CHAPTER XVII. 



THE WINTER FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF LIVE STOCK. 



The objects in keeping animals on a farm are : — 



1. To convert vegetable products into animal products. 



2. To make manure. 



3. To secure the necessary motive power for the operations of 

 the farm. 



All of these are items of the farm's business^ and viewed in this 

 light, the domestic animals bear the same relation to his opera- 

 tions, that the steam-engine, the carding-machine, and the loom 

 do to the owner of a cotton-mill. 



They are a part of the machinery Dy which he accomplishes his 

 ends, and they should, in a purely practical point of view, be re- 

 garded as such. They should be kept in sound condition, and in 

 good running order, and made to perform their part of the work, 

 day by day, in the best and most economical manner. In propor- 

 tion to the completeness with which this is done, — in proportion, 

 that is, to the intelligence and constant watchfulness with which 

 they are kept up to the mark, and made to perform their full 

 share of the work, — will they be profitable or unprofitable. 



If the mill owner keeps his engine running with full power, 

 consuming its maximum amount of fuel, and then supplies his 

 looms with barely enough cotton for the profit on the cloth made 

 to pay his operatives, he will be out of pocket by the full cost of 

 running his engine, of the wear and tear of his machinery, and of 

 the interest on the value of his mill. Before he can actually make 

 money, he must supply enough raw material to increase his pro- 

 duction to an amount that will more than cover alt outlays. 



The extent to which he does this must decide the degree 

 to which he is to be considered a successful manufacturer. 



