Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-11-08
STRAW ON THE FARM.
Its Usefulness and Value In the Shape
Bedding and Manure.

Its Usefulness and Value In the Shape of
Bedding and Manure.
There is considerable diversity OF
opinion as to the value of straw on the
dairy farm That it has a value not
to be despised is conceded by all, but
yet the practice differs very much in
the methods OF handling it. At the ex-
IRENE East we find the farmer hus-
banding it with almost as much care
as he does the grain that comes from it.
He not only preserves it dry and in
good condition, but runs it through the
cutting box, mixes the ground feed
with it and feeds it to the COWS in but
little excess in amount with the guam
tity of hay or other slower that is fed
in the same manner.
While it may not be necessary or
even economical in the Western far
mer to pay quite so much attention to
the straw of the farm that his contem-
porary of the East does, yet it is safe
to say he in most cases undertakes its
value when properly handled. We be-
lieve the old practice of burning the
straw has been entirely done away
with on the dairy farm even at the ex-
IRENE West, but allowing it to rot in
large stacks when threshed at some
distance from the stable is still too
often the practice.
1t is a common thing for book-writers
to tell us the relative value OF straw as
compared with good hay, but these
tables are often misleading from the fact
that one straw is not like another straw,
especially in feeding value. The straw
that has become too ripe or the one that
is too immature are alike almost worth
less for feeding purposes, while the one
that was cut at the proper time has a
great deal of good in it. Then the
straws of different grains have not the
same feeding value. Oats and rye
make an Indifferent feed compared with
the straw of wheat and barley. Espec-
ially do we recommend this latter arti-
Gle. The farm practice OF cutting bar
ley in rather an immature state to pre-
vent the grain from Smelling out in the
field conduces greatly to the feeding
value of the straw. The only serious
objection to the use of barley straw lies
in the villainous habit the little barbs
have of getting in the eyes of the cows.
but they rarely do any serious harm If
let alone. The men who handle the
straw are more apt to suffer from this
barb nuisance.
We must not overlook the usefulness
of straw on the farm in the shape OF
bedding and manure. There can be
nothing better to put under the COWS
than dry straw, and when we consider
its manurial value it will pay to haul it
from considerable distance, even when
fair price has to be paid for it
The great trouble with straw is its
extreme bulk compared with its weight,
This objection can only be overcome
by ingenuity on the part of the dairy
man. There are many devices for load
ing and unloading it that remove the
bulk objection in a large measure,
while the rack for hauling it may be
made nearly double the size for other
purposes. Baling it is yet too expen-
sive on the farm, and it is to be hoped
that some method of handling it much
better than any now in practice will
soon be invented. One thing is certain
and that is that whatever trouble there
may be in handling straw it is far too
valuable to be allowed to rot in the
field, and no man should allow these
monuments to his lack of enterprise to
rear themselves in his fields and tell
his neighbors how shiftless he is.--
american Dairynsan.