784 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



corn and bad roads, it may sometimes be cheaper to maintain 

 vital heat by additional food than by shelter; but to the major- 

 ity of farmers there can be no question that shelter costs less 

 than grain. 



One other illustration : Every one knows how much easier 

 it is to keep a fire up when the furnace is hot than to start it 

 when every thing is cold. The same thing is true in the growth 

 of an animal. If it is so wintered that growth ceases and the 

 animal loses flesh, it is a slow process to bring it back to the 

 point of profitable feeding. 



There is much truth in the saying, "An animal well wintered 

 is half summered." I have found that the cattle that are kept 

 thrifty through the winter, and are so fed as to make a little 

 gain, begin at once to thrive rapidly when turned to pasture, 

 and before the starveling has shed its old hair, and shows signs 

 of improvement, the well-wintered animal is good beef. The 

 farmer who winters five cattle on the food necessary for four 

 will, in a majority of cases, fail to realize any profit from them. 



With perhaps some exceptions, I do not think the winter a 

 favorable season for feeding for beef; but I shall speak of that 

 under another head. But I do recommend such winter feeding 

 as will keep the cattle thrifty, and bring them through the win- 

 ter in such a condition as to make grazing profitable. For 

 young cattle, and cows giving milk, I place a very high value 

 on bran for winter food; but for dry cows, and two or three- 

 year-old steers and heifers, I find nothing better for the grain 

 ration than whole corn. 



All things considered, in our best grain-growing regions, 

 corn and straw will winter cattle cheaper and in better condi- 

 tion than any other food. The straw may be stacked so as to 

 afford shelter, and the cattle allowed to remain day and night 

 in the stack yard, or they may be stabled at night, and given 

 the corn night and morning, and for a change a small feed of 

 corn-fodder; but they will do well on corn and straw without 

 other food. In this method of cattle feeding, corn can be used 

 freely at a profit, from the fact that a large part of the nutri- 

 ment in the corn is available for hogs after having passed 



