6O PROFITABLE STOCK RAISING 



of phosphorus and 30 pounds of potassium. When 

 grown on soil of average productiveness, the roots 

 and stubble contain about as much nitrogen as the 

 soil has furnished to the plants, so that that con- 

 tained in the forage is the quantity added, provided 

 it is fed on the farm. 



The phosphorus and potassium actually used in 

 crop production must be supplied by the purchase 

 of commercial fertilizers in the form of bone meal, 

 rock phosphate and the various potassium salts. 

 The proposition to supply the necessary organic 

 matter and keep the land in proper mechanical con- 

 dition is not very difficult, because where live stock 

 is kept there must be enough of this material for 

 feeding the animals. 



With these facts in mind it is self-evident that 

 shipping away vast quantities of corn, oats and hay 

 is exceedingly bad practice. It is bad practice from 

 the standpoint of soil fertility, and it is bad practice 

 to sell the raw material rather than work it into the 

 finished product, for the manufacturer's profits are 

 lost. It is bad practice to dispose of any raw mate- 

 rial on the farm, if by utilizing it at home a higher 

 grade of production can be secured and the cost of 

 marketing thereby greatly reduced. Compare, for 

 example, how much less expensive it is to market 

 several carloads of cattle than to dispose of the 

 corn and hay and other feeds required to feed them 

 for market. A further illustration is seen in the 

 dairy industry, where the milk is sold in bulk and 

 shipped to distributing centers. Where this whole 

 milk is sent to the creamery the skim milk is hauled 

 back by the man who delivers the whole milk and 

 the cost is practically nothing. The butter, which 

 represents the finished product, is so small in bulk, 

 compared to the milk, that the cost of marketing is 



