HOM E AND FARM MAGAZINE SE C T IO N
5
L ivestock an d D airy
Facts About Care of Farmers’ Feeders and Aids to Greater Milk Production.
<
<•> The im portance of silos, siloing
<y and silage has had tard y recogni-
<y tio n in the W est. The fa c t th a t
<e> it is th e cheapest form in w hich
<s> c a ttle may bo fed in w in ter is
alone enough to m ake its use“ more
<«> general.
The follow ing silage
♦ h in ts will be found useful.
4
able to m ake it into hay or the adage
made from clover as from other legum es
li*-s an objectionable odor, n ecessitat
ing p a rticu lar care in feeding to avoid
ta in tin g the milk. I t does not pack
so well as corn, so g reat care should
be exercised in the tram p in g of the sil
age a t the tim e of filling, and th s
depth of the silo Bhould also receive
p a rticu lar atte n tio n . Clover should be
chopped before siloing as a m a tte r o f
convenience in feeding and also to se-
curo more thorough packing, although
it can be placed in the silo w ith o u t
chopping. C lover should be harvested
when in full bloom and some of th e
first heads are dead.
Cowpeas, a lfa lfa , and soy beans c a a
be successfully made into silage by ex
ercising the sam e precautions as w ith
clover. They should be cut a t the same
tim e as for hay making. However, it
is o rdinarily preferable, as w ith clover,
to make them into hay ra th e r than s il
age. The ferm en tatio n s which ta k e
place in silage made of legumes cause
a g reater loss of u u trit'v e m aterial th a n
w ith corn silage. Corn husks and pea
vines from canning factories, beet pulp
and o th er by products ar< also used in
certain localities for fillin g the silo.
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IL A G E during th e last tlrree decades
has come into general use th ro u g h
S out
the U n ited S ta te s especially in
those regions w here th e d airy ind u stry
has reached its g reatest developm ent.
S ilage is universally recognized as a
good and cheap feed for farm stock,
an d p articu larly so fo r c a ttle
and
sheep.
S ilage is the best and cheapest form
in w hich a succulent feed can be p ro
vided fo r w in ter use. An 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 the silo d u rin g w eath er th a t
can not be used in m aking hay or c u r
ing fodder w hich is an im p o rtan t con
sid eratio n in some localities.
A given am ount of coru in th e form
o f silage will produce more milk th an
th e sam e am ount when shocked and
dried. T here is less w aste in feeding
silage th an in feeding fodder. Good
silage properly fed is all consumed, and
in ad d itio n very p alatab le. L ike oth er
succulent feeds it has a b en eficial e f
fe c t upon the dig estiv e organs and
som e stock can be k ep t on a given area
o f land when it is the basis of th e r a
tion.
Hand or Machine Cutting.
Corn fo r the silo can be cut eith er by
hand or m achine. H and cu ttin g is p rac
ticed on term s w here the am ount of
corn to be harvested is so sm all as to
m ake th e expense o f purchasing a corn
h arv ester too g re a t to ju s tify its use.
Hand c u ttin g is slow end laborious and
there are probably few localities now
w here the purchase of a h arv ester
would not be a p ro fitab le investm ent.
T here are on the m ark et several
m akes of silage c u tters th a t will give
satisfactio n . The capacity of the m a
chine to be purchased is an im portant
consideration which should i ot be over
looked. M any persons m ake the m is
tak e of g e ttin g a e n tte r which is too
small, th u s m aking the operation o f fill
ing th e silo very slow and in terfe rin g
w ith the continuous em ploym ent of Ihe
e n tire force o f men. I t is b e tte r to get
a m achine large enough so th a t every
one will be able to keep busy all the
tim e. The larg er c u tters are equipped
w ith self feeders, a labor saving device
which the sm aller sizes lack.
Silage Is Economical.
«
V
7
On account of th e sm aller cost fo r
lab o r, silage can be used fo r supple
m en tin g pastures more econom ically
th a n can soiling crops, unless only a
sm all am ount o f supplem entary feed is
required. C onverting th e corn crop in
to silage clears th e land sooner th a n if
th e corn crop is shocked and husked,
and because o f these ad v an tag es, sil
age, in th e general opinion o f d airy
fa rm ers has increased milk production
p er cow and has increased th e p ro fits
p er acre.
In all p a rts of th e U nited S ta te s
w here the silo has come in to general
use th e principal silage crop is corn.
One reason for th is is th a t o rd in arily
corn w ill produce more food m aterial
to th e acre th an any oth er crop which
can be grow n. I t is more easily h ar
vested and put into th e silo th a n any
o f the nay crops, susch as clover, cow-
peas, or alfalfa.
F urtherm ore, corn m akes an excellent
q u ality of silage. The legumes, such
as clover and a lfa lfa , are liable to rot
unless special cars is tak en to pa«« th e
silage thoroughly and force th e a ir
out. T he only objection w hich
has
been raised concerning corn silage is
th e fa c t th a t it co n tain s in su ffic ie n t
pro tein fully to m eet th e req u irem en ts
of anim als to which it m ay be fed. The
b e st v a rie ty of corn to p lan t is th a t
w hich w ill m ature and yield th e la rg
est am ount of g rain to th e acre, since
th e g rain is th e most valu ab le p a rt of
th e corn plant. The v ariety commonly
raised in any p a rtic u la r lo cality for
grain will also be th e most sa tisfacto ry
to grow fo r silage.
