STOCK RAISING 335 



to the value of the product. Of course he may do 

 well enough by producing and selling milk, because 

 he adds the routine of a milk round to the work of 

 feeding and milking his stock, and obtains the profit 

 of the retailer as well as that of the producer. Again, 

 payments come in week by week, which is a great 

 help to the economy of a farm that is generally short 

 of capital. Butter-making and calf-raising also bring 

 in regular returns, but do not require so much labour ; 

 hence the profits to the small holder are less, though 

 this may be compensated for by keeping a large 

 proportion of the land under tillage and so producing 

 an extra quantity of food upon the farm, or by heavy 

 purchases of feeding stuffs, the object in either case 

 being to carry an exceptional head of stock per acre. 

 The slowest return, because the minimum amount of 

 labour is expended on the product, comes from rearing 

 stock on grass until they are fit to sell as stores ; in 

 itself the operation is profitable enough, but the profit 

 is small per acre, though it can be made large per 

 man when plenty of land is to be had cheaply. 

 Grassland farming is undoubtedly an easy business, 

 and the corn grower of East Anglia often envies the 

 men in the West who can make a living " by looking 

 over the gate." However, the Welsh farmer in the 

 Lleyn peninsula and in Anglesey does cultivate a 

 considerable proportion of his farm, though by his 

 exclusive attention to live stock he misses the great 

 opportunities his soil and situation offer. In the first 

 place, the summer visitors provide an exceptional if 

 temporary market ; during their stay there is a dearth 

 of milk and cream in the district, and the local supply 

 of butter is quite inadequate to the demand. But, 

 as a farmer cannot increase his milk production to 

 meet a special call, he would be well advised to drop 



