Practical Feeds and Feeding. 89 



warming feed, yet even in such states there are times when 

 warm feed would taste wonderfully good to a pig from a 

 late Fall litter. 



SOILING. 



Where large numbers of hogs are kept on a small farm, 

 it is sometimes quite convenient to have small plots of green 

 feed that can be cut and fed in the troughs or feed places 

 where the hogs are kept. This method of feeding green 

 feed is known as "Soiling." For instance, take a small 

 patch of fall rye, which is about the earliest green thing to 

 be found in the spring, and when it gets up a few inches 

 high it can be mowed off in small quantities daily and fed 

 to the hogs in their regular feeding places while fresh and 

 green. A very small piece of ground in this manner will 

 furnish a large amount of green feed. While the green rye 

 is being cut off some other crop can be planted or sown such 

 as rape for feeding after the rye is gone and the clovers are 

 dried up. A small patch of alfalfa adjoining hog pastures 

 would also be of great value; this could be cut and fed 

 green, and a very small patch would feed a large number 

 of hogs for some time. By feeding it in racks such as de- 

 scribed in this book, there would be very little waste from 

 soiling. 



After rape once gets a good start and becomes large 

 enough to mow and feed as in the above manner it can be 

 recut as fast as it grows up to the proper height, all 

 through the season until freezing weather comes. A small 

 field of evergreen sweet corn can be handled in the same 

 way. As soon as the ears are formed and are of proper 

 size for roasting, this may be cut and given to the pigs 

 daily in small quantities at first, increasing as they become 

 used to it, until they can have all they will eat up clean. 

 I believe soiling can be practiced with economy, especially 

 where hogs are kept in separate lots and could not be placed 

 in a pasture. Besides there would be no waste from soil 

 ing as none of the feed would be injured by the animals 

 walking over it. We have never practiced this system to 

 any extent, but believe it could be made one of the best 

 ways of handling green feed where one did not have suit- 

 able pastures for each lot. 



