264 THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE 



must depend largely or entirely on the natural 

 forage, which is sometimes good and sometimes 

 extremely poor and meager. It may require ten • 

 to twenty acres to support a single cow or steer 

 for a year. If the "range" is eaten off closely 

 during the summer, the animals perish in the 

 winter. In the dry and nearly snowless districts 

 of the West, animals may subsist in the winter 

 on the mature dead grasses. Since the rainfall 

 is light, these matured grasses, or natural hay, 

 retain most of their nutrient qualities. 



489. In narrow, sheltered northern valleys 

 surrounded by grass -covered, rolling hillsides, 

 where the cereals cannot be raised to advantage, 

 live-stock finds congenial surroundings. In such 

 regions:, for many years, was the center and 

 home of the dairy industries. Within the last 

 twenty years the areas in which butter, cheese 

 and milk have been produced in large quantities 

 for city consumption and export have become 

 greatly enlarged and multiplied ; and many 

 whole farms, formerly used for the production 

 of the cereals, especially of maize, are now con- 

 ducted as dairy farms. 



490. On high-priced land near the markets, 

 comparatively little live-stock will be kept, since 

 the manures necessary to keep the soil fairly 

 productive and filled with humus can be easily 

 brought from the cities. The teams which 



