DAIRY MEETING. 93 



It does not work into a rotation so well as clover, and I believe 

 a rotation is really the basis of successful soil handling. Again, 

 I believe we can do something to get more protein in the grain 

 which we produce. Mr. Ellis mentioned peas and oats. Instead 

 of putting in two bushels of oats I put in one bushel of barley 

 and one of oats. I have found that a combination of oats, peas 

 and barley gives a grain which helps out in any line of feeding. 

 It is not so rich in protein as some of the concentrated feeds, 

 but even that with clover hay, if you do not buy a pound outside, 

 will give good results with dairy cows. It is a good crop 

 to use in any state. It may be cut and fed green, or it may be 

 ripened and cured as hay. It is a fairly good crop with which 

 to seed for clover. 



I do not want to go into the matter of soil fertility too deeply, 

 but it is the basis of our success, no matter whether we are 

 engaged in dairying or any other line of farming. We are just 

 as much concerned with the fertility of the soil as we are to 

 produce the crops and market them. This growing of clover 

 or some leguminous plant is one of the factors in the fertility 

 of the soil. Another very important factor is the texture, the 

 mechanical condition of the soil. The clover plant helps out in 

 that respect, and the rotation helps out still more. When we 

 apply stable manure to the field we are doing something to add 

 humus to the soil, and humus, or decaying vegetable matter is 

 really the most important factor of soil texture. But more than 

 in any other way we are improving and maintaining that texture 

 by the rotation, of which we will speak. Whenever we turn 

 under a good heavy sod we are adding vegetable matter to decay 

 and maintain the soil in the best possible condition. We want 

 to keep something decaying in the soil all of the time, and then 

 we want to look more carefully to the manure from the dairy 

 barn to maintain the plant food. We may need to supplement 

 it with commercial fertilizers, but I believe that first of all the 

 dairyman should make the most of his farm fertilizers, and he 

 is especially fortunate in that he can cut out the bill for fertili- 

 zers so largely. 



Moisture is another factor of soil fertility, and the fourth 

 factor is the living organisms of the soil, the bacteria. We have 

 not given very much attention to that field of fertility in years 

 past, and we do not know very much about it now, not nearly 



