KEEPING ONE COW. 107 



can be grown soiling material sufficient to keep a cow through the 

 year, allowing also, a liberal amount of roots. How is this to be 

 done? 



We may assume that a man takes possession of a place on the 

 first of April, which is the customary time in New England. Let 

 him select an acre of the land most suitable to the purpose in view. 

 Let him set apart forty square rods, or one quarter of it, for sum- 

 mer soiling, twenty square rods for the growth of roots, and the 

 remaining one hundred square rods for crops, to be properly cured 

 for winter use. The land having been thoroughly prepared, that 

 is, in high tilth, sow as early in April as possible, on ten square 

 rods, oats, or spring rye, at the rate of four bushels to the acre. 

 This will be fit to cut, for summer soiling, in the first week of 

 July. 



On the fifteenth to twentieth of April, sow the next ten rods in 

 a similar manner. This will be ready to cut about the fifteenth of 

 July. On the first of May, sow oats or barley on the next ten 

 rods, which will be fit for cropping August first. 



On the tenth to the fifteenth of May put in the next five rods in 

 drills, flat corn at the rate of three bushels to the acre, and a week 

 later the remain' ng five rods are to be treated in a similar manner. 

 This will give succulent food up to September. 



As soon as the first ten rods of land, which were cleared of oats 

 by the tenth of July, has been again prepared properly, sow Hun- 

 garian grass at the same rate as before stated. Do the same also 

 with the next lot, cleared of oats by the first of August, putting in 

 barley, however, in place of millet, as this is not injured by the 

 early frosts. Barley may also be sown on the lot which \vas 

 cropped about the tenth of August, or if this grain has already 

 occupied the land, we may substitute corn, using a stimulating 

 fertilizer to give it a rapid growth. In this way, we shall have a 

 succession of green food up to November, augmented also by the 

 tops of the roots when thinned out or when harvested. The 

 larger varieties of the sweet corn may be substituted for the flat, 

 and is perhaps better relished, although not affording perhaps so 

 large a yield. 



Ths twenty square rods devoted to root culture must receive 

 attention as early in the season as possible certainly by the first 

 of May. The ground having been deeply plowed or spaded, and 

 thoroughly manured, should be made perfectly level. The large 

 sugar beet and the mangold wurzel are the most valuable for the 

 milch cow, and may be sown at the rate of about six pounds to 

 the acre. During their growth, careful attention should be given 



