The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-04-18
M'mhe 3'atmt.
On the Advantages Of Selling.

=
$50 to $40 per acre, (such as southwest
Virginia or Kentucky hardly think
that soiling will pay, as the cost of
labor to feed the stock would amount to
more than the interest on the land !:
but where, as in our section, there is
very little good grazing land, and what
there is is worth SO much an acre that
the interest on the investment would
more than pay the cost of labor, then l
think that soiling pays. For instance:
on my farm, of l20 acres, kept last
year an average of As head of Short
horns, young and old If my land had
been good grazing land, it would have
taken nearly the whole of it to pasture
them through the season; whereas, l
not only raised green food enough for
them all, and had them in excellent
condition, but l raised hay, straw and
corn fodder enough to very nearly last
them through the winter, and, in addi-
ton, roots enough for them,-say A.
900 bushels of mangolds, 5000 bushels
rutabaga turnips, also 240 bushels rye
and 500 bushels oats This in the face
of drOuth that caused me to cut over
more land to get at green feed than
| otherwise would have done, and that
would have caused my cattle to suffer
very much if they had been onpasture
/ am satisfied that with me soiling is
the best way to feed my cattle, and
that they are just as healthy fed on my
plan as if they were pastured.
Now, in answer to your questions
1st What crops do you use for
soiling?' l use rye, orchard grass and
clover, lucerne, oats, and corn sowed
in drills. Last year tried Hungarian
grass, but it was planted too late, and
the drouth prevented it from doing
much. Sowed corn is better than any
thing except lucerne for soiling.
End. when seeded?' The rye is
sown, as usual in the Fall The oats
are sown as early as possible, and then
my seedlings follow, as regularly as
possible, every ten days. 1s73-frst
planted oats for soiling 3rd April, 3
acres second planting oats 14th Apr,
3 acres third planting oats 23rd Apr,
3 acres corn followed in regular rota-
ton then until the middle of July.
For my stock | sowed last year three
acres at every seeding The ground
for all these crops is made as rich and
as finely powdered as can be done, the
object being to raise as much green
feed to the acre as possible. l have
raised three crops in one year off the
same piece of ground-rye for soiling,
followed by sowed corn, and then plant
ed the first week in August with ruta-
bagas. | also follow my Early Rose
potatoes with crop of the rutabaga.
The oats and rye are sown broadcast
the corn is sowed in drills about thirty
inches apart; the drills are laid off
with small marking pillow, and the
corn is sown by hand, and covered
with the front tooth taken out. The
corn is worked as often as it will per.
NIT.
3rd. How fed p We commence
feeding the rye as soon as it heads out,
feeding at first sparingly, so as not
to bloat the cows, or give them the
scours. Then follow with orchard grass
and clover, or Lucerne, as the case may
be; then with oats, and then with corn,
which crop lasts until frost First cut
rye 9Th of May, 1878; then cut lucerne
14th May, followed by orchard grass
18th May; this and clover lasted until
18th June, when we commenced cutting
oats: these lasted until the 18th July,
when we commenced cutting corn and
continued on this until frost All the
land sowed in oats for soiling was after
wards sowed with corn in drills, and
the fodder saved for winter feeding.
Of course the lucerne comes in sew
eral times. The greenfield is cut with
the scvthe and is fed out in square
boxes with V-shaped opening in each
of the four sides, and is fed to them in
o lot of about two acres. This is to
give them room to exercise. The breed
ing cows and yearlings are not stabbed
during the Summer.
4th. Do YOU feed other than green
food during the Summer months .
My object being to keep my cattle in
good condition. and not to pull them
down during their time of milking, l
have always fed those cows that were
milking, four quarts of mill-feed night
and morning. Those cows that were
dry got no feed. l always allow my
cows to go dry three months before
calving The yearlings and two-year-
olds l always feed well, even in Sum-
mer, as the main object is early matu-
rity.
5th. What root crops do you raise!'
raise mangel wurtzel and swedes or
rutabaga turnips The mangolds are
planted as early in April (about the
15th) as possible to sow, and to at the
same time avoid having the young
plants cut down by the frost. The
ground is prepared in the best manner
possible. For instance, the four acres
that planted in mangolds last year
were prepared as follows: the year be-
fore it had been planted in potatoes and
followed by swedes; that Fall it was
plowed and subsoied to the depth of
ID inches in the Spring stable ma
luiS Nuo SpiCdu oNCl u llDCldl SOdt-
ing; then it was plowed, then harrow
ed with a heavy harrow, and followed
with a Thomas harrow. 1t was then
rolled, so as to give smooth surface
for drilling The seed was then sowcd
on the fiat surface. with Holbrook's
drill in drills % inches apart, using
about 3 pounds of seed to the acre
On part of this land 800 pounds of
Kainit to the acre was sown on the
drills; this in the first of the season
appeared to be the best, but when the
crop was harvested we could see no
difference in the yield between it and
other parts The yield on these four
acres was 1000 bushels This, while
not large crop, was good considering
the season.
The Swedes are planted generally
about the last of July. l had two
different lots in Swedes last year. One
of six acres was planted in Early Rose
potatoes and these followed by Swedes.