The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-12-17
a ConvERr TO slLAeE.
Farmer Who Finally Comes to Relieve
Tn T..

/ Farmer Who Finally Comes to neiicvs
In It.
For years, says a writer in the Breed'
er's Gazette, have fed and handled
corn stalks for feeding and lnever con.
sidered tho stover to be very gooS sn'
less fed early in the winter, as 1t gets
so tough and dry that cattle do not rels
ish it Corn grown for feed and not for
the grain used to consider very good
if cut on the green side. wilted day or
two, then set up in shocks about six
feet in diameter and the tops carefully
tied SO as to keep out all the rain and
snow. 1t will, if run through a feed
cutter, be all eaten up and relished
by cattle till about March. After that
it begins to get too dry and tough. But
I never saw fodder-corn able to be kept
in barn or even in very big shocks II
saved in tho state have been used to
having it, because it would always heat
and mold.
From the past winters experience
with corn silage still believe that corn
fodder handled as / have mentioned is
as good as silage till about March, but
when the weather begins TO get warm
the stock want food like roots, and the
silo gives food very much like them,
and then certainly prefer corn silage
to dry fodder-corn. Toward spring the
cattle would not eat the straw but ate
grain, roots and silage. These were
mixed together all winter and weighed
to each ANIMAL; also all the leavings.
A few head left some silage for day,
others none; no cattle were fed silage
entirely, and neither had any corn
fodder to feed. so have no figures for
comparison
have fed the same silage every day
with the exception OF parts Of June and
July, to cattle of five different pure
breeds, numbering from twenty to
thirty.fve head, kept in the barn all
summer and getting on an average over
forty pounds Tor two feeds) of silage a
day, and at noon some kind of green
food. The latter was on wet days re-
placed by hay. and l am now-August
23-still feeding like amount Of silage
with feed of green corn at noon. /
am positive that with corn-stalks saved
in any other way that know of but tho
silo could never have kept tho cattle
In the shape they are In. The littlo
grass we have at this experiment sta
ton is not very good; some OF the cattle
turned out when it was at its best,
though for only a few weeks, lost in
weight, while nearly all kept in have
shown gain every month.
MANY look at tho silo with tho idea
that an animal must eat a certain
amount of dry matter day, to get
which amount by slage they would
have to eat an enormous and impossible
quantity. Now all who have ever been
to or como from the tight little isle, I"
well know what lot of roots are fed
there, and The Gazette, remember,
once published feeding trial made BY
Professor Brown Ontario Experiment
Station) of a heavy grain ration versus
roots alone, and the ROOTED lot did best
do not wish to infer that it is best te
feed large amount of watery feed, but
it is certainly an advantage to feed
part succulent. ] also believe tnat it i
not good plan to feed too much silage
but as part ration it is certainly
good and relished feed. There is an OLE
saving that "a bushel Of roots in TIT
spring is worth two before Christmas,
and | think the same may be said Q
silage.
The two silos at this station wer
beth filled at the same time with differ
,, emit little plots Of corn; both wer
tramped by men and also by horse
the one was covered with straw only
;. the other with plank and weighted wit
stone. The former had more waste
while the waste OF the latter was al
weighed and was considerably less tina
ten per cent, but have. no right
make public the figures. II we had nc
been obliged to make hole in the doc
there would have been even less. Th
silase was considered by many who ha
silos Of their own to be the best the
, had ever seen. but saw better myse
this winter, the corn having been CT
= ripper and also more heavily weighted.