Rocky Ford enterprise., 1893-11-23
THE AGRICULTURAL WORLD
MATTERS OF GENERAL lNTEREST
- TO TILE FARMER. &,,A

4
Storing Croxs In Proper Condition
| Green Corn Foddcr-'rhe PrOnt
Frsm Geese-Tbe Garden-Items OF
'h'efe''' rSss5>-.' 'ssts
The loss Of fruits and vegetables in
storage is of not infrequent occurrence.
To lose ones supply OF potatoes or
apples is n serious matter. Sometimes
the loss Is due to storing in bad con-
dition. Potatoes and apples-in fact,
every fruit or vegetable. should not be
stored away while damp. Dampness
favors rot. Fruits and vegetable are
best stored In some dry, airy outbuild-
ing until the imminent approach Of
freezing weather makes 1t necessary to
put them In the cellar. The building
should have rather open sides. and
there should be n free circulation OF
mir under and around it. Seed corn
.hould not be put away until 1t is thor
oughly dried-to put 1t away damp Is
to give cordial invitation to disaster.
II meat is put away in proper con-
will decay, and 1t would make many
farmer feel poor to hive his pork spoil.
Meat most frequently spoils because
it is put away before 1t has thoroughly
cooled. One should remember that the
interior cools last and that the middle
Of n piece viii retain considerable heat
after the surface has been cool for
some time. Sometimes meat. butchered
in very cold weather, is put away froz-
en- SC hard that 1t will not absorb salt
This may favor decay. Every year
much hay, straw and fodder is lost be-
cause Of storing 1t in bad condition
The great bulk of the straw stored
in this country is put in stacks, and 1t
will keep In good condition several
months. II the stacks are properly con-
structed. Much depends upon the top,
and 1t is n good plan to repair the top
and carefully readjust the keepers some
weeks after the stuck has been built.
1t will have become settled by that
time. The same attention should be
given to hay stacks. Corn fodder
left in the field during the winter is
sure to be damaged seriously. The
parts injured are just the cnes that are
most valuable. If it pays to cut corn
1t will lay to store the fodder In such
way MS to preserve it. II 1t is well
straw it will keep in good condition.
Corn cribbed before 1t is fully ma
ture will mold, and may rot. 1t does
not pay to get in too great hurry
and store the corn before 1t Is ft; and,
on the other hand, unless one begins
husking it ut the earliest seasonable
moment and pushes the work, his corn
will pass beyond fit condition for
storing II he be in the great corn grow
ing belt. Whent or oats put in the
bin in unfit condition will spoil unless
attended to, and one should frequently
run his hand deep down into the bin,
for some weeks after threshing. II the
grain starts to spoil the only thing to
do is to get it out on the barn floor
and shovel 1t around every day until
1t dries and cools. In conclusion, to
put every thing in storage in good con-
tiitlon Is a reform much needed on many
farms, and 1t Is to be noted that 1t Is
reform that may be begun at any
time.-American Agriculturist.
Green Corn Fodder.
The results of some experiments
upon the comparative digestibility Of
green corn fodder, and Of the same ma
| te rial field cured and ensilaged, are
presented in a report Of the Pennsyl-
vania experiment station. These re-
su'ts, when compared with those Of
similar experiments at this station
and elsewhere, modify some previous
conclusions rs to the influence of en-
silage upon the digestibility of corn.
Contrary to the generally accepted
opinion it was found that in certain
cases the process of ensilage increased
the 1igestibility of the woody fiber Of
the corn. 1t was also found, however,
that this result was only reached when
the amount of fermentation and con-
sequent loss in the silo was excessive,
und that under more normal condi-
tions, both .ensilage and field curing
somewhat decrease the digestibility Of
corn. Evidence Is constantly accu-
mulating that the undoubted great
value of ensilage in progressive farm
ing Is not due to any mysterious &c
tion of the silo upon the fodder; but
is an economic advantage arising from
the facts, first, that the corn crop pro-
duces q very large amount Of food per
acre, and second, that the silo pro-
serves this food with comparatively
little loss in n palatable and succulent
condition, so that 1t Is eaten with little
or no waste. :
~ Condemned Animals, Y.s4 ~
Following are the. latest instructions
riyen to the U, s. Bureau of Animal