164

University of Wisconsin,

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION.

Madison, Wis., Sept. 30 1889.
Dictated.

Charles E. Bessey,

University of Nebraska,
Lincoln, Neb.

My dear sir:

Yours of the 28 received.

I send you, under separate cover, a copy of the annual report
of the Board of Regents, containing an experiment in feeding corn
smut to two cows. Let me add a point or two.

The greatest mistake I ever made was not securing a veterin-
arian or M. D. as soon as the red cow died, to have made a thorough
post mortem. You will see that I found nothing wrong as far as
my examination went. I believe that if I had examined the brain
I would have seen where the trouble was. I am still confident
that the cow died from the smut. In my case the experiment came
near proving fatal. A couple of weeks after I made the post mortem
a smal sulphur, yellow pustule appeared on the back of my neck,
which developed into a very ugly sort of a boil. Soon after several
similar outbreaks appeared on my right hand and wrist, and I went
into the doctor's care. He pronounced it blood-poisoning and gave