FIFTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VII 453 



them to cat their feed in comfort. Thus they are enabled to keep up a 

 normal flow of milk when they would ordinarily decline seriously. "We 

 have also found that because these palatable green crops are used, less 

 grain needs to be fed our heaviest producers and that ordinary producers 

 may be kept up in production and condition without grain. 



In 1911 thirty-seven cows were kept on nineteen and one-half acres 

 of pasture and in addition were supplied with the soiling crops from eight 

 acres. Counting the land devoted to both pasture and soiling crops, 

 each cow was kept the entire season on .74 of an acre. The value of the 

 soiling crops may be fully realized when it is remembered that the sum- 

 mer of 1911 was one of scanty rainfall and many farmers in the vicinity 

 of Ames were allowing two and one-half to three acres of pasture for 

 each cow. In 1912 forty-five cows were kept on the nineteen and one- 

 half acre pasture and in addition were allowed a trifle over six acres of 

 soiling crops — or each cow was kept on about .G of an acre. In addi- 

 tion to this, in 1912 the cows grazed on a fifteen-acre meadow for a few 

 weeks, beginning about the middle of August. It was found in 1912 that 

 the entire cost of pasture and soiling crops for each cow, counting rent 

 of land, labor, seed, etc., was only .$6.62 for the entire pasture season. 



The objection usually raised to growing soiling crops is the amount 

 of labor necessary to cut and haul the feed to the cows each day. We 

 have found that this takes two men about one and one-half hours each 

 day. In 1912, with the larger number of cows it was found that a team 

 and mower could be used to good advantage in cutting the daily allow- 

 ance of feed. Considering the value of soiling crops in increasing produc- 

 tion and decreasing cost of production of dairy products, it will be found 

 that excellent returns are secured for time spent. 



CROPS GROWN. 



Oats and Canada Field Peas: We have found it most satis- 

 factory to make two sowings of this standard crop. "We put in the 

 first plot as soon as the ground is ready for oat seeding in the 

 spring and the second about two or three weeks later. We use an 

 early maturing variety of oats in sowing first plot and a late ma- 

 turing variety in the second seeding. This first sown plot is usually 

 ready for cutting about June 15 and the second about July 5. 

 When sown at the rate of one and one-half bushels of oats and one 

 and one-half bushels of Canada field peas per acre, excellent re- 

 sults have been obtained. Some, however, advocate using one-half 

 bushel less of the Canada field peas. The grain drill is the most 

 satisfactory to use in putting the crop in. It is best to sow the peas 

 first and -deeper than the oats. However, excellent results were 

 secured where the two were sown together. 



In 1912 the yield from the first sown plot was five and one-half 

 tons of green feed per acre and from the second sown plot 4.38 

 tons per acre. In 1911, due to lack of rainfall, the yield was some- 

 what less, ranging from four to four and one-half tons per acre. 



