The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-10-30
THE VALUE OF STRAW.
An Inexhaustible Mine of Wealth Suffered
to Go to Waste.

to Go to Waste.
What use do you make of your straw,
and what value do You place upon it?
As it is 1.-THE little foxes that spoil the
grapes" so it is the aggregated little
wastes of the farm that prevent the
business from giving fair profit, and
one of these wastes more common than
perhaps any other is the management
Of the straw. If you will ride with me
through the eastern counties of Indiana
[ can point out to you scores of farms
on each of which you can count from
three to as high as eight straw-stacks,
the accumulation OF as many years, and
they are located here and there over
the farm, in the wood lot and fields,
and no use of any kind is made of them.
| probably place higher value on
straw than most farmers do, for | be-
lieye that if it is managed as it should
be, it will pay all the expense of haul
ing the wheat from the shock and
threshing. Many careful tests have
been made at our experiment stations
to determine the relative weight of
straw to grain, and these show the av-
erage to be about two pounds of straw
to one of grain, or little over sixteen
bushels of wheat to one ton of straw.
utilize every pound of my straw,
either for food or as ap absorbent to add
to the bulk and value of the manure
pile, and should just as soon think of
piling corn Or hay in the woods and
leaving it to decay as to do the same
with straw.
Both chemical analysis and the ex-
perience of our hest farmers show that
wheat straw, if saved in good condition,
has more than half the feeding value of
average hay, and that it can. he
combined with other foods, SO as to fur
nish not only cheaper but better ra-
ton for cattle than an exclusive hay
diet | mean by this simply that an
animal may be fed straw in connection
with the richer nitrogenous foods, oil
meal, corn and bran, so that the cost
will be less and the grain and condition
of the animal greater than if it was
wintered on hay alone. Cattle that run
to straw stack and are fed six or eight
pounds of the above-named foods mixed
each day will winter in better condi-
ton than if fed all the hay they will eat
without grain.
Straw pays in the additional comfort
of the stock. Our cattle needs a little
outdoor exercise each day, and 1t is
not good practice to allow them to
roam over the farm or stand in the mud
dy barn-yard, and by stacking the straw
in small, well-drained yard convenient
to the barn, so that the waste from the
| managers can be scattered over it, the
waste from the straW-stack with this
will keep the stock dry under foot, and
in bright winter days the cattle are the
picture of comfort as they stand to the
leeward side of the stack. Then the
horse stable will be comfortable and
pleasant if the horses are furnished a
generous bed, and the urine, instead of
escaping through the floor, will be alb
sorbed by the straw and Sdd greatly to
the value of the manure.
Never carry over q straW-stack unless
you find there is likely to be a failure of
wheat and shortage of straw the en-
suing summer. l try to get all the
straw under foot in the barn-yard be-
fore the last of the stock go to pasture.
and if | find the stock are not getting it
down fast enough, cut it down with a
hay knife and throw down part of it
at time and scatter it over the barn
yard. After the cattle have gone to
pasture, when there comes q heavy
rain, all hands go to work and fork the
wet straw and manure which has ac-
cumulated during the winter into fat
piles four or five feet high, shaking it
up and mixing it well. We then feed
our hogs for few days on these heaps
so as to make the surface fine and to
pack it enough to prevent the escape of
ammonia In from two to four weeks
it is ready for a second turning, and
the wetter it is at the time the better.
This second turning fits it for top dress
ing the wheat or grass land, as it will
be fine enough SO as not to interfere
with the use of the drill.
Another use of straw which I think
would be profitable, is mulching the
wheat with it. If you have a field Of
wheat which has not made growth
enough to protect the roots, and have an
old straW-stack the first time the ground
freezes enough to bear the team, scat
ter q light coating Of straw over it, and
| think you will find it a profitable way
to use it, as it not only protects from
freezing and thawing, but also fertjl-
ICES to some extent. In conclusion let
me say, utilize your straw in someway.
There is mine of wealth suffered to 90
to waste by neglecting it. Waldo +.
Rro3c17 an T116i097u E0g111oa.