6 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



other roots or leaves, that new plant tissue may be 

 made for another generation of animal life. 



It is in this manner that the plant grows out of 

 the soil and the air, the animal out of the plant, the 

 soil out of the animal. The animal when living 

 contributes active supplies, and when dead both 

 humus and mineral ingredients are returned to the 

 soil ; the soil thus reinforced favors the new plants 

 now growing in it ; and the new plants, now more 

 abundantly nourished, more effectively take care of 

 the animals. Thus we have the cycle of life : from 

 the plant is fed the animal ; from the animal is sus- 

 tained the soil; from the soil is nourished the plant. 



The Farm and the Animals. The best system of 

 agriculture is based upon good crops and well-bred 

 live stock. With these to be possible the follow- 

 ing propositions must always be kept in mind : 



1. The soil must be rich in the simple elements of 



plant food, that there may be an abundance 

 of farm crops. 



2. The farm crops must be adapted to their cli- 



matic and soil environments so as to produce 

 from the elements in the soil the largest 

 growth of desirable plant life for animal 

 food. 



3. Superior farm stock must be raised in order to 



produce cheaply the maximum quantity of 

 high-quality meat and milk or wool and labor 

 with the least expenditure of food. 

 Supply of Plant Food. The farmer, to make agri- 

 culture remunerative, must adapt his work to what 

 falls within these lines. He must enrich the soil. 



