The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1878-04-18
Concentrated Farming.

Mr.. A. w. Cheever delivered an adj
dress before the Vermont Dairymens'
Association at Milton, VT, in which he
gave some interesting statements as to
his method of farming, stating that upon
a farm of twenty-five acres he is now
keeping thirty animals, consisting of
seventeen cows, three horses, two bulls,
and eight yearlings and calves, the latter,
however, being as large as average
animals year older. His land is quite
inferior to the best Vermont soil, being
broken by grayelly knobs which suffer
severely in seasons Of drought. He had
doubled the number of his herd in the
five years since 1873. He had increased
his stock as the demand for his butter
had increased. He had confined his
operations to the twenty-five acres,
partly because there was 10 more land
near by, which he cared to purchase,
and partly because he wanted to see
what could be done upon small farm
in New England.
In 1873 he purchased 1920 pounds of
hay; in 1874, none; in 1875, five and
half tons; in 1876, two tons; in 1877, less
than one ton, and thought he should
need to buy very little, if any, the
present year.
My own method, said Mr.. Cheever, is
as follows: | put large share of my
land into winter rye, i'll the fall. Rye
can be thus put in after the summer
crops have been harvested. Last year /
had five and one-half acres in winter rye
and shall have three this year. 1t
lengthens the summer and shortens the
winter feeding season. From the Sth to
the 18th of May the rye has been heavy
enough to cut for fodder, and as soon as
it is so, | begin to cut and feed it green
with some dry hay every day, at first.
This brings the cows through the season
when they often become "spring poor"
and lengthens the season of green food
from twenty-one to twenty five days. As
soon as the rye heads, and before it
blossoms, | cut it all with machine and
make it into hay, in the usual way; /
SOW the rye at three different times in
the fall, thus extending somewhat the
time for cutting and harvesting it, My
first sowed crop in the spring, is spring
rye. 1t is as good as winter rye; but its
season is short. At the same time, |
SOW oats, either on old ground or green
sward we'll turned under, the soil pulver-
lied and we'll MANFRED. i'll the fall pre-
vious. On this, oats will do as well, the
next spring, as on old land. Oats make
d rank fodder, and heavy crops can be
raised. Barley is also an excellent fod
der. 1t can be sowed late for October
and November feed.
For the hay crop, farmers confno
ly-ou tnp y,1,,oh 70 ra1tny md
thy. / SOW orchard grass, June grass,
and clover for the earlier kinds. These
ripen together, and can be cut as early as
the 10th of June, or even earlier, some
years. put these on my best land, and
on good, moist fields get two crops every
year. These ripen four weeks earlier
than the latest varieties, and, with fair
proportion of these, you can begin buy
ing in June.
For corn fodder, SOW the Southern,
Western Flat and the sweet varieties
Last year | sowed western corn broad
cast, seven bushels to the acre, as early
as the season would permit. I began to
cut it with scythe, June 2Sth. For
late corn fodder, | use a sweet variety.
Corn of the late paintings may grow till
the ears show.
l also sow millet. OF this, three varie-
ties are grown-millet, Hungarian grass,
and the golden millet. Golden millet is
stiff, hard, but leaf grass. 1t looks as
if it would make inferior food for cattle,
but they take to it well. 1t should not
be sown before the lst of June, and in
eastern Massachusetts, can be sown as late
as the 1st of August, with prospect of
fair, but not full crop. 1t may follow
an early hay crop. Turn the grass under
and work the soil up well, and there will
be time enough to raise q crop of millet
The golden millet requires ten to
twenty days longer than the other
kinds, but gives heavier crop. | had
last year five and half acres of winter
rye, six acres of millet, four acreso of oats.
three acres of corn fodder, one-half acre
of spring rye, and thirteen acres of
grass-all on twenty-five acres. Nearly
all the moving was cut twice, and three
acres of it was cut three times. The
millet followed the winter rye on the
same land. The corn was all raised on
greensward turned under, and was fol-
lowed by barley for fall feed, and winter
rye for the coming spring. The winter
rye grows where nothing else would. and
all above the labor and cost of fertilizers
is clear gain.
Oats cut for fodder will be off in time