St. Landry democrat., 1885-01-03
solLING.


II have read with great deal of inter-
est what has been said in the R4raB and
Stocknoam concerning soiling, and am
impressed with the profitableness of the
system under certain circumstances at
least. But what would like to inquire
is this: Do you recommenl it under all
circumstances" In repD we would
saw that we have discusssSl soiling, so
far as the West is concerned, more as a
possibility of the future than as having
any special interest to Western farmers,
or the great mass of them, at the pres
ent time. There is no need of soiling
on the average Western farm. The ele-
ments of the necessity do not exist as
they do in the East, where the farms
are smaller, and where it is desirable to
make every acre do the best. Generally
our farms consist of more acres than
we can use to advantage. We are land
rich or land poor, rs you may choose.
The first element of the necessity of
soiling is a nigh price for land. That
exists in some parts of the West, but not
in the West as whole. That would re-
suit in smaller farms, and with smaller
farms we should be under the necessity
of changing our methods of agricul-
ture to the end that we might
make our land produce more. In
most of the West we have the
best land in the world for soiling
purposes, for there is fitness in
land for the purpose which must never
be lost sight of if the system is to be
made profitable. There is land that is
suitable for nothing else but pasturings
and it would be folly to attempt to do
ANYTHING else with it. Stumps, stones,
and an exceeding profusion of hills
and hollows, for instance, invite to
pasturage and nothing else. There
may be pieces of such land that may be
proftably used for soiling, but as
whole it can not be with any marked
success. But on level, or comparatively
level land that is arabic, and worth
seventy five, or even fifty dollars an
acre, if labor is not too high, it will pay
to soil. There is no doubt about it,
the sage opinion of fancy dairy writers
to the contrary Notwithstanding In
the West labor is so high that it would
give many of us a pause, before we
entered upon such an undertaking. But
as far as that is concerned, we think
we have shown in previous issues OF
the Rural and Stock11da1 that it the
conditions exist to make the adoption
of the system desirable otherwise, it
can be made profitable notWithstand-
ing than farm labor is high. Very
often, in different parts of the country,
part of farm will be very billy, or
otherwise only fit for pasturage, while
the balance will be good tillable land.
On such farm the soiling system will
permit the keeping of double the
amount of stock that could be kept it
stock was furnished nothing but pas
ture. The increase of manure would
give an increase of fodder, and thus
make the winter keep of the increased
amount of stock possible and easy.
But there is one thing, and very I'M
portant thing, for even the farmer who
is perfectly situated for soiling to re-
member. It is not best to make sud-3
den and radical change from one sys-
TEN to another. Such changes in any
direction in matters of business do not
work satisfactorily. Many, or, at least,
some, have no doubt failed for this very
reason, and are now among the few
who have given soiling any study what
ever. who declare it barren ideality.
The simplest things in life can be per-
formed well by the average man only
after some experience. Selling looks to
be easy, and certainly it is not commu-
nicated. Yet the majority, should peo-
pie rush into it suddenly, would fail to
achieve the best possible results. 1t Is
best to begin on small scale. II the
stock of a farm is added to beyond what
the pasture will carry, do not add all
that experience suggests might have
been carried if the system had been
practiced until it had become familiar.
Reduce the pasture a little year by year.
A good plan to test the merits of the
system is to soil mornings and evenings,
permitting the cattle and other animals
to run on the pasture in the middle OF
the dav. In this way the pastures will
be kept in good condition, and the cows
will give a good flow of milk, and soil
inc will recommend itself to the farmer
and dairyman. Professional dairymen
can introduce the soiling system on a
large scale with more safety than the
general farmer can, for they are accus-
toned to grow and raise fodder to feed
when pastures are short. But as before
stated, the subject just now is not of
much practical interest to the major
part of our western farming community.
# is great question whether we should
not be better off if our farms were
smaller. and we stroye to make our
land produce more. But the fact re-
mains that we have any quantity Of
land, and while we have it, such sys-
tenn as soiling is scarcely practical with
US Western Rural.