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Show BETTER CARE OF FARM ANIMALS MEANS GOOD CARE OF DWELLINGS I K - N - ,x v I l.a J.Ct,3aMa-.n;AJWMfl0iM.wayw.-O0&.J. .w.i,.-.. 1 The Only Profitable''Animal Is the One That Is Cared for Well. ( As a rule, better stock means better home;? and better homes better stock. There are exceptions, of course, but when you think of the one it is very likely that you think of the other also. Even if you are making no effort to grow high-grade stock or purebreds you are apt, after taking more pride in your home and your buildings, to take better care of the ordinary stock on your farm. An expert can get better bet-ter results with less fuel from an old and pxr heating plant than a slipshod person will get from a high-grade outfit. out-fit. The most money is not , always made with the highest grade or purebred pure-bred animals. There are some men who make really good returns by handling han-dling good grade animals in an intelligent, intelli-gent, practical way. The thoughtful farmer knows that the only profitable animal is the well-cared-for animal. Many a man who is not at heart very kind has learned the lesson so far as cattle are concerned that the exercise of consideration and gentleness means the saving of dollars. Very few men are mean enough to be mean when they know it hurts their pocketbooks. Anyone who gets the notion that it pays to give the best possible attention to the animals ani-mals he has, even if poor, will not need much argument to convince him that better-bred stock will yield him still better results. Good Handling Necessary. The one who thinks all he needs to rn tn oinnii-a fomn ci n A uroiHli ia tn suits. Boys' and girls livestock clubs have been able to bring reforms that no other agency could reach. Occasionally Occa-sionally the older men who never had very good ways, and have become set in them ire reached only through the kiddies. Following Good Practices. About the first thing that may be done toward getting better stock and better homes is to check up on conditions condi-tions as they are and see the many ways in which they may be improved. But most people are not able to make the best of what they have. A man who lets his buildings and fences fall down, pays no attention to rotation of crops, lets his manure leach away into the creeks, forgets or neglects to feed and care for his stock regularly, and lets his wife go out to pump water and split wood, is apt to instill into the minds of his children the idea that nobody no-body Is ever a farmer who is smart enough to be anything else. On the other hand, one who maps out his course and lets no season go by without with-out making some improvements in his way of doing things will surely find himself getting betler animals and gaining in self-respect and importance, not only to himself but to' the community commun-ity as well. Gradual, continuous livestock improvement im-provement has been practiced for many years by the most successful livestock live-stock farmers everywhere. Improving live stock grading up, eliminating the. buy a lot of purebred cattle, hogs, horses or sheep, and then proceed to let them shift for themselves will soon earn the reputation of "the man with the undesirable purebreds." He will find that his wealth is not the kind the banker will recognize. In some of the older-settled regions of tlie United States there are men who have stock that is bred well enough but has been handled in so shiftless a way that the animals might just as well be scrubs. In some of these cases the advent of an "up-and-coming" neighbor has worked a change of conditions. In the more progressive communities organizations county breeders' associations, asso-ciations, extension workers of universities univer-sities and county agents have worked wonders and produced splendid re- uu, ei. ia nicicij- iviiuyiu5 lwv. .practice of these successful men who for years have been keeping the best and "breeding the best to the best.' It is well known that a food cow, for example, bred to a good pjrebred bull will usually produce a good calf. It Is also well known that a better bull bred to a better cow will produce a better calf; and this applies to other kinds of live stock. It was to emphasize this important practice that the United States department depart-ment of agriculture, in co-operation with the different state agricultural colleges, inaugurated the "Better Sires Better Stock" crusade to raise the general quality and usefulness of our animals. Not only the scrub sire is to be eliminated but the undesirable sire as well, even though he is a purebred. |