SOILING, SOILING CROPS. Soiling con sists in feeding grazing animals in inclosures or in barns with green forage grown especially for the purpose, instead of turning. them out to pas ture; and soiling crops are the crops grown for this purpose. Soiling is a feature of intensive farming and small holdings, but it is also prac ticed with profit in regions where the agricultural resources are in process of development. Under European conditions stock is frequently fed in barns the year rood, hut in the United States soiling is usually combined with pasturing, stock being less frequently fed in barns during the sum mer. In some instances, however, as in the ease of dairy farms in the immediate vicinity of large cities, complete soiling is not infrequent and is on the increase.
American farmers began to turn their attention to soiling early in the nineteenth century, and ag ricultural literature shows that about the middle of the century the practice had become general in the Eastern and Southern States. The crops used for green forage at that time were grass, clover, corn, oats, cabbage. and root crops. In the West. where large tracts of wild grass land afford unlimited pasturage, there is no need to re sort to soiling: but as soon as the land is settled and the natural pastures become confined to indi vidual farms, soiling has not only been found ex pedient, hut oftentimes necessary. Its advantages are many. It requires far less land to sustain a given number of farm animals than under pastur ing,: feeding green forage in the barn or yard eliminates the expense of constructing and keep ing up pasture fences, at the same time greatly diminishing the waste of food, and animals are assured sufficient feed at all times. Practically
the only serious disadvantage is the extra labor involved.
Since animals kept in the barn seem to require exercise, the two systems of soiling and pasturing are often combined in the States. In such cases the soiling crops should be grown remote from the pasture. so that the animals may not be come restless and disinclined to graze. The fod der should not be fed in open racks. and the quantity given shoilld never be more than will be eaten at the time.
Nearly all farm crops can lie utilized in soil ing. corn being considered one of the best. The soil, the climate, and the kind of stock to be fed naturally determine the kinds of crops to be grown. The purpose of soiling crops is to afford abundance of succulent forage. This is hest ac complished with rapidly growing plants that pro duce large amounts of foliage. The list of soiling crop. generally grown includes rape, turnips, sor ghum. kafir corn, millet, many cereals such as rye, barley, oats, and many legumes such as clover. eow-peas. alfalfa, and combinations of oats gnd peas, and barley and peas. Consult: Peer, Soiling, Soiling Crops, and Ensilage (New York and London, 1900) : United Mates Dcpurtmcnt of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. Pi.