STO 



STO 



427 



low meadow abounds, the kind of 

 stock should be increased, which 

 will do best on coarse water-grassesj 

 which is well known to be neat cat- 

 tle, that are young and growing. 

 But if a farm yield a plenty of good 

 sweet grass, it is the more suitable 

 for a dairy farm, and the greater 

 proportion of cows ought to be kept. 



But on no farm should horses be 

 multiplied beyond the number 

 which are needed, or which can be 

 employed to advantage. For they 

 are great eaters, and require the 

 best of the fodder and pasture. A 

 small farmer can scarcely afford to 

 keep one, unless he puts him to the 

 draught. 



Let a farm be what it will, it 

 should never be overstocked. This 

 is an error that too many farmers 

 in this country are guilty of. Doubt- 

 less it arises from a covetous dis- 

 position ; but they sadly miss their 

 aim. Instead of gaining, they lose 

 by it. A half starved stock can 

 never be profitable. 



A farm may be said with truth to 

 be overstocked, when a greater 

 number of animals are kept, than 

 can be well fed with its produce, 

 during the whole year. For it is a 

 ruinous practice, to suffer a beast 

 to pine away, and lose, in one 

 part of the year, the flesh he gains 

 in another. And when the farmer 

 is constrained to purchase food for 

 his stock, he too often affords them 

 but a scanty allowance. Sometimes, 

 it is not in his power to obtain it. 



The starvation of cattle, or keep- 

 ing them too short of food, not on- 

 ly prevents their being profitable 

 to the owner, but teaches them to 

 be disorderly, and to break through, 



or leap over fences ; and many 

 times to become absolutely un- 

 governable ; so that they must 

 either be killed, or sold off at a low 

 price ; in either of which cases, 

 there is often much inconvenience 

 and loss. 



It is far belter that some of the 

 stock of food should be left in the 

 spring, than that it should fall short. 

 It is a good reserve against a sea- 

 son of scarcity : And such seasons 

 often happen in this country by 

 drought. 



The following general rules, as 

 to the management of stock may 

 deserve attention. 



"I. Animals intended for the 

 butcher, should be kept in a state 

 of regular improvement. The finer 

 breeds are highly fed from their 

 birth, and are almost always fat. 

 With other breeds, and on pastures 

 of inferior quality, this is neither 

 necessary nor practicable. But in 

 every case, the same principle of 

 improvement should be adhered to, 

 and such animals ought never to be 

 allowed to lose flesh, in the hopes 

 of afterwards restoring it by better 

 feeding. 



" 2. The size should never be 

 above that which the pasture can 

 support in a thriving condition. 

 The attempt to raise them to an 

 undue size, by crossing, is censura- 

 ble. In regard to size, the stock of 

 every kind, and of all the various 

 breeds, should be proportioned to 

 the quantity, and the quality of 

 their intended food. 



" 3. The best pasture should be 

 allotted to that portion of the stock, 

 which goes first to market ; the 

 next in quality to the breeders ; and 



