180 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



rially with the opportunity the skillful feeder has to observe 

 and supply the wants of each animal under the soiling 

 system. 



The English have adopted a system of beef-raising upon 

 a partial pasturage soiling and grain feeding combined 

 and the result is an average much greater than is produced 

 with our system of pasturing. Moderate grain feeding, 

 with soiling or pasturing, is usually a decided economy in 

 growing meat; for grain is often a cheap food, and being 

 given as an 'extra is applied wholly as food of production 

 to the gain in weight. Cattle are able to assimilate more 

 nutriment than can be gained from grass, limited to its 

 powers of digestion. A small amount of grain will thus 

 be assimilated, besides all the grass the steer can digest. 

 For this reason a little grain is nearly always profitable to 

 the beef-raiser. 



Soiling offers the opportunity to push the growth of ani- 

 mals in warm weather, when food produces a far better 

 result ; and as the animals are constantly under the eye of 

 the feeder, he can apportion the allowance to the wants of 

 each. This system is, therefore, admirably adapted to the 

 production of meat ; and it offers the most feasible plan 

 for the 'production of meat upon the small farms of the 

 East. Under the present system of pasturage, the Eastern 

 States are largely tributary to the West for the meat con- 

 sumed each month. To partially compensate for this, 

 Eastern farmers often buy Western steers in spring and 

 fatten them on pasture during the warm season ; but as it 

 takes three to five acres to feed a steer through the sum- 

 mer, the profit is too small to be worthy of consideration. 

 One acre prepared for soiling would feed the steer much 

 better than four times this amount of pasture, and on this 

 there might be a reasonable profit. The great need on 

 Eastern farms is manure, and feeding cattle and sheep on 

 the soiling system would produce a very large amount of 



