246 Elementary Principles of Agriculture 



animals will be able to profitably use only three or four 

 pounds, while still others may return a profit on twelve 

 or fifteen pounds. The intelligent feeder knows how 

 to feed to get best results, but in every herd or flock 

 there are "good feeders" and "poor feeders." The 

 wise breeder notes the peculiarities in selecting his 

 animals for propagation. "Like begets like," in habits 

 as well as in form. 



345. Skill in Feeding. The observant farmer or 

 feeder will soon learn the peculiarities of his animals. 

 He never feeds an animal so abundantly that the appe- 

 tite will be lax at the next feeding. He will feed often 

 and regularly. In fattening hogs, steers, etc., he begins 

 with light rations, and increases gradually as circum- 

 stances suggest until the stock are on "full feed." 



346. Pasturage. Wherever possible, provision should 

 be made for stock to gather green food from pastures. 

 It is a benefit to the fields to sow them in winter annuals 

 and allow the stock to graze during dry weather. This 

 is -especially desirable for poultry, dairy cattle and hogs. 

 In some cases it is profitable to haul the green feed to 

 the stock, rather than pasture it. This latter practice 

 is spoken of as "soiling" and the crop as a "soiling 

 crop." 



347. Shelter for Farm Animals. A simple shelter 

 to shield stock and poultry from wet or cold weather 

 is necessary on every farm. This need not be so elabo- 

 rate and costly as those used in colder regions. Shelter 

 reduces the cost of feeding. Exposure reduces the 

 flow of milk in dairy cows and the frequency of laying 

 in poultry. 



