The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1879-08-22
AGRICULTURAL MATTERS.
so,Itn< or House Feeding stock.


soiItns or House Feeding stock.
The frequent recurrence of dry spells
and seasons of drought ought to be sufi-
cient to point out to farmers the neces-
sity of providing succulent food for their
stock, says the Western RaAr0I. The
scarcity of grass In summer and autumn
has a very Injurious effect on animals
which depend on pasture for food, and
they take long time to recover from the
check which they receive from being
compelled to feed on the dry and sapless
grass of a scorched pasture. Wehn milch
COWS are kept on such food they soon
lose condition and yield very little milk,
and they are constantly looking for water
to moisten the contents of their stomachs.
The falling off in the milk is not the only
resulting from feeding on parched pas
ture, for the COWS suffer in condition and
become liable to many diseases. The
farmer who manages his grass land
properly-lays it down in good heart,
with judicious selection of the best
permanent grasses, and keeps it perfectly
free from weeds and com bines house
feeding stock with pasturing, is general
ly successful in keeping his stock in good
condition throughout the year. The fire.
quent repetition of the cereal crops ex-
hausts the soil, as it removes the ingre-
dients which are necessary for form
ing the straw and grain, and unless
compensation is giving in the shape of
mpoverised to yield grain crop. The
old erroneous habit to lay down the ex-
hausted and weedy soil with grass seeds,
and the produce was generally what
might have been expected, a poor crop
of grass and an abundant crop of weeds.
In order to prevent the evils resulting
from such system of management ro
tation of crops has been established by
the most intelligent agriculturists. The
whole art of rotation consists in suiting
the crops to the nature of the soil, and
so varying them from each other that
while the greatest amount of produce is
raised off the land, the soil does not be-
come impoverished and unfit to produce
different kind of crop. A cereal crop
extracts a large quantity of phosphate
and nitrogen from the soil. Returning
the straw in the shape of barnyard ma
been extracted, while the nitrogen may
be returned by growing green crops.
While this compensation is being made,
crop of provender for cattle may be OBJ
tanned from the soil, and the Intervention
of naked fallow rendered unnecessary.
The farmer who grows root crops for
feeding his cattle, sheep, &C., in winter
| and early in spring, and clover, vetches,
rye, corn, etc., for use in spring and
summer, will be able to keep his stock
| in first rate condition and his land in
good heart. It has been proved by ex-
periments that the same number of ami
mails may be obtained by soiling in equal
| ly good or better condition on something
| less than half the quantity of land that
is required to support them in pasture.
| 1t is well known that very considerable
portion of the produce of pasture field
is rendered unfit for food by the tramp
ing of the animals and the effect of their
droppings, whereas when the grass etc.,
is cut and consumed by stock in houses,
sheds or yards all this waste is prevent
| ed, and instead of wandering over land
soiled by their droppings, etc., they con-
sumo theil food quietly in an agreeable
shade, where they are safe from the at
| tacks of flies and from other annoyances.
When properly soiled cattle improve
| very much more rapidly than when pas
tured. This is accounted for by the
quietness with which they enjoy their
food and drink without having to travel
long distances in search of them. Anoth-
er advantage gained by house feeding
consists in the great increase in manure
obtained by the system of soiling as COM
pared with pasturing. When cattle are
| pastured the manure is, to certain de
gree, lost; no doubt, to certain extent
it is beneficial to the land on which it
falls, still it is comparatively of little
value, because much of it is lost by eva
| poration, and the part that remains is
not evenly distributed, and the herbage
GO b I,
droppings decay that cattle and sheep re-
fuse to eat it. When cattle are house
fed all the manure, both liquid and solid,
is preserved, and is in a fit state to be
applied to the soil at any time that will
suit the convenience of the farmer. It
is well known that the manure made by
house-fed stock is of excellent quality
and always has very beneficial effect on
the soil.