FARMERS' REGISTER— SOILING. 



43 



matter of comparatively little moment, the other 

 kinds will be lound the most substantial, and 

 consequently the best adapted to support their 

 strength. 



There can be no doubt that the feeding of horses 

 upon hay, in whatever quantity it may be suppli- 

 ed, can never be entirely substituted with equal 

 eflect lor corn; but opinions are also divided i-es- 

 pecting the proportion in which it may be furnish- 

 ed, both with regard to health and economy. On 

 this, however, no general rule can be laid down, 

 for it must not only depend upon the animal's con- 

 Btitution, but also on the work which he has to 

 support. It has, however, been calculated, by a 

 foreign writer of great experience,* that ordinarily 

 8 lbs. of meadow-hay are equal in nourishment to 

 3 lbs. of oats: 7 lbs., however, of eainloin, tares, 

 clover, or other succulent hay, are supposed equal 

 to the same quantity, though sainfoin is jjerhaps 

 entitled to the preference; but 9 lbs. are thought 

 to be required Irom hay made of poor pasture. 

 The longer too, within a certain time, that hay is 

 allowed to stand in the stack, the better it is, and 

 perhaps that which is a year old is the most whole- 

 some for horses: the second growth is not equally 

 nourishing. It should also be got into the stack 

 as soon as properly dried, in order to preserve the 

 freshness of its scent, which is peculiarly gratify- 

 ing to cattle. 



In general, however, it is to be observed that, 

 when the quantity of hay is augmented with a 

 view to the diminution of the corn, altiiough 

 horses will thereby acquire more fat than upon 

 the same proportion of grain, yet they are less 

 equal to the etforts of hard work; whereas, if the 

 corn be increased and the hay diminished, though 

 the cattle may appear to grow thin, yet tlieir flesh 

 is more firm, they are capable of greater exertion, 

 and are in what is usually termed 'better condition.' 

 Soiling. 



"With respect to the advantages of soiling horses 

 on green food, in the yard or stable, it seems to be 

 now generally understood that, with proper ma- 

 nagement, they can be supported Avith great health 

 and vigor: its economy, however, must depend on 

 the proportion which it bears to the price of dry 

 food, and its convenience to the quantity in which 

 it can be spared ibr other cattle. 



It is a very old, though by no means a universal 

 practice,! and the experience of hundreds of farm- 

 ers proves, that horses maintained in that manner 

 for years have neither lost flesh nor strength suf- 

 ficient for all farming purposes, although there 

 was no palpable saving ol" their Avork, and that, 

 though afterAvards placed on dry food durmg the 

 winter, they continued in perfect healtli, It is an 

 excellent plan to give some green food along Avith 

 the corn and chaff', before the usual period of feed- 

 ing entirely on dry fodder: the change from dry to 

 freen, and again from green to dry food, should 

 e gradual. In its commencement, the clover or 



* Professor Von Thaer, of the Exiyal Farm and Col- 

 lege of Agriculture, established by the King of Prus- 

 sia, at Moegelin, near Francfort upon the Oder. The 

 translator of his Avork — the Baron de Crud-^-calculates 

 that a horse consumes one-eighth less of meadoAV-hay 

 than of that made from the artificial grasses. — Vol. i. 

 p. 162, note. 



t It is mentioned in a treatise on Agriculture, en- 

 titled ' Hartlib's Legacy,' so long ago as 1650, p. 245- 



tares should be cut, and mixed in small portions 

 Avith straw, and a proportionate quantity of corn 

 should be reduced. The green food is then insen- 

 sibly increased, until the corn is entirely onutted, 

 and the quantity of green meat is supplied without 

 hmhation: it should, hoAvcver, be cut OA'er-night, 

 and given only in small quantities gradually in- 

 creased, to guard as much as pos.sible from acci- 

 dents, Avhich may arise from its .succulence by 

 hoving. When horses are soiled, they never 

 should get much at a time, a practice liir too pre- 

 valent among servants. 



The summer feeding of horses Avas formerly 

 confined to pasturage; but of late years the prac- 

 tice of soiling has become very general. The 

 benefit of grazing consists in its requiring little 

 attendance; and being the most natural, and there- 

 fore the most healthful, it is preferable for all young 

 cattle Avhich can be spared from constant labor, 

 and on farms which contain a considerable portion 

 of rough pasture. But for horses at regular work, 

 these advantages are counterbalanced by the time 

 lost in getting them up from the field; the indisposi- 

 tion to labor Avhich they acquire by tteing at large; 

 and the annoyance Avhich they suffer fi-om heat and 

 flies Avhen turned out in the day-time. The value of 

 their dung and urine is also in a great measure 

 destroyed by being scattered upon the surface of 

 the ground, and exposed to exhalation of the sun 

 and Avind; and there is much waste of grass, and 

 injury done to the melloAvncss of the soil, if it be 

 valuable land, by the treading of all heavy stock, 

 but especially of horses. The utility of soiling 

 consists in a more economical consumption of 

 grass, Avhether natural or artificial, than by 

 grazing; in the accumulation of manure, and in 

 the quiet and coolness Avhich the cattle enjoy un- 

 der sheds, or in the stable, during mid-day, as well 

 as in their being ahva} s ready Avhen wanted: the 

 only disadvantage is the expense of cutting and 

 carrying home the grass, against which may be 

 fairiy set the increase of manure, if expense be 

 really incurred; but as during summer, there ia 

 usually a long interval of rest betAA'een the morn- 

 ing and afternoon A\^ork, the carters can then cut 

 the necessary quantity, Avhich may be draAvn to 

 the homestead by one of the team-horses, if there 

 should not be a supernumeraiy one left for odd 

 jobs. 



When, hoAvever, the economy of the practice is 

 not the chief consideration, horses on summer Avork 

 may be both grazed mit and soiled. They may be 

 put on cut cloA'er in the middle of the day, between 

 yokings, and turned out during the night into a 

 well-sheltered meadoAv or enclosure. In being 

 kept under cover during the heat of the day, they 

 Avill be sheltered from flies, and Avill feed more at 

 ease; and in being pastured out during the night, 

 they AAdll also have an opportunity of selecting 

 those grasses Avhich act as condiments and are 

 most agreeable to their palate. All animals like 

 variety of gi'asses, selecting alAva3's Avhat is most 

 palatable, Avhich they cannot do Avhen soiled, par- 

 ticularly if fed on cut clover or tares. Exposure 

 to the night air ie also found to be highly favora- 

 ble both to their health and appearance. 



The economy of soiling, wherever it can be 

 conveniently adopted, is, indeed, too generally ad- 

 mitted to need the support of argument; and par- 

 ticularly on soils on Avhich turnips are enta-ely 

 consumed on the gi'ound, or on Avhich they cannot 



