No. 8. Soiling of Cattle. — Green-Sand and Shell-Marl. 



245 



ashes, should then be allovveci, consisting of 

 all that can be collected from the household, 

 or procured elsewhere, mixed up and aug- 

 mented with virgin earth.' 



" If we admit that the number of acres as- 

 sumed by Mr. Curwen, three and a half to 

 each cow, be too great, and take one, the mi- 

 nimum quantity named by us, as the proper 

 one, then there will still be a saving of 27 

 pcres of grass by the soiling over the depas- 

 turing system. And if we reserve this grass 

 to be cut for hay, it will give a sufficient 

 quantity to carry the cows through the win- 

 ter, or foddering season ; so that, to this 

 amount there will be a clear gain. Then let 

 us add the immense quantity of manure, 

 which will be accumulated in the soiling-yard, 

 and we cannot hesitate a moment in coming 

 to an opinion as to the relative merits of the 

 two plans of feedmg stock ; for all will admit 

 that summer-made manure is very far better 

 than that made in winter, as also that the 

 most of the droppings in pastures is lost, by 

 means of evaporation and rains, to all the 

 available purposes of the farm, and no one 

 will contend, that the cost of the price of half 

 the labour of one hand, and that of a horse 

 and cart during the time, should be consider- 

 ed to be of more value than the savings we 

 have pointed out. Suppose that, in addition 

 to the accumulation of manure from the drop- 

 pings of the cattle, the yard be covered some 

 9 or 12 inches deep with mould or other earth 

 from the woods, or head lands, to act as ab- 

 sorbents of the cattle's stale — we say, suppose 

 this be done, and we will venture the asser- 

 tion, that every square foot of such mould or 

 earth would be so saturated with the urine 

 of the cows as to be equally as valuable as 

 their droppings. Thus then, in whatever 

 light we may consider the subject, the advan- 

 tages in favour of soiling are apparent to the 

 judgment. 



" It may be urged against the soiling sys- 

 tem that it would not afford the requisite ex- 

 ercise to the stock. We are free to admit 

 that exercise, to a certain extent, is necessary 

 to the health of the brute creature, but at the 

 same time we are free to maintain, that all 

 that is indispensably necessary to ensure 

 health and comfort, may be obtained in a yard 

 of a fourth of an acre in extent, and we doubt 

 much if regularly fed and watered therein at 

 stated hours through the day, and salted semi- 

 weekly, whether they would not maintain as 

 much physical vigour thus confined, as they 

 would roaming at large in a pasture of many 

 acres. It is questionable with us also, whe- 

 ther they would not yield fully as much if 

 not more milk and butter. At all events, the 

 experiment is worthy of a trial, and we, 

 therefore, commend it to our readers' consi- 

 deration. The following article, from the 



Maine Cultivator, is strongly confirmative of 

 the position we have taken, and we venture 

 the opinion that no one who may make the 

 experiment will ever have cause to regret it: 



" ' Josiah Quincy, President of Harvard 

 College, has one of the finest farms in the vi- 

 cinity of Boston. It is extensive and sur- 

 rounded by a flourishing hawthorn hedge, 

 but there is not an interior fence on the pre- 

 mises; the whole presents a single field, de- 

 voted to all the various purposes of agricul- 

 ture. No part of it is allotted to pasture, 

 properly speaking, as his cattle are fed in 

 their stalls and never suffered to roam over 

 the fields — and the advantages of his system 

 are thus given : — Formerly there were seven 

 miles of interior fences to be kept in repair, 

 but by keeping the cattle up, the whole of 

 this expense is saved. Formerly, sixty acres 

 of this farm were devoted to pasturaire ; but 

 now, a greater number of cattle by one-third, 

 are kept by the products of twenty acres, and 

 the cattle are in the best condition. 



" ' The savings by these means are enor- 

 mous, and the immense advantages arising 

 from it too apparent to be dwelt upon. Du- 

 ring the summer the cattle are fed upon grass, 

 green oats or barley, cut the day before and 

 suffered to wilt in the sun, but the manure 

 which is thus saved will more than pay the 

 extra expense and trouble. The farm is 

 most highly cultivated, and every kind of 

 grain and vegetable has a place.' " 



To the Editor of the Farmers" Cabinet. 

 Green-Sand and Shell-Marl. 



Sm, — It is seldom indeed that I leave 

 home, but when I do, I am pretty sure to find 

 that some friend or neighbour, from whom I 

 had wished or expected a visit, has called in 

 my absence ; and just so it happened when on 

 your late sojourn in our neighbourhood you 

 did me the favour to visit my place and found 

 me absent — an occurrence which I much re- 

 gret, for I had long wished for the opportu- 

 nity of an hour's conversation with you on 

 my favourite topic, agriculture, of which I 

 never tire. I wished also to thank you for 

 your attention to my request, and for the val- 

 uable information contained in your answer 

 to my private communication, of which I 

 availed myself much to my satisfaction. For 

 your services I am greatly your debtor, and 

 will you accept my thanks? 



But there is one subject on which I was 

 very desirous of obtaining your sentiments, 

 for just at that time I had received my copy 

 of Mr. Booth's Geological Survey of Dela- 

 ware State, and had gone deeply into his 

 statements respecting the different beds of 

 marl which he examined and analyzed as he 

 passed through the section of country where 



