Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-01-25
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STRAW ON THE FARm.


needing ana Manure.
There Ii considerable diversity Of
opinion as to the value Of straw on the
dairy farm. That 1t has a value not
TO be despised is conceded by all, but
yet the practice differs very much Ia
the methods OF handling 1t. At the ex-
treme East we find the farmer hus-
banding it with almost AZ much care
AZ he does the grain that comes from it.
He not only preserves it dry and In
good condition, but runs it through the
cutting boz, mixes the ground feed
with 1t and feeds il to the cows IN but
little excsss in amount with the GUAM
titg 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
n1er to pay quite 30 much attention 10
the straw OF the farm that his conssrl-
porarg Of the East does, yet It il SAT-.
TO say he In most cases undertakes It's
value when properly handled. We be-
iieve the old practice Of burning the
straw has been entirely done awss
with on the dairy farm even at the ex-
IRENE West. but allowing it to rot in
large stacks when threshed at come
distance from the stebIe il still too
often the practice.
1t is a common thing for book-wrftars
to tell us the relative value OF straw az
compared with good hay. but these
tables are osten misleading from the fact
thatone straw ia 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 #. 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. Espsc-
tally 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 sheIIing out in the
field couduces greatly to the feeding
value Of the straw. The only serious
objection to the use Of barley straw lies
in the viIlainoas habit the little barbs
have OF getting in the eyes of the COWS.
but they rarely do any serious harm il
| let e.loA > 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 tbs shape OF
| bedding and manure. There can be
nothing better to put under the cows
than dry straw. and when we consider
/ its manuriai value it will pay 70 haul il
from a considerable distance. even when
q fair price has TO BE- paid for it.
The great trouble with straw Is IT.
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 q large measure,
while the rack for hauling it may be
made nearly double the size for other
purposes. Baling II Is yet too expen-
sive on the farm. and il is TO he hoped
that some method o. handling il much
better than any now in practice will
soon be invented. Oae thingis certain
and that i that whatever trouble there
may De in handling straw it is lar tod
/ valuable 70 be allowed 10 rot in the
| field. and no man should allow these
monuments to his lack of enterprise Il
rear themselves IN his fields and tel
his neighbors how shftIess he is
| 4Y.te. ie1zs TIiFauaEa.