HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
5
Livestock and Dairy
F a c ts A b o u t C are of F a rm e rs ’ F e e d e rs a n d A id s to G re a te r M ilk P ro d u c tio n .
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<§► T he im portance of silos, siloing
<£ an d silage has h ad ta rd y recogni-
<& tion in the W est. T he fa c t th a t
<6> it is th e cheapest form in w hich
^ c a ttle m ay be fed in w in te r is
alone enough to m ake its use more
general.
The follow ing silage
^ h in ts will be found useful.
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S
ILA G E during the la s t th ree decades
has come into general use th ro u g h ­
out th e U nited S ta te s especially in
th o se regions w here th e d a iry in d u stry
h as reached its g re a te st developm ent.
S ilag e is universally recognized as a
good and cheap feed fo r fa rm stock,
and p a rtic u la rly so fo r
c a ttle
and
sheep.
S ilag e is the best an d cheapest form
in w hich a succulent feed can be p ro ­
v id ed fo r w inter use. A n acre of g rain
can be placed in th e silo a t a cost not
exceeding th a t of shocking, husking,
g rin d in g and shredding. Crops can be
p u t in th e silo d uring w eath er th a t
can not bo used in m aking hay or c u r­
in g fo d d er w hich is an im p o rtan t con­
sid e ra tio n in some localities.
A given am ount of corn in th e form
o f silage will produce m ore m ilk th a n
th e sam e am ount when shocked and
dried. T here is less w aste in feeding
silag e th a n in feeding fodder. Good
silag e p ro p erly fed is ail consum ed, and
in ad d itio n very p alatab le. L ike other
su ccu len t feeds it has a ben eficial e f­
f e c t upon the d ig estiv e organs and
flomo stock can be k ep t on a given area
o f lau d when it is the basis of th e r a ­
tio n .
S ilage Is Econom ical.
On acco u n t of th e sm aller cost for
lab o r, silage can be used fo r supple­
m e n tin g p astu res m ore econom ically
th a n can soiling crops, unless only a
sm all am ount of su p plem entary feed is
req u ired . C onverting th e corn crop in ­
to silage clears the lan d sooner th a n if
th e corn crop is shocked and husked,
an d because of these ad v an tag es, sil­
age, in th e general opinion of d airy
fa rm e rs has increased m ilk production
p e r cow and has increased th e p ro fits ■
p e r acre.
In all p a rts of th e U n ited S ta te s j
w here th e silo has come in to general
use th e prin cipal silage crop is corn.
O ne reason for th is is th a t ord in arily
corn w ill produce m ore food m aterial
to th e acre th a n an y o th er crop which
can be grown. I t is m ore easily h a r­ View of Silo in E. O. C opeland’s B arn
B ooting in
v ested an d p u t in to th e silo th a n any
o f th e n ay crops, susch as clover, cow-
of silage th a t can be o btained from an
p eas, or a lfa lfa .
F u rth erm o re, corn m akes an excellent acre of eorn will v ary from 4 to 20
q u a lity o f silage. The legum es, such tons or more. A 50-bushel per acre crop
as clover and a lfa lfa , are liab le to rot of corn will yield about 8 to 12 tons
unless special care is ta k e n to pack the o f silage per acre, depending upon the
silag e th o ro ughly and force th e air am ount o f foliage and sta lk th a t ac
out. T he only objection which
has com panies th e ear. S outhern v arieties
been raised concerning corn silage is o f corn as a rule carry a larg er pro
th e frfet th a t i t co n tain s in su ffic ie n t portion of th e p lan t in th e form of
p ro tein fu lly to m eet th e requirem ents s ta lk and leaves th an do th e n orthern
o f anim als to which i t m ay be fed. The grow n varieties. Corn should be bar
b est v a rie ty of corn to p la n t is th a t vested for the silo a t about th e same
w hich will m atu re and yield th e la r g ­ tim e th a t i t is harv ested fo r fodder.
Sorghum s, b o th saccharine and non
e s t am ount of g rain to th e acre, since
th e g rain is th e m ost valuable p a r t of saccharine, are read ily m ade in to silage.
th e corn p lant. The v a rie ty commofrty On account of th e ir su p e rio rity to corn
raised in an y p a rtic u la r lo cality for
g rain will also be the m ost sa tisfa c to ry
to grow fo r silage.
M ILLIONS OF
C u ltivation and Yield.
SACKS SACKS SACKS
In some sections i t is a common p ra c ­
W rit« U* for P rie s
tic e to p lan t th e corn a little th ick er
ALASKA JUNK CO.
w hen raised for silage th a n fo r grain.
1130 F irs t A venue, Beattie, W ash.
W eeds sbonld be kept out, or th ey will
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ab le to m ak e it in to h ay o r th e silag e
m ade from clover as from o th er legum es
hi.8 an o b jectio n ab le odor, n e c e s sita t­
in g p a rtic u la r oare in feed in g to avoid
ta in tin g th e m ilk. I t does n o t p ack
so well as corn, so g ro at care should
be exercised in th e tra m p in g o f th e sil­
age a t th e tim e o f fillin g , an d th o
d ep th o f th e silo should also receiv e
p a rtic u la r a tte n tio n . Clover should bo
chopped before silo in g as a m a tte r o f
convenience in feed in g an d also to s e ­
cure more tho ro u g h pack in g , alth o u g h
it can be placed in th e Silo w ith o u t
chopping. Clover should be h arv ested
when in fu ll bloom an d some o f th a
f irs t heads are dead.
