Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-08-08
Soiling Cattle.
Cultivator.


PEELED to this SYSTEM by lack of good
fences. It's true one of the impor-
tant advantages of soiling is that it
enables farmers to dispense with
these costly encumbrances. But soil
ing has other advantages which far
mers, in all places where land is eX-
pensive, are learning to appreciate.
The prevalence of weeds in pasture
lots is well known, and is undoubt-
edly the cause of much of the diff
Guilty in keeping land clean when it
comes to be plOwed and chopped.
Not only this, but the tramping Of
stock over fields is injurious to the
soil. The manure which animals
drop while in pasture does much less
to maintain fertility than an equal
amount made in the barnyard, and
applied after sufficient fermentation
to make its plant food available.
Notwithstanding the increased cost
of maintaining animal heat in win
ter, it is common remark among
farmers that it costs less to keep or
fatten stock in winter than during
the summer months. Nearly all the
cattle and sheep sent to market by
eastern farmers are fall and winter
fed. They are turned off towards
spring because then farm work press
es, and further feeding becomes too
expensive. Yet no fact is better
known than that a little meal in con-
junction with green feed will do more
good than it can with the dry fodder,
which usually constitutes the bulk of
the winter ration.
The time is coming when summer
feeding of stock will be much more
common than now. Large stacks OF
straw can be worked up into manure
much more readily in summer than
in winter. Possibly stock cannot be
induced to eat it at this season, but in
winter they only eat it as pressed by
hunger and at little or no profit. In
summer the straw may not be eaten,
but those animals which are meal
fed will work large amount ofstraW
into valuable manure. 1t will de-
compose rapidly at this season, while
in winter three-fOurths of the time il
frozen or covered by snow and ice, 81
as to be practically inert.
Winter made manure is filled will
weed seeds from hay and other forage
that is generally allowed to ripen be
fore cutting. What manure is mad,
in summer is, or may easily be made
free from injurious weeds. Piling i
up even for a week will destroy thei
vitality where weed seeds are know
to exist. OF course the soiling crop
proper will be cut green and be en-
tirely free from weed seeds, and thi
is an advantage from sOiling whicl
in the long run makes it less labori
Gus than feeding with myriads O
weed seeds sure to go into the ma
nure, and require much expense an,
labor to eXtirpate them.
The amount of feed that can b
grown and the number of stock keI
on a given area is much larger b
soiling than by the pasture system
Wherever a horse, COW or sheep set
its foot, the tender grass is crushe
and its growth injured. Everyon
knows that stock feeding on an acr
will not get nearly the amount {
feed from it that may be secured b
moving; and red clover, which
probably the most productive of tn
pasture forage plants, is not nearly s
productive or valuableas fodder corr
sorghum or other crops used for sol
ing. Clover, when used as soilin
plant, may be cut three or even MOI
times in one season on rich lane
But in pasturing is doubtful whetl
er an entire seasons range of the tiel
will give cattle an equivalent to or
of these cuttings.
We do not urge the indiscriminat
adoption of the soiling system. Thel
are many places where land too rOug
or too poor to prOtitably till can onl
be used for pasturing, yet such Ian
is insufficient to produce the bee
milk, wool and mutton which OIL
people require. The greater porto
of our stock is now kept on land be
ter fitted for cultivated crops than Fl
grass, and it is to all farmers so sit
ated that we suggest some trial oftl
soiling system. Altogether toomuC
of our labor is expended in producer
grain in such quantities that marke
are glutted, and it has to be sold at
loss.