ANIMALS AND THEIR PRODUCTS. IGl 



tions are important to the practical farmer. His ob- 

 ject in feeding is to keep the land productive, and at 

 the same time to get the value of the produce in the 

 increased worth of whatever consumes it. 



KINDS OF ANIMALS TO BE KEPT. 



183. The animals usually kept among us are horses, 

 horned cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. It is worthy 

 of inquiry, whether mules ought not in some cases to be 

 added to this list. The arguments in favor of it are, 

 that the mule is very hardy, little liable to disease, 

 capable of thriving on coarse food, requiring less food 

 than the horse, long-lived, and able to perform great 

 labor. For these reasons, it would seem that for some 

 purposes the labor of mules might be advantageously 

 substituted for that of the horse. But for general pur- 

 poses, including the transportation of persons, the 

 horse must remain in favor ; and it may be laid down 

 that horses, horned cattle, sheep and swine, are the 

 animals to consume mainly the produce of American 

 farmers. 



184. Animals may be distributed, with regard to 

 the return they make to the owner for the food and 

 care given them, into three classes : those which return 

 labor only, those v^hich return both labor and the pro- 

 ducts of their bodies, and those which return the pro- 

 ducts of their bodies only. To the first class belong 

 the horse and the mule. There are some men, per- 

 haps, who have the skill and address to make these 

 animals do work enough to pay for their care and 



