The National tribune., 1892-07-07
OUR RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers
HINTS ABOUT STRAWBERRIES,

DeSb 10 uHucruFaln plecc OF Ian1, 10 carry Oh
the surplus moisture in Fall and Spring. The
soil should be moist, but not wet. Underdrains
are fully as valuable in dry as in wet weather
as they prevent, in q measure, the evaporation
of moisture from the soil. A soil that will pro-
duce good crop Of corn Will produce a good
crop of strawberries.
Potash is the best fertilizer for the straw
berry. The vine and foliage require nitrogen
to perfect them; the fruit, potash and phos,
phoric acid. The former will be more cheaply
obtained from good barnyard manure, the
latter from ashes and ground bone.
plant in the Spring, in rows four feet apart
one way, and grow in what is called the mat
ted-row system, not permitting the rows to
spread more than 16 to Is inches. The second
season l obtain the best crop. When the crop
is harvested put in the pillow and turn IN
der the whole mass. have new bed com.
ing on each year for next seasons crop.
If the rows are four feet apart row of beans
may be grown between them the first season,
but the ground should be well cultivated, the
cultivator running within six inches of the
crowns till the runners start to grow, which,
when they have reached distance of eight or
nine inches on each side, pinch off, As fine
specimens and as large crops may thus be
grown as by the hill system.
THE BEST WAY OF CONSTRUCTING sILos FoR
THE DAIRY.
Having called the attention Of Your readers
to the Importance of great care in selection of
cows and manner of feeding them for the most
economical production of milk, now desire to
follow it with brief description OF the most
practical silos for farm dairy. In the con-
struction Of new dairy barns, the silos should
be all built in second stories and have the en-
tire basement story for stable Ensilage farm
ing will double or treble the number OF COWS p
farm can support over the old method Of dry
feed and grain; therefore. you must build more
stable room. But the old-fashioned bay in the
barns can be left, and in place OF this build
sios above and the bulk Of food is so greatly
reduced in ensilage there viii be plenty room
enough for that in barn that will stable all
the needed stock upon the farm, and one roof
Will cover it all. If you must build silos
in old barns, If possible double tho ioist-
ing for extra strength, and support them well
from below IN the stable room or if they must
be built from the ground up in the old bay part
OF the barn, then you need to prepare the bot
tom a little different from secoud-story floor
ceiling, and flooring for second-story silos. all
narrow stuff, none of it more than four inches
wide, and it may be less, to utilize all your
lumber. 1t must be planed and matched to
bring it to even thickness, and make smooth
wall, so ensilage will settle freely. The side
studding for silo should be 2x8 or Ok 10, or
just the same width of the tinbers of the barn.
SO the inside of the silo pits will be smooth It
should never be more than 16 inches apart, and
IG hntt To hn -,
lateral pressure to ensilage, and in pits from Is
to % feet deep great care must be taken to
make them strong, or they will burst. Where
one or more are placed side by side, the parti-
ton studding must be fully eight inches wide
and close together, because you never feed but
from one pit at time, and when you get to
the bottom of the first pit the next has to sus-
tain great pressure. l have seen many give
out, and they are ugly to repair. Always cut
both sides of the partitions, first letting ceiling
run through and nail on side studding, then
put over this partition ceiling in the corners
2 x a studding to nail the corner side ceiling of
the pits on and it is then utterly impossible
for partition to move out of place.
These cheap wooden silos are better than con-
crete or heavy stone masonry slos for the pres
ervation of ensilage, because they will not abb
5orb but very little heat from the ensilage; and
another very important item, they do not cost
boarded ceiling or flooring for wooden silos
Two thicknes5es of boards will retain moisture
between them long time when empty, and
decay is inevitable; no man or agency can
stop 1t. Besides this, it is not necessary. One
thickness of matched boards will soon soak up
Dr. swell up the lumber watertight, after the
pit is filed with the moist, fresh cut ensilage,
and when that is done of course it is alright.
This fills the perfect requirements of silo.
md it is just as necessary to make two thick
iesses of slaves for liquid barrel no greater
mistake. Away with tarred paper and every
hing Of the kind that will retain moisture. 1t
S an actual damage and of no earthly use.
l have six of these cheap wooden silo pits in
ny dairy barns ON two farms. / have used
hem five years with perfect success, and thou
lands more are now in use of the selfsame kind,
md in no single instance failure. The cost
If these pits, four of them, in one barn,
5 feet square, inside measure, II feet deep, and
holding fully so tons apiece, was only little
,ver $50 apiece, or less than 80 cents per ton
apacity. Most farmers can build these alone
without COST except for the hardware and lum-
Ter. have two others in another barn, built
n an old bay part of dairy barn, 12x16 and
9 feet deep, holding 20 tons each, that did not
ost quite $50 These two pits had earth floors
IN clay soil, and to keep it dry had to fill in
tx to eight inches deep with cobhlestone, aud
'ut gravel top of that TO make it smooth, and
t does it we'll Sandy and gravelly soils may not
iced anything but the bare EARTH Let the
eiling of the pits go from the ground up
lways laying it horizontal. SO it will dry out
venly. Have the tongue side of the boards up,
o it will not hold water in the matching when
mptied.
Any fair outside ceiling or covering of a barn
will be warm enough; there is no danger from
rost, for the eusilage keeps it warm. Leave |
he space between the ceiling of the pit and |
utside covering of the barn a clear air CHAM |
er, SO it cannot gather moisture or retain it. |
ret good strong feed cutter, with carrier |
ong enough to reach from the ground outside |
f the barn to the top of your silO pits, and you |
an cut and put up into the pits from so to 100 |
ons per day, at q cost of from % to DO ceats |
er ton. You then have corn shocking and |
usking in the field ended; cribbing and dry |
ng ear corn ended hauling to the mill to /
rind, and millers toll all done away with, and |
our ear corn all cut up and cooked in the siio,
erved to the cattle in its most digestible form,
ither warm or hot, and all business ended in
ne short job; four wagons to haul the ma
urely grown corn from the field, three teams
D run them. leaving o wagon every time at
ne machine for three men to unload into the
lachine, and have the corn cut up beforehand
4 the field and laid in big flat piles. l have
90 to 800 pounds in mine, and in this way we
put in 100 tons in 10 hours. We |
ave now so many sil0s that our thrashing-
lachine men own feed cutters, and go around
18th them, the same as they do with grain
nrashers, and charge US So per day for trac-
on engine power feed cutter and one man.
hat now saves US trouble and expense. The
airy farm that is fortified with silOs and good
,ws for the business is ready to coin money
all <.rfl k,fI. r. ]