The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1874-07-17
a5ome, Cardfn and farm
v.IBs Of Straw to the Farmer.

yaIue Of Straw 70 the Farmer.
How to get rid Of the straw seems to
be a matter OF more Importance to a
large majority Of farmers than how to
,.aSe,ve II or make II Of value to them.
r. 5isnose of il in the easiest manner
nossibIe. multitudes Of farmers set hre
m their straw and burn it up Immediate
Iy after the grain is separated from H. IL
Is common to think that straw Is totally
worthless. If they would give it fair
test we are of the opinion that quite
different idea would be had.
Instead of burning it all in pile, just
as il was hauled from the thresher, if it
was scattered over the field where it
grew, or some other piece Of ground,
and then burned and the ashes imInedi
ately plowed under, it would do good;
but burning it all in heap is total
loss, and thing no farmer can afford to
do.
In a country 50 extensive as ours, where
stock-rai.ing IL carried ON TO 50 great an
extent, it is a thing Of the greatest i'm
portance to know how to raise il with a.
little expense as possible, as the less 1t
costs the farmer to raise his stock up To
the period that it is Of proper age TO be
sent to market, the greater will be his
profits and the more successful will be
his occupation.
For cattle and sheep, straw OF any
kind, If it is bright and IN good order, is
splendid food for them, when properly
prepared, and horses will also eat it and
look quite as well as they do when fed
on hay But in addition to hay, or cut
straw mixed with bran or meal, horses
that are used steadily for work should
he fed plenty Of shelled oats or corn, as
they cannot stand hard usage without
such grain. We do not pretend to say,
either, that straw alone should be fed to
cattle or sheep, as there is too much bulk
and not enough Of strength in it to in
sure the greatest satisfaction; but along
with it should be fed n small quantity of
wheat bran and middlings mixed, or corn
matchmaking what is famiIiarly known
as "chop." Without SO preparing it, it
is doubtful about them eating of it, if
nothing else is fed in connection, to keep
in as good condition as is desirable.
II a farmer has plenty of room in his
barn, he should store his crop of straw
therein as soon as he threshes his grain,
and then with good straw-cutter run
by horse power, the work of manufac-
turing it into number one feed is easily
accomplished, and this can be done in
stormy weather or when it is too un-
pleasant to work out of doors. Straw
prepared and fed in comfortable stables
will be found fully as valuable for stock
as hay of good quality, and will take
cattle, sheep and colts through a long,
cold winter without necessarily using
any other kind of food, and bring them
out in the spring in good condition. BY
making a good crop of straw of value as
food for stock, and feeding the hay, fOd
der, etc, of the farms as is usual,
double the amount of stock can be kept
through the winter that is kept when it
is not used, and at a very little increase
of cost. Straw is of good value to a far
mer even if it is not wanted for stock
bedding down animals. The most diff
cult thing connected with housing farm
animals to feed them through the winter
season is to keep the stable floors in a
nice, clean condition, and as this is pos
itively necessary, there is nothing so good
as litter for the stables as finely-cut
straw 1t is a splendid absorbent and
makes bedding for stock to lie down on
quite superior in our estimation to any
other material in use, while its value as
an addition to the manure is much su-
periCr to sawdust, tanbark, and sdch
articles. 1t should be cut quite short
for this purpose, and a large quantity
can be prepared at time and he piled
up in the barn, where it will be convent
ent for use as it is needed. Enough
should be thrown in the stalls every
morning TO keep them dry, and at the
end of every week they should be thor
Oughly cleaned out, throwing their ac-
cumulations into the manure cellar, or, if
there is no manure cellar, it should be
thrown in a heap under cover, and oc-
casionally have n quantity of water
thrown over it to hasten decomposition.
If piled up out in the weather it is liable
10 receive too much water and the
strength soak out and wash away. I'm
less the straw is cut short, it is not advis-
able to use it as an absorbent or stable
litter, as it cannot be conveniently re-
moved from the stalls on account of it
clinging together and forming a solid
sheet of manure. When the straw is
finely cut, it is easily removed from the
stables and is always easily handled after
ward. Taken all together, straw is high
ly valuable to the farmer, and instead
of letting it rot all in pile, as is often
the case, or burning it and making it a
total loss, it would be much better to use
it as stock-food by preparing it as above
described, or to employ it as material
for littering stables, and for such other
purposes as may be deemed profitable.
Ohio Farmer.