SOILING CROPS. 1 1 



part of the year, if not, indeed, through the whole 

 year ; hence the beneficial influence which they exert 

 on the health of the animals may be made continually 

 operative. But there are other senses in which the 

 soiling system may become prejudicial to the health 

 of the animals. These are discussed on Page i8. 



Injury Through Poaching. — When the soiling 

 sj'stem is practiced, lands are not injured by poach- 

 ing, that is, by the treading of the animals when the 

 hoofs sink below the surface of the land. On all 

 soils poaching is to some extent harmful, and on clays 

 it is cjuite harmful, since impaction follows on the 

 return of dry weather to the very great injury to the 

 growth of the grasses. As no person can control 

 the weather, the farmer who is dependent on pastures 

 only to provide food for his live stock in the season 

 of growth must needs allow them to feed upon the 

 pastures betimes when they will injure them by 

 treading ; and it may be added that close grazing in 

 very dry weather may seriously injure pastures. 

 Particularly is this true of pastures in some parts of 

 the dry west. The farmer without soiling food may 

 be powerless to prevent such a result. 



Influence on JJ\^ed Eradication. — The soiling 

 system may be made to render material aid in eradi- 

 cating weeds. This arises, first, from the thickness 

 with which the food may be grown ; second, from 

 the season at which much of it may be sown ; and, 

 third, from the immature period at which it is reaped. 



Soiling food ma}^ be sown more thickly rela- 

 tively than if the same plant or plants were sown to 

 produce a matured crop of seeds. Such sowing 

 secures more of fineness in the food, and in 



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