Cow peas, a lfa lfa , and soy b eans ca n
be successfully m ade in to silag e by ex ­
ercisin g th e sam e p recau tio n s as w ith
clover. T hey should be cu t a t th e sam e
tim e as fo r hay m aking. H ow ever, i t
is o rd in arily p refe rab le, as w ith clover,
to m ake them in to hay ra th e r th an sil­
age.
T he fe rm e n ta tio n s w hich
ta k e
place in silag e m ade of legum es cause
a g re a te r loss o f n u tritiv e m aterial th a n
w ith corn silage. Corn husks and pea
v ines from can n in g facto ries, beet pulp
an d o th er by-p ro d u cts ar^ also used in
c e rta in lo calities fo r fillin g tho silo.
H an d or M achine C u ttin g .
Corn fo r th e silo can be cu t e ith e r by
h an d or m achine. H an d c u ttin g is p rac­
ticed on te rm s w here th e am ount o f
corn to be h arv ested is so sm all as to
m ake th e expense o f pu rch asin g a corn
h arv e ste r too g re a t to ju s tify its use.
H and c u ttin g is slow rn d laborious and
th ere are p ro b ab ly few localities now
w here the p u rch ase of a
h arv e ste r
w ould not be a p ro fita b le in v estm en t.
T h ere are on th e m ark et several
m akes of silage c u tte rs th a t will giv e
sa tisfactio n . T he cap a c ity o f th e m a­
chine to be purchased is an im p o rtan t
con sid eratio n w inch should i ot be o v er­
looked. M any persons m ake th e m is­
ta k e of g e ttin g a c u tte r which is too
sm all, th u s m ak in g th e o p eratio n of f ill­
ing th e silo v ery slow and in te rfe rin g
w ith th e continuous em ploym ent of th e
e n tire force of men. I t is b e tte r to g et
a m achine larg e enough so th a t every
one will be ablo to keep busy all th e
tim e. T he la rg e r c u tte rs are equipped
w ith self-feeders, a labor-sav in g device
which tho sm aller sizes lack.
Y ard a t G randview , W ash., W ith Hogs
Corn Fodder.
as dro u g h t resistin g crops th ey are
more com m only grow n in those regions
of th e W est w here the ra in fa ll is too
lig h t or irre g u la r for a good grow th of
corn.
I t is im p o rtan t th a t the sor
ghum s be harv ested a t the proper stage
of m a tu rity if the best resu lts are to
be secured. A m ixture of corn and sor
ghum bas proved sa tis fa c to ry in some
localities w here th e ra in fa ll w as so v a ri­
able as to m ake th e corn crop uncer­
tain .
Clover Is Successful.
C lover can be used successfully as a
silage crop yielding a point-able pro­
d u ct high in pro tein b u t it is prefer
BLACK
LEG
LOSSES SURELY PREVENTED
W ater A ids P ack in g .
T he usual len g th o f c u ttin g v aries
from one-half to 1 inch. The la tte r is
considered a little too long, since pieces
o f th is len g th will n e ith e r pack so
closely in th e silo nor be so com pletely
consum ed when fed as will th e sh o rte r
lengths. On th e o th er hand, th e longer
tho pieces th e more rap id ly can the cor§
be run through th e cu tter.
Jn case th e corn bas become too d ry
or ripe before it is p u t in to th e silo,
w a te r should be ad d ed to supply th e d e ­
ficien cy of m oisture necessary to inaks
the silag e pack properly. U nless it is
well packed th e silag e will “ fire f a n g "
or d e te rio ra te through the grow th of
mold. Enough w a te r should be added
to resto re th e m oisture co n ten t o f th a
corn to w hat it would bo if c u t a t the
pro p er stage. T he w a te r m ay be added
by ru n n in g d irectly into th e silo by
m eans o f a hose o r by ru n n in g th ro u g h
th e blower. I t is elaiine th a t by ru n ­
n ing it into th e blow er th e w ater is
more thoroughly m ixed w ith th e cu t
corn.
"Getting the Last Drop*
Blatchford’s Calf Meal
b e c a t w ith the corn and m ay im pair
th e q u ality o f the silage. The am ount
A s good as New M ilk a t half the Coat
We will Mil yon
HIGH GRADES »¿REGISTERED COWS
E a r n in g C a p a c it y
and loan ro n the money to boy thorn w ith.
M OKEL CO W CO.
§07 Comm erciai Block, P o rtla n d . O ra
“ KING OF T H E WOODS’’ DRAG 8AW
W ith or W ithout Buzz S aw Attachm ent
Will MW 20 to 40 cords of wood per 6my at a cost of I
$1.00. PULLS ITSELF up the steepest HILL and I
over the roughest pound. Guts less than other makes. I
One man writes he sawed 56 neks m 10 hours.
|
Another sawed 40 cords in 9 hours. There’s
more you o-.'gkt to know.
W rite for F R E E cat- ■
RITE TOPA
on Machinery Co
X
Tettai
ram**»
t
§»*mJ I
b TTIL. I
g? r "?$
100 pounds makes 100 gallons of Perfect
Milk Substitute.
Send for pamphlet. -H o w In Ralee Calves
Choaply and but coat) illy W ithout Milk.*
A t your iMmUrt or
PACIFIC COART CONDEN.-IBD MILK
CO., Beattie, Wash.