The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1889-10-12
THE VALUE OF STRAW.
A Mine OF Wealth Suffered 60 Go
waste on Many Farms.

The VALUE OF rAW.
A Mine of wealth Suffered TO Go to
waste on Many Farms.
/ probably place higher value on
straw than most farmers do, for be-
lieve that II 1t is managed as it should
be it will pay all the expenses 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
average to be about two pounds OF
straw to one of grain, or little over
sixteen bushels of wheat to one ton of
straw. l utilize every pound of my
straw, either for food or as an absorb
ent 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 experience of our best
farmers show that wheat straw, II
saved in good condition, has more than
half the feeding value of average hay,
and that it can be combined with other
foods, so as to furnish not only a cheaper
but a better ration for cattle than an
exclusive hay diet / mean by this
simply that an animal may be fed
straw in connection with the richer
heterogeneous 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
condition than if fed all the hay they
will eat without grain. Straw pays in
the additional comfort of the stock.
Our cattle need little outdoor exer-
else each day and it is not good
practice to allow them to roam over the
farm or stand in a muddy barn-yard,
and by stacking the straw in q 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 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
absorbed by the straw and add greatly
to the value of the manure. Never
carry over straw-stack unless you find
there is likely to failure of wheat
and shortage of straw the ensuing
summer. try to getall the straw un-
der foot in the barn-yard before the last
OF the stock go to pasture, and if find
the stock are not getting it down fast
enough l cut it down with hay-knife,
and throw down part of it at time
and scatter it over the barnyard. After
the cattle have gone to pasture, when |
there comes heavy rain all hands go
to work and fork the wet straw and
manure which has accumulated during
the winter into fiat 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 |
bhO pdSh OhouSAi w pro-
vent the escape of ammonia. In from |
two to four weeks it is ready for Sec
ond turning, and the wetter it is at the .
time the better. This second turning
fits it for top dressing 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 1 think
would be profitable is mulching the
wheat with it. If you would 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 scatter light coating of straw
over it and | think you will find it
profitable way to use it, as it not only
protects from freezing and thawing,
but also fertilizes to some extentu In
conclusion, let me say, utilize your
straw in some way. There is mine
of wealth suffered to go to waste by
neglecting it.-Waldo +. Brown, in In
diana Farmer.