22 - FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



in farm life, and the pleasure derived from it, and it cer- 

 tainly tends more than any other phase of agriculture 

 to moor the young people of the farm to farm life. It 

 adds to the pleasure of life on a farm : ( i ) By the closer 

 bond that exists between the human family and animal 

 life than is possible between men and plants, (2) by in- 

 creasing the profits derived from the farm, and (3) by 

 making it possible to multiply farms as the necessity for 

 so doing increases. 



The bond between humanity and plant life can never 

 be so close as that between humanity and animal life. 

 In the very nature of things it cannot be, since in plants 

 there is no response to attentions from the human fam- 

 ily other than the dumb response of growth. In addition, 

 from animals there is the response of submission and 

 more or less of friendly feeling, which is closely allied to 

 gratitude. In fact, it would almost seem as though domes- 

 tic animals were more uniformly grateful for attentions 

 bestowed than man. "The ox knoweth his owner and the 

 ass his master's crib, but my people do not know." 



This reciprocity as it were between human and animal 

 life is inherent in many ways, and it begets between 

 young people and their pets what cannot otherwise be ex- 

 pressed so well as by the use of the term affection. This 

 is evidenced in the disconsolate grie'f sometimes shown 

 by a little maiden of the farm over the loss of a pet lamb 

 torn by dogs. It is also evidenced in the innate bond 

 that exists between young boys and their pet dogs. This 

 bond would seem to be stronger in some instances than 

 the bond between David and Jonathan. The thrill of 

 feeling that comes to the farm girl in witnessing the 

 rapid trooping of fowls into her presence in response 

 to her call is such as never can come from feeding plants. 

 The thoughts of the pets of the farm in those early days 

 are thoughts that linger, and who can measure the influ- 

 ence which they have wielded in the decision reached 



