570 



SOILING 



(4) The system is therefore conducive to the 

 production of a large and even flow of milk (or a 

 uniform increase in live weight, in the case of 

 fattening stock). 



(5) There is a great increase in the quantity and 

 quality of the manure, since all the manure from 

 the stock is saved, thus placing the farmer in the 

 best position to maintain the fertility of his land. 



(6) The necessity for interior fences is largely 

 done away with. 



Later experience and the results of carefully 

 conducted feeding experiments have fully estab- 

 lished the assertions made for the soiling system 

 by Quincy, especially for feeding dairy cattle. In 

 addition to the advantages stated above, it should 

 be noted that the system does not call for any 

 machinery or devices that are not already found 

 on nearly all dairy-farms. 



Against these points in favor of the system, we 

 have the disadvantage . that it increases consider- 

 ably the labor connected with the feeding and the 

 management of the herd, since the green feed 

 must be cut and placed before the stock in the 

 barn several times a day. In rainy weather or 

 when fields are muddy the harvesting of the crops 

 also presents difficulties. But these objections are 

 more than offset by the advantages, which bring 

 about a greater production of crops from the land 

 and a better utilization of the crops, hence greater 

 returns from the animals kept. In regard to the 

 question of the better saving of the manure by 

 the soiling system, Quincy gives as his experience 

 that it alone is " a full equivalent for all the labor 

 and expense of raising, cutting, and bringing in 

 the food, feeding, currying and other care of the 

 cattle." 



The production of soiling crops implies intensive 

 methods of farming, since immense quantities of 

 feed are produced by this method, in some cases 

 exceeding twenty to twenty-five tons per acre, and 

 the land may also in the case of some crops be 

 sown to two different crops in the same season, as 

 will be shown presently. To guard against soil 

 exhaustion, heavy applications of manure, supple- 

 mented by commercial fertilizers, must therefore 

 be made. It is also well to resort occasionally to 

 green-manuring in order to prevent a reduction of 

 the humus content of the soil; this is preferably 

 done by plowing under the second crop of clover or 

 other legumes so as to take advantage of the high 

 nitrogen-content of these crops. 



Soiling is of special value in regions where high 

 land values prevail and only small areas are avail- 

 able for pasture. As the price of farm lands in- 

 creases it is likely to become of more and more 

 importance. The system has been recommended 

 primarily for dairy cows, but is also valuable in 

 steer- and sheep - feeding. It has been adopted, 

 however, only to a limited extent in the past by 

 American dairy-farmers and others because of the 

 large amount of labor involved in feeding stock in 

 this way, and owing to the fact that our farmers 

 have generally had abundant pasturage. It is less 

 likely than ever to oecome a general practice in 

 the future, owing to the introduction of the sila 



SOILING 



during the last few decades and to the use of 

 summer silage (q. v.) as supplementary feed to 

 scant pastures during the latter part of the summer 

 season. 



Partial soiling. 



A modification of the soiling system— so-called 

 partial soiling— is practiced by many farmers, and 

 is worthy of serious consideration by dairymen who 

 are anxious to secure maximum returns from their 

 cows. In partial soiling, green forage crops are fed 

 supplementary to pasturage or to hay or straw and 

 concentrated feeds, at the time when the pastures 

 no longer furnish sufficient feed for the stock. This 

 modified soiling system is of the greatest impor- 

 tance to American dairy-farmers, and its use is 

 likely to be largely extended in the future with the 

 further developments of our dairy industry. 



In case of either complete or partial soiling, a 

 succession of fodder crops is grown that will fur- 

 nish green forage at its best stage of growth for 

 feeding as the season progresses. This will be, in 

 the case of complete soiling, from spring to late 

 fall, say May 1 to November 1 ; in the case of par- 

 tial soiling, during late summer and fall. Soiling 

 crops are especially valuable to the dairy-farmer 

 during the latter period, as pastures are then likely 

 to be poor, and cows are greatly annoyed from the 

 heat and files, if left out-of-doors all day long. The 

 practice has become very general among progres- 

 sive dairymen to keep the cows in a darkened stable 

 during the day at this time of the year, where they 

 are fed green crops with some dry roughage and 

 grain, and to let them out on pasture at night. The 

 shrinkage in milk flow that ordinarily occurs at 

 "fly-time" will be largely overcome, or at least 

 reduced so far as possible by a judicious system of 

 soiling and management of the herd, as suggested. 



Soiling crops. 



Among the large number of crops that have been 

 recommended for soiling and have proved satisfac- 

 tory for this purpose, mention of a few of the more 

 important ones will suffice here : winter grains (cut 

 before blooming), peas and oats, alfalfa, clover, 

 vetch, soybeans, millet, cowpeas, corn, sorghum 

 and rape. All these crops are valuable when grown 

 on fertile land and in localities suited to their cul- 

 ture. Perhaps no single crop is of more importance 

 I and value for soiling than alfalfa, where it can be 

 j grown successfully. Peas, corn and rape also rank 

 ! high as soiling crops, the latter especially for sheep 

 i and hogs. 



I For description of methods of culture and the 

 characteristics of the various crops, reference is 

 made to the special articles dealing with the crops 

 included in the tables. 



Rotations of soiling crops. 



} The details as to growing a succession of soiling 

 crops will necessarily vary, according to the char- 

 ( acter of the land and the crops adapted to each par- 

 i ticular locality. If it is desired to feed green crops 

 I through the entire season, the following is one of 

 ' the simplest rotations that can be adopted : 



