43 2 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 



the standard do not buy. Tell your dealer His feed or 

 feeds are below the standard. Tell your neighbors 

 about it and force the feed dealer to handle standard 

 feeds. There are many dealers and merchants who 

 purchase the cheapest feeds possible. They sell these 

 inferior feeds to their customers for as nearly as high 

 a price as high class feeds bring. They do this to 

 make greater profits. 



Raise Your Feed at Home. It is really unfortunate 

 that our farmers do not raise more of their feed at 

 home. No matter what section of the country you 

 live in, you should aim to have some feed to sell, and 

 not be forced to buy continually. Raise forage crops, 

 grow root crops and harvest grain. Sometimes one is 

 forced to purchase protein concentrates, such as cotton- 

 seed meal, linseed meal, etc. ; but the roughage or car- 

 bohydrates feeds can generally all be raised on the 

 farm. In purchasing commercial feeds, especially 

 mixed feeds, one is forced to pay for the cost of manu- 

 facture, business losses, manufacturers' profit, expenses 

 of the traveling men who sell the feed, and the cost 

 of freight. The most successful farmers in this coun- 

 try to-day are those who raise most of their feed at 

 home. 



Condimental Feeds. There are a great many of 

 these feeds sold upon the American market. They 

 are made up of mixtures of sulphur, salt, saltpeter, 

 epsom salts, Glauber's salts, sodium bicarbonate, fenu- 

 greek seeds, fennel seeds, charcoal, red and black 

 peppers, ground bone, Venetian red, anise and similar 

 products, together with some feed as a basis, in vary- 

 ing proportions. These feeds generally carry attract- 

 ive names, and the manufacturers make great claims 

 regarding their curative properties. Some of them 

 exert a tonic effect; but tonics and condition powders 

 are not needed by animals in good health. If animals 

 are sick it is cheaper to consult a veterinarian. 



Experiments have been conducted by experiment 

 stations on this class of feed, and the results of these 



