CHAPTER XIX 



EELATION OF DAIRYING TO THE SOIL 



Why dairying is better for the soil than grain 

 farming. Progressive farmers have learned that 

 exclusive grain farming does not pay in the long 

 run, and they have gone into dairying and pros- 

 pered. Now, why is dairy farming so much 

 better? Because the grain and hay raised on 

 the farm are fed there and find their way back 

 to the soil in the form of barnyard manure. Very 

 little soil matter is sold from the farm in dairy 

 farming. Professor W. H. Dexter says: "The 

 maintenance of soil fertility constitutes one of 

 the greatest opportunities for dairying. A ton 

 of wheat, worth $22, removes from the farm 

 $7.50 worth of plant food. A ton of butter, 

 worth $500, removes less than 50 cents worth of 

 plant food from the farm." Since the price of 

 fertilizers has advanced considerably since this 

 statement was made, the figures now are much 

 higher. A little calculation will show that the 

 amount of fertilizer contained in the manure 

 produced annually by a dairy cow is worth nearly 



171 



