432 HANDY-BOOK OF HUSBANDRY. 



mals, this being confined entirely to the seasons of working, will 

 obviously add almost incalculably to the fertility of any soil no^ 

 already in the condition of a garden. Land which this year will 

 soil twenty head of cattle, should, five years hence, soil at least 

 thirty under the same general treatment ; while it will have been 

 raised to such a condition of fertility that it may be repeatedly 

 cropped with grain with the certainty of the very best results. 



Without greatly increasing and greatly modifying the labor of 

 cultivation, it will be difficult to make use of the entire accumu- 

 lated fertility of land that has been used for soiling for a number 

 of years. It would be better, therefore, to use the. practice as a 

 means of increasing the fertility of diff'erent parts of the farm con- 

 secutively, and thereby putting them in a condition for the pro- 

 duction of larger and more profitable crops of grain or of grass. 



The arrangements necessary for soiling may be very simple. 

 They should, however, in all cases comprise easy facilities for 

 distributing the food, perfect shelter for the manure, shade and 

 good ventilation for the animals themselves, convenient appliances 

 for watering, and, above all, ample exercising grounds. It is im- 

 possible to keep animals in a state of the highest health if they 

 are constantly tied in their stalls ; and there should be in connec- 

 tion with the barn or shed, a good, dry, partly shaded, and large 

 yard, into which the animals may be turned whenever the weather 

 is favorable, and where it will generally be found advantageous to 

 allow them to remain three or four hours every day; the custom 

 being, usually, to turn them out at eight in the morning, bringing 

 them in at ten for their second feed, turning them out again at 

 three after their third feed, and bringing them in again for the 

 fourth feed at five, another liberal feed following during or after 

 the evening milking. 



Opinions vary somewhat as to the condition in which it is best 

 to administer the food. Some give it to the animals when it is 

 freshly cut and full of juice, while others prefer to let it wilt for 

 a few hours before being taken into the barn. My own opinion is 

 that the fresh feeding is the most natural, and productive of the best 

 results, although the excessive succulence of the food may at first 



