WINTER FEEDING OF LIVE STOCK. 577 



toward the wild type ; he may develop still further their useful 

 qualities ; or he may give prominence to some feature that is now 

 inconspicuous. 



The really practical farmer should bear the foregoing in mind, 

 and he would be greatly benefited by making himself familiar 

 with all that is known of the " physiology " of farm animals. At 

 the same time, no amount of theoretical knowledge (book-farming) 

 can take the place of practical skill and observation. One must 

 know, not only the general rules of the stable, and what is the 

 best food and the best management for the different results aimed 

 at, but the temperaments, habits, and peculiarities of different 

 individuals of the herd. 



This sort of " stable wisdom " only a man of tact, vigilance, 

 and close observation can attain to. Tempered by such knowl- 

 edge as may be readily gathered from books, it is the corner-stone 

 of the farmer's fortune. He must — in his breeding and in his 

 feeding — try to develop, to the utmost, the most desirable quali- 

 ties of each animal under his care. Beginning with a good father 

 and a good mother, — whether it be a question of a horse or only of 

 a chicken, — and ending with the best possible treatment through- 

 out its life, he should make each animal an object of special 

 study and strive to adapt it as perfectly as he can to the service 

 he intends it for, — closely observing its peculiar temperament. 

 In this way will he get from each animal the greatest profit it is 

 capable of returning. 



The, principles which govern the use of nutriment by all kinds 

 of farm stock being the same, I cannot better illustrate the 

 practice that is to be recommended for all, than by the following 

 quotation from Mr. Flint's work : — * 



" Keep the cows constantly in good condition^ ought, therefore, to 

 " be the motto of every dairy farmer, posted up over the barn- 

 " door, and over the stalls, and over the milk-room, and repeated 

 " to the boys whenever there is danger of forgetting it. It is the 

 " great secret of success, and the difference between success and 



* Milch Cows and Dairy Farming. 



