i8 My Little Farm 



the value of the animals, my bill for bag stuffs is 

 considerably less, the feeding value of the home 

 produce being so much higher. In another 

 chapter it is shown in more detail how this result 

 is assisted by the improved quality of the cow 

 herself and by the new methods of feeding her 

 from home production. There were eight cows, 

 and calves, with a pony, all about the average. 

 Now there are eighteen and a big horse, worth on 

 an average per animal about twice as much in 

 money. It is amazing how people persist in 

 breeding from bad stock to return them a low 

 result for the produce of their labour ; and how, 

 while wasting their life and work in this way, they 

 will go five miles with a load of stuff for 2d. in 55. 

 on the price. My cow is my market, and unless 

 she can yield a satisfactory price for my produce, 

 she must go, to make room for one that will. I 

 cannot afford to keep bad cows. The smaller the 

 farm the better the cow ought to be. The poorer 

 the farmer, the less he can afford the loss in feeding 

 bad ones. By " good " and " bad " here, I do 

 not mean merely the size or even the money value, 

 but the productive and reproductive capacity of 

 the cow in proportion to cost. 



In addition to cattle and the field routine for 

 their maintenance in all seasons, here is a list of 

 our present products which were not formerly 

 produced at all: Rhubarb, strawberries, goose- 

 berries, apples, plums, pears, early potatoes, 

 onions and a seasonal succession of other garden 

 stuffs, which go far against the bill for house- 



