204 MIXED FARMING 



the winter season the labor is used to feed the animals, 

 milk the cows, and give other needed attention. If 

 crops alone are raised, there is an excess of work 

 during the summer and too little labor during the 

 winter. In order to support the animals a considerable 

 acreage must be put in grass, hay, or other forage 

 crops; and so there will be a rotation of crops that 

 will help to keep the soil fertile. 



Feeders. Many farmers use all their land for the 

 production of crops in the summer, and then buy 

 " feeders " for winter feeding. The name " feeders " 

 is given to animals that are sold to the farmers to be 

 fattened for the market. In some parts of the country 

 the feeding of cattle and sheep has become an important 

 industry. Many of these animals are bought from 

 the grazing sections of the country and then well fed 

 with grain and hay until they are ready for the market. 

 A farmer with 80 or 160 acres of land with a good part 

 of it in clover or alfalfa will buy a large number of lambs, 

 older sheep, or cattle ; and if he does not have enough 

 grain to feed with the hay, he buys corn, or other 

 grain or mill stuffs. Sheep will usually get fat enough 

 for market in three or four months' time. Beef cattle 

 are usually fed five or six months before marketing. 

 This kind of farming enables the farmer to dispose of 

 his hay and grain by feeding it on his own farm, sup- 

 plies a large amount of manure for his fields, and fur- 

 nishes a pleasant and profitable work through the win- 

 ter months, when, otherwise, he would be idle. 



