The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1893-07-06
(to be continued.l
Corn Fodder for sheep.

Every year, even at the risk of weary
ing the Feaders, we feel constrained to
enjoin ON them the necessity of stopping
the enormous annual waste which Ameri-
can farmers make in the use-or non
pse-of our greatest cereal. 1t is often
asserted that corn cannot be grown at
profit any longer. However this may be,
we are very certain that thousands of
farmers do not receive any compensation
for their labor and land when they allow
everything practically to go to waste ex-
cept the grain itself.
Beginning on river farm not adapted
to the cultivation of oats, and with
large range Of rough back land, more
suitable for sheep than for cattle, the
writer found himself confronted with the
the fodder. TO his surprise, the first
winters experience satisfied him that not
only viii sheep consume fodder to better
advantage than any other stock, but that
it is better for them than clear timothy
hay, and to-day, if he had cattle and
sheep to feed and if he had only fodder
and timothy, he would give the fodder
to the sheep and the timothy to the cat
tic, though, of course, an occasional
Clear timothy is too constipating for
sheep, also for cattle, but the latter can
withstand it's effects with less injury than
the former, especially where they arc
gravid ewes. We regard clear Timothy
the poorest sheep feed in the whole cate
gory-ostraLW excepted, of eours-and the
benefits of q fodder ration are so marked
as q cooling and laxative feed that it is
wei, VEL worth while to let the focks go q
ean h to- tGF GHH aays feT d fas
even yearlings and lambs viii come to
like bright, green fodder, and will browse
it perfectly, clean-eleaner than any other
stock possibly can. -
Now, for the fi9ckmaster in the old hay
growing states Of New England, where
core is lti=adapteq and little grown, the
doubt many Of the owners Of the high
bred fioeks would scorn to put such
coarse Dr0Fender before them lust as the
peasants Of Europe look with disdain
gDon corn 1 itself, which they call horse
1 Meonp dRfe e peasants are AGt altogether
to digest probably the hardest of all
grains in its demands On the stomach,
ier to digest than any other ordinary
feed, unless it may be clover hay. But
IE!,al1 TIE farmers of the East may
bottoms OF the West, where corn seems
more appropriate than any other cereal
crop, the matteR of feeding its foliage is a
practical one, and the saving of it NAV
mean the difference between raising corn
ct profit and raising 1t at an actual
loss
The great point Is to stock the fodder
In the fall and to keep 1t bright, To do
this 1T must be cut shocked, husked and
bound in convenient bundles with tarred
twine-this being the best material for
bands to prevent rats from cutting them.
About the last of November or the first
of December, unless the fall has been
unusually wet, fodder can be ricked
without danger of molding. A low
wheeled wagon, or a still lower truck,
like those in cities, can be used in haul
ing to advantage. 1t is best to make the
ricks long for wind-breaks-100 feet if
desired. Throw down poles to keep the
fodder off the ground: then begin and lay
a course of bundles clear around, tips In
ward and tho bundles tapping about
third of their length. Then lay single
coursel through the middle to keep it full;
this will give aildownward pitch to the
outside courses: shedding the rain. When
built up high enough lay bundles length
wise along the middle, sharpened up to
receive the roof. The latter will consist
of bundles set sloping up steep. like the
! opposite sides of a house roof. If the
! butts are well thrust down into the ricks
a, lie tops laced together little, it will
take a hard wind to blow them off and
they will protect the rieks almost com
pletely.-American Sheep Breeder.