Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1889-04-04
What Shall We Raise to Insure Feed
for Stock.


NMAYRATH
This topic having been assigned t,
me l will dispose of the subject in ;
few minutes.
have tried the Indian corn here
for ten years past, and have made
more failures than successes in rails
ing it, although 1 have been success
full in raising almost all farm crops
and garden produce, as some Of you
know. Even in the last ten years ]
raised fairly good crops which
usually plant with the exception OF
Indian corn. In corn raising come
out like ma ority of our farinrrs, al
the little end Of the horn.
Since 1878 l have been experiment
ing with all kinds Of new grain to
find substitute for corn which
would be suited to our soil and eli
mate, and give me substitute to feed
and fatten stock. / have raised rice
corn for ten years and find it sure
crop. l prefer it for chicken feed to
either corn or wheat
I have raised as high as fifteen
acres of peas, and find that the dry
weather does not effect them They
make a good fair yield, and make ex
celent feed with which to fatten hogs,
while other stock eat them with rel
ISL.
/ have raised all kinds of sugar
and sorghum cane and with these you
are all familiar and know that they
yield fair amount Of grain. But Ill
Of these which L have enumerated,
even though they have never failed
us, have their objections. The rice
corn does not yield enough grain, its
stalks are worthless us feed. The
peas and beans are hard TO handle,
without barns, which very few of us
have, and the labor it costs to raise
them, makes them as expensive rs the
corn we have to buy. 1 never raised
over ID bushel Of either to the acre,
while the expenses Of raising and
harvesting them is about 81, per
acre. This would bring the cost
price to about Scots per bushel. How
ever | will not dwell any longer on
these but come to the point. What
| recommend for Western Kansas, is
kaffir corn, and both the yellow and
white Milo Maise. These two will
give us good substitute for Indian
corn, as far us feeding and fattening
is concerned. Both of these are
proof against hot winds and drouth,
and also chinz bugs So far; both will
yield more clean grain to the acre
than Indian corn, the stalks make
more and better feed and the blades
will not break off and blow away as
they do with corn. Stock like both
grain and fodder, the latter both
ground and unground. \ dry spell
does not effect tit simply ceases to
grew and when rain comes begins
again and makes full crop. kaffir
corn is the earlier Of the two, and if
planted early, its seed will mature in
August, OF if cut off Just when in
bloom will yield a good crop of fod
der If cut when in bloom, the
Katfir corn will sprout again and make
another crop of fodder and also
mature seed. If wanted for grain
only, the seed pops may be left on the
ground to cure for few days, then
cribbed like corn or thrashed like any
other grain, but for home feeding no
thrashing is required.
Let us all put out as much of these |
grains as we possibly can, and here
after we shall have grain enough for
home consumption anyway, and if we
raise more than is needed for our
own use, market will be found for
it either as seed, as Il feeding grain
u as ground up chop and also as
meal and -four 20cts worth Of seed |
VIII plant one acre as three or four
pounds is enough to plant an acre.
Let us see who will raise the most of
this to the acre.
In conclusion I will add two more |
plants that l have experimental with
one of them being the johnson Grass
which 1 find to be failure here as it |
will winter kill every year. 1t cost me
from $l2 to SIS to find this out. An
other plant from which 1 had great |
is the Jerusalem Arti-
chokes which will yield immensely,
us high as 1900 bushels having been
dug from one acre in Missouri. They
make splendid hog feed and equal
turnips for table use. But the same |
beetle that kill off our tame suntiow
ers eat into the carrots, and some
times into the nutmeg melon, also
destroys the Artichoke by sucking the
sap from it.