322 THE FAT OF THE LAND 
way, it ceases to occupy space in my shop, just 
as would an imperfect wheel. The utmost kind- 
ness is shown to all animals at Four Oaks. This 
rule is the most imperative one on the place, 
and the one in which no “extenuating circum- 
stances” are taken into account. There are two 
equal reasons for this: the first is a deep-rooted 
aversion to cruelty in all forms; and the second is, 
it pays. But kindness to animals doesn’t imply 
the necessity of keeping useless ones or those 
whose usefulness is below one’s standard. If a 
man will use the intelligence and attention to 
detail in the management of stock that is neces- 
sary to the successful running of a complicated 
machine, he will find that his stock doesn’t differ 
greatly from his machine. The trouble with most 
farmers is that they think the living machine can 
be neglected with impunity, because it will not 
immediately destroy itself or others, and because 
it is capable of a certain amount of self-main- 
tenance; while the dead machine has no power 
of self-support, and must receive careful and 
punctual attention to prevent injury to itself 
and to other property. If a dairyman will feed 
his cows as a thresher feeds the cylinder of his 
threshing-machine, he will find that the milk 
will flow from the one about as steadily as the 
grain falls from the other. 
Intensive factory farming means the use of the 
best machines pushed to the limit of their capac- 
ity through the period of their greatest useful- 
