Importance of Soiling Crops 263 



SOILING CROPS 



The production of green crops as an amendment to 

 the pasture, or as a substitute for it, is a practice essen- 

 tial to the highest success in dairying on many farms, 

 and is to some extent desirable in other branches of 

 stock husbandry. 



There are few pastures, perhaps none, that afford 

 grazing in August and September of such a quality as 

 to maintain a satisfactory flow of milk. In many 

 instances, moreover, farmers owning a limited area of 

 high-priced tillable land wish to keep the maximum 

 number of animals per acre, and to do this they must 

 cultivate soiling crops for stable feeding. 



It is no longer a debatable question, whether or not 

 soiling is profitable under most conditions. Unlimited 

 testimony can be furnished showing the great gain 

 from every point of view of even partial soiling as an 

 amendment to the pasture. Whether soiling should be 

 substituted entirely for grazing is a business matter 

 which should be decided according to the conditions 

 involved. 



New England farmers owning upland rocky pas- 

 tures in which grow native grasses of the highest 

 quality for any class of animals could not wisely dis- 

 card them. Such land generally absorbs but little cap- 

 ital, and the labor of supplying food by this method 

 is reduced to a minimum. The case is different with 

 high-priced, easily tilled land located near good mar- 

 kets. These conditions call for intensive farming, and 

 grazing animals on permanent pastures is not a pnrt 



