright, of 
which there is little need, if they are properly cared for. 
It is an occasion lor congratulation that these views are even 
slowly gaining ground in Wisconsin. As cattle and hogs 
multiply the acreage of the root and corn crops will corres¬ 
pondingly increase. As sheep multiply thousands of our now 
useless bill-sides will whiten with productive flocks. But as 
yet we have only begun to realize the advantages of this great 
branch of our husbandry. 
And one of the first conditions of better success than has 
yet been attained is 
A BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRINCIPLES OF STOCK BREED¬ 
ING AND STOCK RAISING. 
Too many of our farmers are content with knowing that a 
horse is a horse, a bull a bull. They know nothing of “points,” 
if, indeed, they do not believe that all this talk about princi¬ 
ples is moonshine. If they would increase their herd they re¬ 
sort to the scrub male of the commons in preference to a thor¬ 
oughbred, because of the difference in price of service. And 
as for buying an animal of unquestioned purity of blood, that 
, thought never entered their heads. The number of this class 
is happily growing less and less every year, under the influence 
of the agricultural societies and journals of the country. No 
word should be spared that would help reduce it to zero. 
But even in this day of societies, and journals, and agricul¬ 
tural colleges, there is comparatively little knowledge of the 
science of breeding and rearing of domestic animals. It does 
not dispose of the obligation to study into this science to say 
that concerning some of the so called “ principles ” there is still 
much doubt. That is true; but it is also true that many car¬ 
dinal and highly important questions have been settled and are 
now recognized by scientific men everywhere. 
We know: 