Cultivation and Yield.
*
In some sections it is a common p ra c
tic e to p lant th e eorn a little th ick er
when raised for silage th an fo r grain.
W eeds should be kept out, or th ey will
be cut w ith the corn and may im pair
th e q u ality of th e silage. The am ount
Water Aids Packing.
View of Silo in E. G. Copeland's Bam Yard at Grandview, W ash, With Hogs
Booting in Com Fodder.
o f silage th a t can be obtain ed from an
acre o f corn will v ary from 4 to 20
tons or more. A 50-bushel per acre crop
o f corn w ill yield about 8 to 12 tons
of silage p er acre, depending upon the
am ount o f foliage and stalk th a t ac
com panies th e ear. S outhern v arieties
of corn as a rule carry a larg er pro
portion o f th e p la n t in th e form of
stalk and leaves th an do the northern
grow n varieties. Corn should be b ar
vested fo r the silo a t about th e same
tim e th a t it is harv ested for fodder.
Sorghum s, both saccharine an d non
saccharine, are read ily m ade into silage.
On account of th e ir su p erio rity to corn
M ILL IO N S O F
SACKS SACKS SACKS
Write Us for Price
ALASKA JUNK CO.
1120 First Avenue, Seattle, Wash.
as dro u g h t resistin g crops they are
more comm only grow n in those regions
of the W est w here th e rainfall is too
lig h t o r irreg u la r fo r a good grow th of
eorn.
I t is im p o rtan t th a t th e sor
ghums be h arv ested a t the proper stage
of m a tu rity if the best results are to
be secured. A m ixture of corn and sor
glium has proved satisfa c to ry in some
localities w here the rain fa ll was so v a ri
able as to m ake th e corn crop u ncer
tain .
Clover Is Successful.
C lover can be used successfully as a
silage crop y ielding a p alatab le pro
duct high in p rotein b u t it is prefer-
BLACK
LEG
tOSSeS SURELY PREVENTED
by Cutter*» B latk)«« F ill».
prW«1. fresh, r e lla b lr; preferred by
W estern »L-'km en because they i
W r ite fo r booklet and testimonial.«.
10-rfoM » k je B la c h ltf F ill« f i 00
50-fea e K t« - Btarkh-» F ille 4 00
I ’ «» any Injadne. but Cutter*» beat.
The eoperiortty of C utter p m rtn -ti 1« due to oeer IS
y e a n of specializing In vaoaiaea a «4 aerum i aaly.
I salat sa C utter'a
i f unofeUtoa* le order direct
T H E C U T T E R L A B O R A T O R Y . Berkeley C abfarala.
The usual length of cu ttin g varies
from one-half to 1 inch. The la tte r is
considered a little too long, since pieces
of th is length will n eith er pack so
closely in the silo nor be so c o m p le te ly
consumed when fed as will the sh o rter
lengths. On th e other hand, the longer
the pieces the more rapidly can the corg
be run through th e cu tter.
In case the corn has become too dry
or ripe before it is put into th e silo,
w ater should be added to supply the de
ficiency of m oisture necessary to make
the silage pack properly. Unless it is
well packed th e silage will “ fire f a n g "
or d eterio rate through the grow th of
mold. Enough w ater should be added
to restore th e m oisture content of the
corn to w hat it would be if cut a t the
proper stage. The w ater m ay be added
by running d irectly into the silo by
means of a hose or by running through
the blower. I t is claim e th a t by ru n
ning it into th e blow er th e w ater is
more thoroughly mixed w ith the cut
corn.
"Getting the Last Drop"
BlatchforcPs Calf Meal
We w ill sell you
4IGH GRADES—¡REGISTERED COWS
and loan you the money to buy them with.
M OKEL COW CO .
»
•
Commercial Block, Portland, Ore.
$82
w A k E arning
C apacity 1
“ KING OF TH E WOODS” DRAG SAW
W it h o r W ith o u t B u za S a w A tta c h m e n t
W i ll saw 2 0 to 4 0 cords o f wood per day at a cost of
» 1 .0 0 .
P U L L S I T S E L F up the rtee p « t H I L L and
over the roughc-t ground. Cents less than other makes.
H ID E S
TUBS. WOOL. PELTS. ETO.
HIBBARD STEW ART CO,
Seattle. Wash.
Write for Price List and
Shipping Tags.
I Fie
4
i . t tr o
U n a pa^ee »
One man wntes he sawed 56 ricks in lU hours.
A noth er sawed 4 0 cords in 9 hour*.
There's
more you ought to know . W rite !or F R E E cat
alog containing fu ll description with testimonials
from enthuriastic users. W R I 1 E T O D A Y .
Send for pamphlet, "How to Raise Calvae
Cheaply and Successfully Without Milk.*
n Machiifery Co. ;
Ë n tf«
*
' W R » W . M f CtWf a
•
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A I your D r a lm or
—
e
P A C IF IC
C O A H T C O N D E 5 .4 B D
C O .,
H e a t t ie ,
W ash.
M IL K