Advantages of Soiling. 53 



really no comparison between the two systems. The 

 value of the four acres pastured at 50 cents per week 

 per head would be $24, while the four acres soiled at 

 the same rate gave a feeding value of $96, a differ- 

 ence in favor of soiling in the saving of land of $72. 

 While this question of the saving of land is being dis- 

 cussed, it is to be emphasized that in this particular 

 lies the great advantage of soiling and ensilage over 

 pasturage and hay. Experimental stations figure 

 and analyze and show green crops but little better 

 than hay and ensilage, but little better than cured 

 forage, and they go into hair-splitting discussions 

 on this line, forgetting that the great undeniable 

 advantage that soiling and ensilage have over pas- 

 ture and hay is that the soiling system enables the 

 farmer to increase his acreage without buying more 

 land. This work will not enter at all into the differ- 

 ence in feeding value of green and cured forage. 

 The soiling system gives the farmer such an enor- 

 mous gain in the saving of land that all other 

 questions are small and insignificant in comparison. 



Particular stress is laid on this point, because it 

 is so often lost sight of in discussing this ques- 

 tion, especially by experimental stations. To re- 

 peat, if there was not another single advantage of 

 soiling summer and winter over the usual way for 

 feeding, this question of saving of lands is so great 

 and undeniable that the reader need not look be- 

 yond it. However, there are other advantages 

 which may be discussed, and several of them are 

 quite enough in themselves to warrant adopting 



