136 Farm Horses. 



system the profit of which will depend so much on the 

 care previously taken to be well provided with litter of 

 some sort or other. 



The first crops that will be ready for soiling are the rye, 

 lucerne, and the Italian rye-grass, and the trifolium hicar- 

 natum ; which may be supposed to last all the stock till 

 the first-sown winter tares are ready, when the lucerne 

 left uncut should be mown for hay. The second-sown 

 winter tares come next ; then clover, to be succeeded by 

 the third sowing of tares, and by the second growth of 

 Italian rye-grass and of lucerne. After this come spring 

 tares and the second growth of clover ; and the third 

 cutting of Italian rye-grass and of lucerne may follow. If 

 chicory be applied to this use, for which it is well adapted, 

 it will, on any good land, be mown thrice, and on very 

 good soils four times. The quantity and value of the 

 manure thus made will surprise those who have not 

 witnessed it. If horses are fed carefully, have water at 

 command, and are kept clean, they will thrive to the 

 farmer's satisfaction. 



How fully all this is consistent with practice and 

 experience, may be gathered from the following report of 

 a week in June upon a farm in Buckinghamshire : — " Our 

 horses are now living on tares, with half a bushel of beans 

 and a bushel of rice meal each per week." 



Horses do well on cut green food during June, giving 

 them, in the first place, hay cut into chaff along with it, 

 and the full allowance of corn so long as the labour of 

 turnip culture remains to be done. In the more leisure 

 month of July they may do on cut clover and without 

 corn. 



Soiling horses are rarely overworked during July, and 

 they receive in general nothing but cut green food and 

 pasturage. 



All this month the teams should be soiled daily with 

 lucerne, vetches, or clover, in the house or yards ; and if 

 in the latter, they must have water always at command, 

 and also sheds for shelter; and if the fanner does not 

 provide plenty of litter for treading into dung, he neglects 

 a great part of his profit. Lucerne is the best plant for 



