13S 



Soiling, or House-feeding. 



Vol. XL 



to understand with what propriety it can be 

 objected to the practice of soiling, that it 

 fails, when tliat failure is not in any way 

 the fault of the system, but grows out of 

 the deficiency or neglect of him who makes 

 the experiment. The former objection has 

 a good deal of force; and it would be great 

 imprudence or improvidence to undertake a 

 system of soiling without an ample prepara- 

 tion against such contingencies. 



It does not come within my province, in 

 this case, to detail what has been done in 

 the United States in the way of soiling. 

 The experiments of Josiah Quincy, Esq., 

 on his estate in Quincy, Mass., made with 

 great intelligence and acuteness, are detailed 

 most fully in the Reports of the Massachu- 

 setts Agricultural Society. 1 have in other 

 publications referred to a dairy of Robert 

 Smith, Esq., near Baltimore, where a hun- 

 dred milch cows were soiled. Another sim- 

 ilar establishment I have visited on Long 

 Island, N. Y., where an equal or larger 

 number of cows are soiled. I have like- 

 wise, in former reports, mentioned the ad- 

 mirable experiment of a small farmer in 

 Waltham, Mass., who, from three cows 

 carefully soiled, and allowed to recreate 

 themselves for two hours a day in the barn- 

 yard, produced at the rate of thirty pounds 

 of butter per week, for three months. But 

 I will refer to some cases which have come 

 under my observation here, always finding 

 occasion to regret the extreme difficulty of 

 obtaining from farmers in general very ex- 

 act accounts of any of their farming opera- 

 tions. 



I shall give first the experience of Mr. 

 Skilling, the intelligent and skilful manager 

 of the school farm at Glasnevin, near Dublin. 



At first he was a country schoolmaster, 

 having the management of four and a half 

 acres of land. "When I adopted the house- 

 feeding system," he says, "my neighbours 

 laughed at me, and predicted that my cattle 

 would die; others said the cattle would 

 give no milk. I lived near a village, through 

 which I led my cows twice a day to water. 

 They had a good appearance, as they were 

 well fed; and they ran through the village 

 wild and full of spirit. This showed they 

 were in no danger of dying ; and when they 

 saw — for I was closely watched — firkin after 

 firkin of butter going to market, they began 

 to think there could be no great deficiency 

 in the milk. I fed them on mangel-wurzel 

 and turnips; and when other cows were dry, 

 mine were giving milk. During three years 

 I kept three cows, and sold j£G worth of but- 

 ter each year from each cow, besides having 

 a sufficiency for a family of six persons." 



When I visited Mr. Skilling's well man- 



aged establishment, he was then soiling six- 

 teen cows in clean, well ventilated, and con- 

 venient stables. He states that these cows, 

 upon an average, give him £15 10^. a year, 

 each, and this principally from the sale of 

 the milk. He estimates "that a cow fed in 

 the house will make twenty-five tons of 

 manure, which will be sufficient for an 

 acre of ground." I am afraid in this case 

 my friend overrates the quantity. He says 

 he can, " on an average, keep a cow on 

 every two English acres of land." I believe 

 that, with proper pains and cultivation, a 

 cow may be kept upon less than two acres. 

 I have known a cow very well kept upon 

 one acre through the year, and a portion of 

 hay annually sold from the same ground. 

 "Such," he adds, "are the advantages of 

 house-feeding. There may be difficulties in 

 keeping cattle in houses ; but people should 

 have patience, and not let difficulties over- 

 come them. The advantages that arise from 

 house-feeding are a larger quantity of ma- 

 nure and much more milk; and such being 

 the case, it would appear strange that men 

 should continue to practise the old plan. 

 The system is applicable to a large farm, as 

 well as to a small one. In England the 

 farmers do not keep half a sufficient stock 

 upon their farms. They keep a great num- 

 ber of sheep, but not sufficient to compen- 

 sate for the short stock of cattle. But it 

 may be objected that, on a very large farm, 

 say 1000 acres, it is difficult to erect a cow- 

 house sufficiently large to accommodate as 

 many cattle as would be necessary. The 

 difficulty can be easily obviated. Let a 

 number of cottages be erected on the farm; 

 and beside them let cow-houses be built, so 

 that the persons residing in the cottages can 

 take care of the cattle in the houses next to 

 their own. Let the young cattle be in one 

 house; the milch cattle in another; the fat 

 cattle in another; and it will be found, at 

 once, that the system is as applicable to a 

 large farm as to a small one." Mr. Skilling, 

 it will be seen from these statements, is of a 

 sanguine temperament; but the observations 

 of a man so experienced as he, are entitled 

 certainly to a respectful hearing. 



He goes on to say, "The house itself must 

 be airy, well ventilated, and perfectly clean. 

 The animals must be well curried and 

 brushed every day." His stables and their 

 occupants gave ample evidence that he prac- 

 tised what he preached. "There ought to 

 be one particular person to superintend and 

 pay attention to the feeding; and one of the 

 most important parts of his duty is, to as- 

 certain the appetite of every beast. Cows, 

 like other animals, will eat less or more; 

 and they ought to be supplied according as 



