The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1905-12-14
SolIing Dairy Cows.

oolllng is that system of feedino
cattle in which the animals arc do.
prlved OF pasturage and kept in small
measures, food of every kind being
brought to them. 1t especially applies
10 the system of cutting and bringing
~ cattie roughage in a green state.
Ihe process began in Europe. and had
very natural development. First tho
cattle were tethered and allowed to
pasture WITHIN certain circle indi-
Gated by the rope that held them. AS
they devoured the green herbage CROW
ing within this circle, the herdsman cu+
ana brought to them grass and other
1000 plants from fields in which tba
cattle would not be allowed to go. The
europeans carly conceived the idea
1hat on the recently titled soils produc-
ing grass, and heavy growth of it.
the tramp1ng of the cattle would COM
pact the SOIL and make it unproductiye
by causing the soil particles to pack
so closely together that no air could
De admitted. The land had by that
tlme become so valuable and the hold
1ngs or the farmers so small that thew
could not afford to lose the use of sin.
gle foot of it. The European herdsman
IN the best titled portions of Europe
learned from experience that he could
raise more grass on a piece of land
Dy Keeping it in meadow than by al
lowing it to be used as pasture. This
was IN part due to the fact that he
would~not c'1t his grass until it was
at height where it would produce the
best weight per acre. The roots Of
such grass struck deeply and drew
nOurishment from a thicker layer Of
soil than the pasture grasses that were
kept fed close to the ground. It will
thus be seen that the soiling system
has developed as natural result Of
the increased value of land. ~.
The practice is old in Europe. but If
is new in the United States, especially
in the West. Only on our most in
tensively cultivated farms is it being
used to-day. Generally it is introduced
Tor the purpose of relieving the pas
ture land from useless pasturage and
adding to the amount of land than can
be titled. In some cases it is employed
because the pastures are too far from
the barns to make pasturing advisable.
noticed that this was the case at
Biltmore, N. c., where Mr.. Vanderbilt
has herd of 100 Jerseys. At the
time Of my visit the pastures were To-
Gated so far from the barns that it
was not advica hIn n ,,co tboy,, Tboroj
fore, green Grass was daily fed to the
cows in their stalls. Soiling is a profit
able operation if it is properly conduct
ed. 1t is very easy, however, to make
| great mistake in the feeding of cattle
being sOiled. This mistake is in sup
posing that constalks can take the
place of ordinary pasture grass. The
| COW, if left to herself on the pasture,
will generally find all the protein food
she needs, because many of our pas
| ture grasses, especially Kentucky blue
grass and Canadian blue grass, are
rich in protein; and these kinds
| Of grasses should be cut and fed
| in preference to cornstalks. Corn
| stalks are, however, a very good part
Of the green ration, provided they are
not the whole of it. The most desira-
BILE feeds for cattle being so handled
are cornstalks, grass, clover, alfalfa,
and, to some extent, roots, including
beets, carrots and turnips. Soiling
will continue to increase with the ad.
vance in the price of land. 1t is only
one phase of intensive farming.-M. G.
Thurston, in Tribune Farmer.