SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 849 



little corn. The man whose hog lot is hog wallows and bare ground and 

 who grows and fats his pigs on corn alone may think he is selling his 

 corn at a good price, but if he weighs the corn he feeds for one season 

 he will be surprised at how little he gets for his labor. 



It means the feeding of a good grade of cattle only, and careful and 

 intelligent feeding. It means such a change and variety of feed as will 

 keep their stomachs in shape to digest and assimulate the greatest 

 possible quantity of fat producing food and feeding until they are well 

 finished. One of the great sources of loss in cattle feeding is shipping 

 in half fed cattle. The wide range of prices between fat and half fat 

 cattle should teach us that the most profitable corn we feed is the last 

 corn we feed. We all know that no man can make a pound of beef in 

 the feed yard for what he gets for it in Chicago. His profit is the 

 difference in the price per pound which he pays for the carcass and for 

 which he sells it. The wider he makes this difference, as a rule the 

 greater his profits. It is constant care that no pig, calf, colt, or other 

 young stock shall have its stomach contracted and its growth stopped 

 and stunted from the time It is born or bought until it is matured or 

 sold by either hunger, thirst or long exposure to cold. Every time the 

 growth and thrift of a young animal stops either on account of no feed 

 or the wrong kind of feed, we do not only lose all our feed and care during 

 its stand still period and defer its maturity many times its stand still 

 period, but its weight at maturity will be short at least what it should 

 have gained in that period and usually much more. 



It means good farm buildings. I do not mean by this great big and' 

 expensive houses with more room than it is possible to use, and barns 

 that stand partly idle the year around. There is such a thing as having 

 a lot of idle capital \^asted in too large and expensive farm buildings. 

 We want well built, well planned, well painted buildings corresponding 

 in size to the size of the farm and the class of farming which is being 

 done. 



It means good fences and good clean fence rows sown to grass and 

 scattering grass seed each year instead of weed seed. 



It means hog tight woven wire fences around our farms or a large 

 portion of them, so that our young hogs may glean our stubble and corn 

 fields and get the benefit of the fall pasture as well as the cattle. 



It means sowing clover in all small grain. The fall pasture will more 

 than pay for the seed and if you plow it up the next crop wil pay for it 

 again. 



It means a medium sized herd of dairy cows, each one of which you 

 know by experience gives good milk, plenty of it. and milks easy. Don't 

 touch the Jersey for the calf must make a feeder. A part of your team 

 force should be good draft mares and bred to the best draft horse you can 

 find. Keep shy of the light road horse. You can sell one draft horse and 

 buy two or three drivers with the money. 



You should have a small apple orchard and plenty of small fruit and 

 should buy your nursery stock of an Iowa nurseryman on whose honesty 

 you can depend. Don't buy nursery stock of jobbers. 



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