394 



FARMERS' REGISTER— SOILING NEAT CATTLE. 



and nourishing food, as circumstances may require 

 it, and by varying the ditierent articloa eo as to 

 provoke an appetite, not only tlie health, but also 

 the tlmving of the creatures will be grcutly aug- 

 mented beyond what they could liave been By 

 any other mode of trcatn)ent. 



IV. The proportioned increase of manure ob- 

 tained by soilirjg and stall-lceding, lurther evinces 

 their superiority over pasturing. Manure is the 

 life and soul of husbandry; and when tillage is an 

 object of attention, there can be no comparison be- 

 tween the two modes ol" consumption, especially 

 with regard to the manure obtained by soiling 

 live-stock, during Bunmier, with green food; for, in 

 consequence of the increased discharges of urine 

 during that season, the litter, of whatever sub- 

 stance it may consist, is speedily converted into 

 dung. And there can be no doubt, but that the 

 quantity of manure made during the suumier may, 

 by constructing proper reservoirs tor the reception 

 of the stale, and by throwing this at leisure times 

 over the litter, be made to equal, if not exceed, the 

 produce of the dung accumulated during the wm- 

 ter. The quality must depend on the nature of the 

 food. 



V. With regard to the quantiiy of herbage al- 

 forded from the same field, under the cuiiing or 

 grazing systems, the balance will be fi)und equal- 

 ly in favor of the former. All animals, it is well 

 known, delight more to feed on the young and 

 fresh slioots of grass than on such as are older. 

 Hence it invariably happens, that those patches in 

 pastures which happen to have been once eaten 

 bare, in the beginning of the season, are kept 

 very short throughout the remamder of that sea- 

 son, by the animals preferring them to other parts 

 of the field where the grass is longerj so that the 

 latter are often suffered to continue in a great mea- 

 sure untouched. Another circumstance, however, 

 which is not very generally known, is, that grass 

 ■ — even the leafy parts of it — when it has attained 

 a certain length, becomes stationary; and, not- 

 withstanding it will retain its verdure in that state 

 for some months, yet, were it cut, it would have 

 continued in a constant state of ])rogress, propor- 

 tioned to the frequency of its being cropped.* Ex- 

 periments have, indeed, been brought forward to 

 prove that with clover, rye-grass, lucerne, and 

 tares, double the number of cattle may be support- 

 ed in much better condition when cut than when 

 pastured; and from the results of other trials, it 

 appears to be equal to five, or even a larger num- 

 ber. Many exaggerated statements have, indeed, 

 been produced in support of the system of soiling; 

 but, without attaching implicit faith to these, we 

 are convinced, from actual observation, that, by 

 judicious management in this respect, the profits 

 of the grazier may be largely augmented. 



The practice of soiling and stall-feeding cattle 

 has been adopted, to a considerable extent, on the 

 continent, by IBaron von Bulow and others; there- 

 suit of whose experience is inserted in the first 

 volume of the " Communications to the Board of 

 Agriculture," by Dr. Thaer, physician to the 

 electoral court of Hanover, and which, he ob- 



* See Dr. Anderson's Essays on Agriculture, &c. 

 Vol.11. Disquisition V. where this intereshng fact is 

 corroborated by experimental proofs, which our limits 

 forbid us to introduce. 



served, has proved the following facts to be incon- 

 Iroverlible. 



1. " A spot of ground which, when pastured 

 upon, will yield sufficient food for only one head, 

 Avill abundantl}^ maintain four head of cattle in 

 the stable, if flie vegetables be mowed in proper 

 lime, and given to the cattle in a proper order. 



2. "The stall-t(?eding yields at least double the 

 quantity of manure from the same number of cat- 

 tle; for the best and most efficacious summer ma- 

 nure is produced-in the stable, and carried to the 

 fields at the most proper period of its fermentation; 

 whereas, when spread on the meadow, and ex- 

 hausted by the air and sun, its power is entirely 

 wasted . 



3. "The cows used to stall-feeding will yield a 

 much greater quanlity of milk, and increase faster 

 in weight, wlien fiutcnuig, than when they go 

 into the field. 



4. "They are less subject to accidents, do not 

 suffer by the heat, by files and insects, are not af- 

 fected by the baneful fogs, that are frequent in 

 Germany, and bring on infiammations; on the con- 

 trary, if every thing be properly managed, they 

 remain in a constant slate of health and vigor." 



The facts and inferences above stated fully prove 

 the advantages of soiling. It ought not, however, 

 to be concealed, that there are some inconve- 

 niences attendant on the soiling and stall-feeding 

 of cattle; such as, for instance, the additional labor 

 and expense incurred by cutting and carting the 

 green vegetables home to sheds, both in winter 

 and summer. But these are compensated, in a 

 tenfold degree, by the increased value of the food, 

 the thriving of the cattle, the making of the dung 

 under cover, and having reservoirs in which to 

 catch the urine. With this management, one 

 good acre of turnips will produce an excellent 

 dressing for at least an acre of land, and v/itli a 

 very small portion of hay, will conqjletely winter- 

 fat an ox of fifty score. If fed on the land, two 

 acres of tolerable grass maj' fat an ox, but not so 

 well, nor will he be forv\'arded so fast in flesh, if 

 exposed to tlie weather in cold and wet seasons, 

 as if keptdry and moderately warm; and the dress- 

 ing will be very partial and precarious. Further, 

 where large ciuantities of food are accumulated to- 

 gether for a considerable time, it is objected, that 

 they are liable to fermentation, and of course to 

 waste; such are cabbages, turnips, and other roots; 

 so, where tares are left on the ground, they are 

 liable to become podded, in consequence of the 

 butt-ends of" the vegetables being of a coarse na- 

 ture, and in a decaying condition, in which state 

 they are uniformly retiised by beasts. But these, 

 and many other disadvantages that might be men- 

 tioned, may be obviated by paying due regard to 

 the storing of the various vegetable crops, and to 

 their economical consumption. It has likewise 

 been objected, even by persons who in general ap- 

 prove of soiling and stall-feeding, that cattle will, 

 by confinement during the summer months, be too 

 much heated, and that their health will be aflect- 

 ed; but stalls may be so constructed as to admit a 

 regular circulation of air, and yet shelter them 

 from the attacks of flies. The cattle may also be 

 allowed the freedom of an open yard. Indeed, in 

 that s^eason, fold-yards, v;ith open sheds, are much 

 to be preferred to stalls. This is the practice in 

 Yorkshire, where the management of stock is well 

 i understood; and there are not wanting many ex- 



