Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-05-27
Aarifnl
SOiling.

A series of articles on the above subject
has been commenced in M00re's Rural NetC
Yorker, from the first number of which we
make some extracts. Selling is cutting and
feeding the green food of summer to animals,
instead of pasturing them. Animals, in crop
ping the grass for themselves, tread and lie
upon it, and, eating it off so frequently, pre-
vent that rapid growth which it makes when
undisturbed This latter fact is illustrated,
by supposing that the grass was mOwn through
the summer, even ten days; what. then,
would be it's growth 1t is quite evident
that with such numerous cuttings, not more
than One-third of It's ordinary growth would
be made This consideration alone is a strong
inducement to discontinue pasturing-
EXPERIMENTS.
We have tried the soilIng system for
twelve years, and have endeavored to bring it
to the test of exact experiment First, we
tried to determine the feeding value of one
fourth of an acre in clover and for this pur
pose three experiments Were made in three
different seasons Let it be promised that
the soil is clay loan, put in fine condition
after twenty years of bad farming-the clover
lust coming into blossom. On the first ex-
pertinent, seven cows and four horses, equal
TO twelve cows, We're fed fifteen days. On
the second experiment, six cows and five
horses were fed fourteen days; and on the
each case on one cutting of clover on forty
rods of ground. 1t will be seen that one
fourth of an acre of ground. in the several
cases, was equal TO keeping one cow from one
HUNDRED and sixty-eight To- one hundred and
eighty days, or about equal u the pasturing
season. These crops, however were much
above an evarage, and forty rods of ground
could not be regarded sufficient allowance
to for season, unless the land Is in
fine condition. Welding "A large crop.
Another. and more extensive experiment,
was made in the summer of 1867, when
twenty steers, four years old, seven cows
and SIX horses, equal To thirty-ive cows, were
ssiIed from the 2ilth day of May to the LIST OF
December. For the purpose of this trial,
one hundred acres we're set apart, occupied as
follows Ninety acres In timothy grass, five
in timothy and clover, two in clover
one in oats and two acres in sown corn.
About four acres of this were In extra cOndi
tion and fifty in poor condition First, the
two acres of clover were fed then the fiv,
acres of clover and timothy next, the acre
of oats and timothy till it became too tough
then the second cutting of clover and lastly
the two acres of sOwn corn with the last cut
tings of clover and some hay to the LIST oil
December. In short, they We're fed from this
hundred acres for six months and ten days
with surplus of sixty-fiv tons of hay
which was sold for 1912 But had these
hundred acres all would have been used, ant
the food would have been Insufficient in the
dryest part OF the season. These steers aver
aged loo pounds per head, and. as goOC
light cattle were then worth only three cent:
per pound. live weight. and cows at that tim,
being low, the 1912 for which the surplus
was sold would have purchased the twenty
seven head Of cattle and one of the horses
We mention this latter circumstance to show
how disastrous would have been the results
OF pasauring.
ssBut," saws one, . how stands the labor
account? Before we get at at the true prof
it's we must deduct the labor The Labor
was particularly noted. 1t took three mel
two hours each day to do the labor of cutting
for and feeding these animals. Wages a
that time being only twelve dollars per montl
and board, the labor account, inciudin;
board, was only 500 This included all ex
cept the use of horse to haul in the grass
Let us deduct the expense of cutting ant
putting in barn the sixty-hve tons OF hay
say at that time Sl.25 per ton, or $Sl.25, tC
which add the sos for labor of feeding, an
we have SI4625, which, deducted from tn
1912, leaves SS25-75 as the net profits of tn
soiIing experiment. But there is still to b
mentioned ,as further profit, one hundred load
of manure, saved in the best condition, wort
lUU more. Anu IL Will Ecdully Dt cttH lid
had the whole hundred acres been in good cor
dition, the surplus would have been NOR
than doubled. This experiment appeared t
be conclusive as TO the profits of soiling-
CONDITION OF ANIMALS soILED.
Grant that animals are much cheaper KEEP
by soiling, " What is their comparative con
dition under this system?'' This is an i'm
portant question and to answer it we viii
give the test applied. Five steers and heif
ers were put into good pasture and KEEP
for three months, during the best part of tn
season, while as many more of the same ag'
and condition at start were soiled and OF
comparison, at the end of three months
those soiled were found in decidedly the bes
condition. These same COWS were soIled on
season and pastured the next, and their con
dition was better when soiled than pastured
and uniformly, soiling has improved the cor
dition of our animals. We have cows tina
have been soiled for SIX consecutive seasons
and keep in good condition and uniform