Soiling. 47 



sick, and evidently pining for a gallop through the 

 corn, but when we began feeding them green 

 clover and they were thoroughly filled they became 

 reconciled and peaceable. 



There is nothing like a full stomach to make a 

 cow the most quiet and contented animal on the 

 farm. The discontent they manifested the first 

 week or so made me sorry for them, and if there 

 had been a place to turn them, they would, no 

 doubt, have gone out of the yard, and thus would 

 have ended my experience in soiling. Fortunately 

 there was no such place. At first we began feeding 

 them in open racks in the barnyard, but this proved 

 a failure. One boss cow would master the whole 

 rack and succeeded in nearly goring a heifer. 

 Again I was wishing I could turn them out. There 

 was only one alternative, i.e., to fasten them in their 

 winter stalls and feed them there. This we did, turn- 

 ing them out nights. I took care not to let my neigh- 

 bors know about this, for I knew they would laugh 

 at me. Such a thing had never been heard of in 

 that vicinity. 



Let me say right here, that I believe it is at this 

 point that many a man who has tried soiling has 

 failed or became discouraged. They have at- 

 tempted partial soiling, when they have experienced 

 all the inconveniences and only a small part of the 

 benefits, and this is the case with everything else 

 that is half done. As soon as we put the cattle in 

 the barn, and tied them in their stalls, they began to 

 gain wonderfully in flow of milk and to thrive be- 



