26 



Cattle, Illustrated from Experience ; and an Address containing 

 Suggestions wliich may be Useful to Farmers." It may be safely 

 assumed that M\\ Q. has done more than any other man to intro- 

 duce the soiling system into this country. 



As before stated, the farm is now managed by Mr. Quincy, Jr., 

 ■who pursues essentially the system formerly followed by his 

 father. His principal object is the production of milk, which is 

 taken to Boston, — the price, at the barn, per can of eight and a 

 half quarts, being 28 cents in summer and 36 cents in winter. 

 He keeps seventy-two cows. At the time of our visit, 26th of 

 July, fifty-four cans of milk (of the size just mentioned) were ob- 

 tained daily. But Ave cannot state the length of time the cows 

 had been in milk, or their nearness to calving, which, of course, 

 aft'ect the quantity they would give. The mode of feeding was 

 as follows : — once a day on hay, twice on green fodder, and once 

 on chopped hay with two quarts of cotton-seed meal to each cow, — 

 the meal mixed with the hay. The green fodder was corn-stalks, 

 clover and tares, — the latter being tried by way of experiment. 

 The crop was a fair one, and will probably induce a repetition of 

 it, which may settle the question of its adaptability to this pur- 

 pose in this country. It is highly valued in England as a green 

 forage crop. Water is brought to the barn by the action of a 

 hydraulic ram, and conveyed to a trough in the manger of the 

 cows. They, therefore, take all their food and drink in the barn, 

 but are turned into a yard four hours a day. They appeared to 

 be in good health and condition. The operation of spaying had 

 been performed on several of the herd, but time enough had not 

 since passed to show its precise results. 



Muck is mixed with the manure of the cows, by placing it daily 

 in a trench in the rear of the platform on which they stand, — 

 the quantity of muck being about equal in bulk to the manure. 

 The mass is deposited in the barn cellar till wanted for use. It 

 is mainly applied as a top-dressing for grass. It is proper to 

 mention, in this connection, that jMr. Q. had been experimenting 

 Avith McDougall's Disinfecting Powder, — a substance prepared in 

 England for the purpose of destroying offensive odors in stables 

 and other places, and also for the purpose of preventing the es- 

 cape of fertilizing matter in manures. The cow-stables Avhere the 

 powder had been sprinkled, were entirely free from smell. It 

 may be mentioned, also, as a fict Avithin the knowledge of some of 

 the members of the Committee, that this poAvder has been used 

 Avith excellent eifect in several large livery stables in Boston. 

 Other experiments have also been made Avith it, which shoAv that 

 it possesses very valuable disinfecting powers. 



The absence of interior fences, Avhich Avere abolished upAvards 

 of forty years ago, on Mr. Q.'s farm, give it a park-like and 

 agreeable aspect. It is, as has already been remarked, chiefly in 



