SUGGESTIONS TO YOUNG BREEDERS 51 



are always on the lookout for animals fed by them, for which 

 they are very willing to pay the top price of the day. 



Feed your animals well. One can not purchase high- 

 class stock and keep them in good form and state of develop- 

 ment, unless properly fed. Many persons buy animals in 

 good condition, but neglect them after the animals come 

 into their possession. Where men must buy feed, they too 

 frequently neglect to give their new purchases enough to 

 keep them in thrifty, healthy condition. Food is essential 

 to maintain life and produce growth and vigor. It is a 

 serious mistake to be niggardly in the use of feed. Further- 

 more, no herd can do other than go backward, if the animals 

 are not fed wisely. Young growing stock, starved and neg- 

 lected, become inferior in development, and in due season 

 naturally reproduce inferior offspring. A true stockman 

 always enjoys seeing his animals eat, and realizes that some- 

 thing is wrong if they do not show a hearty appetite. 



Do not be led astray by fads. Develop a herd that com- 

 bines the useful and beautiful in the highest possible degree, 

 for these two important features naturally go together. 

 Leave out of consideration pedigrees that do not stand for 

 merit. Remember that peculiarities of form often are of 

 little real value, and that it is. not wise to go to extremes in 

 these things. Do not make color a vital object with those 

 breeds in which variation in this respect occurs. Whether 

 an Ayrshire cow is one fourth or three fourths white, or a 

 Shorthorn red or roan, is a very superficial matter. General 

 conformation, constitution, and producing capacity are the 

 important subjects to consider rather than the color fad. 



Study your local conditions, and endeavor to learn with 

 what class of live stock you will be most likely to succeed on 

 your farm and with your surroundings. As a rule, it is best 

 to keep the breed or kind of animals most common in the 

 locality. One should know, however, that, as a rule, the 

 heavier type of animals is native to low-lying, fertile coun- 



