ANNUAL REPORT—AGRICULTURE. 
25 
none of the multitude of remedies proposed has established 
itself in the public confidence. 
There are precautionary measures recommended, however, 
the reasonableness of which should commend them to the 
attention of farmers and secure a fair trial. Of these, the 
selection of well drained soil; the choice of healthy, and occa¬ 
sionally neio seed; early and thorough planting; and early 
digging, are the most prominent. Some authorities also recom¬ 
mend liming the seed in the hill, when planting, and the 
sprinkling of slacked lime upon the heap when storing, as 
being important. 
It can hardly be presumed that a kind of food so univer¬ 
sally in great demand, and apparently so well adapted to the 
necessities of mankind, should be the prey of an incurable 
disease; and there is but little doubt that the means of pre¬ 
vention are simple and efficacious, if we only knew the causes 
by which it is produced. There is some reason to question 
whether this or any other plant is of such universal adapta¬ 
bility that it will flourish, and continue to do so, from one 
century to another, irrespective of climate and soil ; and it is 
by no means improbable that there must occasionally be a 
renewal from the seed proper, and even a going back to the 
original source. 
THE HAY CROP 
Was unusually heavy, as a natural result of the rainy weather 
during the season of growth. But, on the other hand, the 
showers continued so persistently during the period of making 
and securing, that much of it was damaged before it could be 
got into stack or under cover. 
A yearly improvement is perceptible in the matter of culti¬ 
vating the tame grasses where previously the natural meadows 
—marsh and prairie—had been the sole reliance. There is 
much room for improvement in this direction, however, and 
the importance of giving more attention to this branch of hus¬ 
bandry is in no danger of being too often urged or too strongly 
impressed upon the farmers of Wisconsin. Farmers have been 
