Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-09-15
Experiences with soiIlng.


After several years experience in agricultu.
raj work, one always finds something new
No one can justly sit down and say II know
it all" in regard to farm work. 80 it is not
wise to lay down rules and say, LAS l have
found it thus and so, thus and so it must be. ="
Likely as not your neighbor will come and tell
you something entirely different from your
own conclusions and, as you know him to
be a man Of good sense and as Trustworthy as
yourself, you are soon forced to acknowledge
that what may be one way with you may be
another way with your eighbor-under vary
ing circumstances. And those three words
contain the kernel of this hard nut of farm
experiences and their results. Now, as re-
CARDS soiling, there are many and varying
opinions and as many different experiences,
and do not pretend to do more than to state
how some opinions and beliefs, founded upon
others experiences, differ from my own. 1t
is the general average which makes laws-just
as, while we may have dry season at one
place or time, and a very wet one at another
on the whole the rainfall will be within frac-
ton the past ten years or the next ten years
of what it was the ten years previous And
so it is the general average results Of the farm
which fix its value or usefulness.
Thus it is with soiling. Selling, however,
is invariably found useful and valuable. l
have never yet found or heard of the farmer
| who has grown and fed one or more crops for
soiing his COWS or horses, who has not year
after year enlarged his ventures in that direc-
| ton. Indeed, so universally favorable have
been the results that hundreds of farmers.
beginning with partial soiling as an expert
ment, have gradually adopted the practice of
full soiling and abandoned pasturage, except
ing so far rs to keep one shaded and well wa
| tered field under hoof for the sake of con-
venience or q field in rotation, to be in this
manner cheaply and richly MANFRED Even
in Kansas where land is cheap and rich far
mers are growing soiling crops-rye for late
fall, winter and spring use, and millet and
| sorghum for summer and fall use.
After several years practice of soiling, !
find it becoming simpler and easier each year
| as the arrangements become more perfect,
and, what is more beneficial, the land grows
richer year by year. growing more feed and
| permitting the herd TO be enlarged until the
| objective point of one COW to the acre is actu-
ally within sight. But just here it might be
| questioned if most farmers will not find il
more convenient and profitable to stop when
they get half way to this point, than to 90
farther and fare worse by being forced to in
crease their labor, which it is hard to do for
lack of material. What the farmer can do by
his own intelligent work. he cannot always OF
often get done by the skillful work of others,
and every farmer knows how much better he
can do thing for himself than he can get it
done by never so much showing and instruct
ing, which in the end takes as much time to
be effective as the doing of it,
Where land is worth $500 or $500 an acre
and the farm is necessarily small, the full re-
suit of a COW to an acre is indispensable Ia
make the most of it but where it is half that
value begin to see that it may pay Just as
wall and labor tn 4
| clover, and use these to grow other crops
which require more labor, as oats, oats and
peas, barley, or the small early sweet corn to
| use in place of them. The season does no,
affect this 80 much if it is dry, and the grass
is light, the other crops may be even lighter ;
/ and If the season is good, as this has been,
and the other crops are heavy, grass will also
be abundant. So that one may come then to
rye for early feed, which lasts until grass and
clover are ready then grass and clover, and
then corn for fall use, and lastly mangels OF
sugar beets for winter use, with hay from the
surplus rye, hay from the surplus grass cured
surplus corn fodder, and plenty of roots.
The past season l have paid particular at
tention to rye, and find it TO be especially val
liable as compared with wheat the latter is
| inferior and comes later. Rye is early, lasts
| green fully four weeks, and is about as pro
ductive of milk and butter when cured as
| when green. But this is when it is cut very
early, before the blossom has dried. 1 have
been feeding rye hay thus made in the inter
val between green rye and green corn, with
| partial pasturing, saving the grass for hay,
without any loss of milk or butter; and the
butter is harder and Of better quality than
that made from oats and peas cut green, which
tend to make soft butter. An acre of ordi
nary rye will yield not quite three tons of cur
ed hay; and thickly rye-three bushels
per acre-makes better fodder and much bet
ter hay than that grown from thinner sowing
Curing in the cock also improves the hay.
have cut the rye in the morning, raked it ant
put in large cocks in the afternoon, left it for
three days, aud then hauled it and stacked il
in barracks or put it into the barn, and hac
the best of hay, sweet-smelling and, judging
by the way the COWS ate it, sweet-havored. i
is cut up and fed with the usual allowance OIL
two quarts of meal.
Thirteen acres of rye have fed 10 head from
May to July 8, until the first corn was ready
besides leaving 2 tons of hay to be stored fol
winter fodder. By cutting the rye early nc
doubt something is lost in weight but there
is gain in quality of fodder to offset it, and
a very important advantage in getting corr
fodder in earlier-indeed, in time to plan
some of 1t for grain. From present condi
tions have confidence to assure q farmer
who has land that will keep but one COW t.
five or six acres, that in five years, by soilnl
and saving all the manure aud eeonomizinR /
well, he can bring up his farm to condition
in which COW can be kept on two acres-anC
this means doubling his income and leaving
balance to pay for all extra labor needed. =
Cor. Country Gentleman.