NINETEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART IX 503 



The green feed, for best results, must be cut and hauled daily as it 

 wilts readily if left cut in the field and if piled up in the barn it heats and 

 spoils quite rapidly in hot weather. 



FEEDING OF SOILING CROPS. 



Soilage can be fed either on the pasture or in the barn. The feeding 

 of it on the pasture is the much more convenient method, entailing less 

 labor and being cheaper. It has its disadvantages, however. There is a 

 great waste as a rule when the green feed is put out on the pasture, due 

 to the fact that the cows trample and foul it. In addition it dries out 

 rapidly and becomes unpalatable. Where it is spread out the cows are 

 also apt to injure each other in their efforts at feeding. When it is put 

 on the pasture perhaps the best method is to haul it out just before the 

 cows are turned out. Otherwise the cows hang around the gate instead 

 of feeding and when the green feed is taken out the danger of cows being 

 injured is increased. 



Feeding in the barn is laborious but on the whole advantageous. The 

 wastage of feed is cut down and in addition the cows are more com- 

 fortable in the barn during the hot hours in the middle of the day. When 

 they are kept in at this time they are protected from the heat to some 

 extent and in addition they can be sprayed as a protection against flies. 



All of the common soiling crops, with the possible exception of corn, 

 can be conveniently fed in the barn. Owing to its coarse nature it is 

 difficult to feed corn in the mangers unless labor is available to cut the 

 bundles and so it can frequently be most easily fed on the pasture, though 

 this does induce a considerable amount of waste. 



Where the soiling is given on the pasture it is usually fed only once a 

 day but when fed indoors from one to three feeds may be given, depending 

 on the amount of labor available and the extent to which soiling replaces 

 pasture in the maintaining of the herd. Generally, however, feeding more 

 than twice a day will not be advisable where some pasture is available. 



The amount of soiling used daily depends on the crops grown and the 

 quality and extent of the pasture. With a partial soiling system, such as 

 is most generally used, from forty to seventy pounds of green feed per cow 

 a day will be commonly be consumed in addition to pasture. 



In the feeding of soilage care should be taken to avoid the inclusion of 

 large amounts of soil with the green feed. Attention to this point is 

 especially necessary where such sparse growing crops as soybeans are 

 raked into windrows after cutting. Soil particles, adhering to or mixed 

 with the green feed, rendered it unpalatable and tend to cause digestive 

 disturbances. The feeding of soilage that is wet or fermented is another 

 cause of digestive troubles. Care in handling will prevent the heating or 

 fermenting of the green feed but owing to weather conditions, which 

 cannot be forecast, it is not always possible to get feed that is not wet. 

 Where the soiling has been cut when wet it is advisable to limit the 

 amount fed as the wet feed will often produce scours. 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR SOILING PURPOSES. 



Crops most desirable for soiling purposes will be determined largely 

 by the climatic conditions prevailing in the given community. This fac- 



