Pasturing v. Soiling 



III 



a large one. And whenever a large crop is 

 in hand there can be no doubt that it is 

 turned to better account by being cut and 

 carried to the cattle than by placing a herd 

 of beasts over it. In the former case there 

 should be no waste, in the latter there always 

 confessedly is. All annual physiologists con- 

 cur in affirming that the less motion creatures 

 are subjected to, the greater increase will 

 their frame acquire from a given amount of 

 food. We have never known this doctrine 

 to be controverted by practical farmers. And 

 it is well known that in pasturing — -even 

 where grass is abundant — bestial make a 

 wide range ere they satisfy the cravings of 

 a single feed, while the weather may (and 

 in our climate frequently is), too hot to-day 

 and too cold to-morrow for stock to increase 

 in condition. In properly ventilated stalls, 



the horses taken from which cart home the 

 rich and juicy grasses. 



Having pointed out the superiority of soil- 

 ing over pasturing, it will be expected that 

 we should shew how it can be best carried 

 out, and in particular, how straw for litter, 

 &c., is to be forthcoming in summer and 

 winter as well. It will be remembered that 

 we go in for covered courts, and the entire 

 avoidance of all waste of straw throiighoiit 

 the year. If the straw is husbanded pro- 

 perly in winter, and when occasion requires 

 it, supplemented by placing a little hay in the 

 racks, there is no fear of any short-coming 

 for the soiling season. One other point. 

 When one resolves to practise soiling, he 

 must not keep an over-stock in winter, and 

 he must have a goodly proportion of Swedish 

 turnips (and if he can grow them well, an 



boxes, or covered courts (of the building of acre or two of mangolds) to serve his cattle 



which there is no difficulty) the maintenance 

 of a tolerably uniform temperature is easy, 

 stock eat their fill, lie down in comfort, and 

 necessarily make rapid advances to matur- 

 ity. 



But how about the question of manure ? 

 Well, in that too the advantage is all to the 

 side of the soiling, the manure produced by 

 which is retained in all its original strength, 

 and held ready to be applied at any profit- 

 able period, when the full benefit to the suc- 

 ceeding crop is secured. In pasturing, it is 

 not too much to say that the value of more 

 than one-half the droppings is lost, while in 



till his first cutting of grass is ready. Every 

 fiirmer can count on this period pretty well 

 for himself, the usual time of which will be 

 accelerated by a liberal top-dressing of 

 either farm or other manures in early spring. 

 But where farmers cannot or will not, or at 

 present do not find it convenient to begin to 

 soil their cattle, we think that a vast improve- 

 ment on the ordinary method of pasturing 

 should beadopted. The too common plan is to 

 have the whole of the pasture-brake in one 

 single field, in which the cattle, horses, &c., have 

 to pick up their living from beginning to close 

 of the season without a change. It is impos- 



some places (such as near gateways, watering sible for stock to thrive under such manage- 



places, and in sheltered situations), a great ment. We believe in large fields in general ; 



deal too much is deposited, and in more ex- but not in large pasture fields in particular, 



posed situations a very meagre quantity is left, for in such, where the stock have no shift or 



In dry seasons see how the soil droppings of change, they are from day to day strolling 



to-day are scorched up almost to-morrow I over the same ground, yet never getting a 



In such seasons even the Hquid droppings do fresh bite. 



harm from being too powerful without admix- 

 ture of water, as witnessed by the burnt-up 

 patches, which, on light soils more especially, 

 present themselves every here and there to 

 the amazement of the uninitiated. Moreover, 

 3 acres of grass used in soiling will go quite as 

 far in feeding as 4 acres of pasturing. Here, 

 also, the mowing machine comes in very 

 handy, to cut down much or Uttle as wanted, 



Fields, of course, should always be pro- 

 portioned to the size of the farm; but we 

 hold it to be most desirable never to have 

 less than three separate grazing portions each 

 season, so that the stock may feed in one for 

 fourteen days or so, then shifted to the 

 second for a like period, and by and-by 

 changed to the third ; now again replaced in 

 the first eaten portion, and so on to the end 



