96 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 
labor and expense of raising, cutting, and bringing in the feed, 
feeding, currying, and other care of the cattle.” 
Disadvantages.—Against these advantages, there are the fellow: 
ing disadvantages of the system: The increase in labor required to 
prepare the soil ; to plant, harvest, and haul the various green crops, 
and to feed the herd. The last point is of the greatest importance, 
as the feed must be cut regularly once or twice every day, rain or 
shine, no matter how pressing other farm work may be. The sys- 
tem also calls for much skill and care in planning for and planting 
the succession of green crops for the season, and can be successfully 
adopted only under an intensive system of farming, on land that is 
kept in a high state of fertility and suited to the growing of large 
crops of green forage. 
Partial Soiling.—This is a modified soiling system in which 
green forage crops are fed supplementary to pasturage at the time 
when the pastures cannot be depended upon to furnish sufficient feed 
for the stock, viz., during late spring and, especially, during the late 
summer and fall months. This system is of the highest value to 
dairy farmers without silos, and will likely be more generally adopted 
in the future with the development of our dairying industry. 
Soiling Crops.—Among crops that have proved satisfactory 
soiling crops may be mentioned: Indian corn, alfalfa, clover, vetch, 
sorghum, peas, oats, winter grains (cut before blooming), soybeans, 
cowpeas, rape, millet, ete. In the eastern and central States fodder 
corn is probably the most valuable soiling crop, and alfalfa, wherever 
it grows well. The latter crop is all-important for soiling dairy 
cows in the irrigated regions in the West, where it is often the only 
forage crop grown and fed. Peas, peas and oats, and rape also rank, 
high as soiling crops, the last crop especially for sheep and hogs. 
The chemical composition of the more important soiling crops 
will be seen from the following table: 
Composition of Important Soiling Crops, in Per Cent 
Digestible 
Moisture Ash Carbohy- N.R. 
Protein drates 
and fat 1: 
Fodder corn............ 79.3 1.2 1.0 12.8 12.8 
Alfa f Aico coc wield a oie 71.8 2.7 3.6 13.0 3.6 
Red clover............. 70.8 2.1 2.9 16.5 5.7 
Sorghum............... 79.4 11 6 12.3 20.5 
Green oats.. .......... 62.2 2.5 2.5 20.5 8.2 
Green rye.............. 76.6 1.8 2.1 15.0 7.1 
Peas and oats........... 79.7 1.6 1.8 11.1 6.2 
Canada field peas....... 84.7 1.3 1.8 7.6 4.2 
