DAIRY FARMING 437 
size of the herd, or because of high value of lands, soil- 
ing crops may be resorted to. A much smaller area will 
be required than for pasture; no fences will be needed; 
and large quantities of green food can be had. 
Dairy HERD FED YEAR ROUND ON SILAGE 
When feed is high, silage is practically indispensable in dairying. For winter 
feeding it is a fair substitute for summer pasture, since corn ensiled is more appe- 
tizing than if fed dry and in the rough. 
The soiling areas are reasonably heavily manured and then 
seeded to the desired crops. As these reach maturity they are cut 
and fed green from day to day. As fast as these crops are used 
up the land is again plowed, and manured and at once seeded to 
another crop. In this way soiling becomes a substitute for pastures. 
More labor is required, but the large tonnage secured from such 
crops abundantly meets this expenditure. A given acreage will sup- 
port twice as many or even more cows when employed in growing 
soiling crops than if devoted to pasturage. 
14. Dairying a balance wheel.—Most lines of farming 
tend to exhaust the land and impoverish the soil. Dairy- 
ing is an exception. Almost no fertility is removed when 
butter is sold—less than 50 cents of plant food in every 
ton of butter. When milk is sold the loss of plant food 
in a ton of milk is valued at $2.80. Considering the 
consumption of grain and forage in the production of 
