SYSTEMS OF FARMING 99 



soils the necessary condition to grow remunera- 

 tive crops of oats and barley. 



One of the various kinds of stock-farming 

 has many advantages to commend itself as 

 compared with arable farming. There is not 

 such a vast amount of knowledge to acquire 

 before starting for oneself, and the profits are 

 less uncertain. The outlay of capital is con- 

 fined chiefly to the purchase of stock, and the 

 heavy initial expenses an arable farmer has to 

 meet for tenant-right, implements, seeds, fer- 

 tilisers, etc., are avoided. The bulk of stock- 

 farming is concerned with the rearing of stock 

 as opposed to fattening. In the case of sheep a 

 regular breeding flock is kept, and the lambs 

 reared to be sold as stores for fattening on 

 arable farms, or they may be kept and fattened 

 if there are roots, or enough good pasture. The 

 rearing of cattle is not quite on the same lines, 

 as if a breeding herd be kept the milk has to be 

 disposed of, and so the system becomes dairy- 

 farming just as much as stock-farming. On 

 dairy-farms having sufficient rough grazing the 

 calves are reared and sold as stores, but on 

 most dairy-farms, particularly where the milk is 

 sold whole, the calves are usually sold at once 



