THE DAIRY QUESTION — OLD STYLE. 233 



would want them, and, as a matter of course, every one 

 could not get them; and then would Florida be turned 

 topsy-turvey, and the case of the celebrated "Kilkenny 

 cats" would become a case of " Florida Crackers." 



As it is, however, the bulk of the populace are wise 

 enough to prefer the poorer pine lands with health to the 

 rich low-hammock lands with disease ; the former can be 

 fertilized and made sufficiently rich, the latter can not be 

 made healthy. 



And one of the cheapest and most popular means of en- 

 riching the land is that of cow-penning it. It is, as it were, 

 " killing two birds with one stone." Milk, butter, fertil- 

 izer, all in one ; who could ask for more ? 



The more cow-penned land one has the more valuable is 

 his property ; for this is not an evanescent enriching ; once 

 fertilized in this manner, the land continues to produce 

 good crops of fruit or vegetables, as the case may be, for 

 many years thereafter, and no grove is more healthy or 

 prolific than one that is set out on cow-penned land. 



"How long does it take to thus enrich the land?" you 

 ask. 



That depends entirely on the number of animals penned 

 and the space inclosed. The rule is to have the ground 

 well covered with "droppings" before starting a new pen. 

 When this is accomplished, be it sooner or later, it is time 

 to move on, if the raising of sweet potatoes is the object 

 in view ; if other vegetables requiring a richer soil are de- 

 sired, then it is advisable to plow the ground at this stage, 

 and begin the cow-penning again on the same space. 



From March till November the cattle night after night 

 are shut in their inclosure, and where one owns twenty 

 head or more, it is surprising how much poor laud will be 

 transformed into rich land in the course of a single season 

 before it is time to "turn the cows out." 



