IMPROVEMENT IN AGRICULTURE. 
145 
that in cold weather the air we breathe contains more oxygen, 
and either more food, or that which is richer in carbon, is re¬ 
quired to preserve the natural warmth and supply the waste of 
the system. When there is not a sufficiency of food, the 
oxygen flies to the tissues of the body. The animal looses 
flesh, for it is being consumed like wood in a furnace, and if no 
food is supplied life sooner or later terminates in exhaustion.” 
Now all this has an important, practical bearing. In stables, 
or sheds even, the temperature of the air is modified and ren¬ 
dered warmer, consequently the air contains less oxygen and 
less food is required to furnish the carbon by which the natural 
warmth of the system is kept up. Neither are the tissues of 
the body called upon to supply heat, and hence no more food is 
required for this purpose than will replenish the natural wrnste 
of the system. Thus is the truth of the old adage exemplified, 
“a good shelter is half a belly full,” and it will be allowed, 
we think, that they are much cheaper too, without taking into 
consideration the frequent losses by disease, and death in con¬ 
sequence of exposure. 
The interest of every farmer, then, to say nothing of moral 
obligations, would be most effectually subserved by providing 
comfortable shelters for all his animals. That they will eat one- 
third less food, and increase one-third more in weight, than those 
fed in open yards, is proved by the results of many experi¬ 
ments made in this country ; besides, the waste when fed in the 
open air and on the gound by being trampled upon, would, in 
a short time, be sufficient to erect substantial shelter. We 
exhort every farmer who is without shelter for his stock, to 
take this subject into serious consideration, and lose no time in 
accomplishing such a humane and money-saving object. He 
should never forget that the growth of his animals is almost 
clear profit—the easiest made profit of the farm ; he should, 
therefore, if he would prosper, let nothing go undone that will 
tend to keep them continually growing and thriving till they 
reach maturity. 
It is very frequently the case that animals are neglected till 
late in the fall, and sometimes until cold weather has set in 
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