132 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



by selling them directly. Besides this the waste materials 

 are returned to the soil as fertilizer. Another value of live 

 stock on the farm which must be noted is the satisfaction 

 and pride which the business gives to the farmer, especially 

 if he has good farm, animals, and this satisfaction is no small 

 asset in successful agriculture. 



Pure breds versus scrubs. All these values of live stock 

 on the farm are truer if we have pure-bred stock instead 

 of scrubs. With the same amount of feed the pure- 

 bred or well-bred animal converts it into the produce desired 

 more efficiently. The good cow turns the food given her into 

 larger and better quantities of milk; the good beef animal 

 converts the food into large quantities of high-grade meat; 

 the good hen utilizes her food in the production of the maxi- 

 mum amount of eggs in the fall and winter season ; the good 

 horse converts his food into energy and endurance at the 

 minimum cost ; and so on through the whole live-stock list. 

 The pure-bred animals have been bred up so that the desir- 

 able characteristics are fixed and hereditary, and these char- 

 acteristics are maintained by economical feeding and care. All 

 this implies that well-bred animals bring more money on the 

 market, and this fact alone would justify their production. 

 The point made in the last paragraph that farm animals con- 

 tribute to the pride of the farmers in his vocation is especially 

 true of animals of the pure-bred type. The production of 

 well-bred animals leads the farmer to improve his place, prob- 

 ably name his farm, advertise his goods, and bring to his home 

 and family all the best things which an interest in good farm 

 animals will bring. 



