The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-10-20
WASTEFUL FARMERS.
ONE OF TIE MOST VALUABLE Pro
DUCTS OF FARM
They Throw -DlsinIerested Advice
OF an EIperr-Dep;orgbIe Ignorance as
10 Uses Of RulTs ard dee:.

TO Uses Of RulTs ard mes!.
To the Editor OF Tie Stata:
May I say afew words through your
columns to the farmers in this vicinity
on a cor d:tion Of affairs which prcpa-
bly, exists ir other parts Of the State
l allude to the almost total neglect OF
the value OF cotton seed hulls as a
feeding and fertiiizing material.
| wish to preface my remarks BY
saying that l am not interested ia any
Gil mill, am merely doing general ex-
pert work ia the cotton Oil industry
and while OF necessity conyerssnt with
the facts, am probably 2s disinterested
as a person could well be IN the advice
I give.
I was told today by an unusually
intelligent attorney OF this place, Who
is also practical farmer, that the
people hereaocuts know practically no
use for cotton seed meal except as q
fertilizer; that neither cattle nor dairy
COWS were fed in these parts on hulls
and meal and that it would be very
difficult to convince the people th&t
cattle would rot eat their heads Off i
fed cotton seed produces. TIE fact
that the oil mill here is burning 6y far
the greater p ortion OF its hulls con-
firms the gratuitoCs statements. /
grieve to say this is a lameutable
showing for the intelligence Of the
people in this section
| Now the facts demonstrated over aud
over again are these:
1st. Cotto,, seed hults and meal IL
the ratio OF to the former to l Of the
latter make c3nnplete feed for cattle.
In the ratio of i to 1 they make 2
/ quick fattening food.
2. From 50 to 80 per c5ut OF the
value Of hulls and meal are excreted oy
the cattle and can be saved and used
as fertilizer in the manure. The tes
timony of agricultural chemists is
unanimous on this point IN plain
words it means that il 500 worth Of
| cotton seed meal (or hulls) be fed to
cattle $50 or $50 can be recovered N
tie manure. Consequently the far
mer who puts 500 worth Of cot
ton seed meal in the ground without
first feeding it deliberately throws
away $50 to $50. Perhaps the farmer
can stand this loss. Nothing in com
| merce or manufactures could. There
is probably no country in the civilized
globe where a valuable food stuff IS
put in the ground as e fertilizer except
the United States.
3. The value of manure from cotton
seed hulls and meal is much greater
than that of ordinary manure. Air
dried or in the. .conditio I in which com
mercial fertilizer is sold it is worth on
the same basis as fetiliZsr at SO per
ton.
Now, that this argument may not
rest On general statements, let ne add
these facts: Last spring I induced
three large farmers in Alabama to
feed portion OF some 30 tons OF cot
ton seed meal they had bought for fer
tilizer to so head OF sorry looking cat
tie they had, ranging from 800 pounds
yesrlings to 1000 pounds oxen. l
had to guarantee personally that they
would lose nothing IN the feed before
they would do it. I was with them and
had charge of the experiment SO days.
At the end of that time they sold y
head as test. (The full feeding pc
riod is from Is to 9O.) They made
clear profit over and above feed, a..
tendance and ali expenses Of s. head,
and had Is tons of manure besides
from the II head. This manure, the
bedding being pinestr2w, was careful
ly sampled and two samples sent to
the State chemist OF Alabama. The
analysis showed that ia comparison
with commercial fertilizers and on ex
actly the same value as fertilizer for
amonia, and potash and phosphoric
acid, it was worth 50 95 per ton IL the
wet condition or so when dried.
Here is still clesrer illustration OF
the relative value OF feed and manure.
Last April I obtained permission OF
one of the agricultural experimental
stations to make test on i've COWS
they were fattening for beef on hulIs
and meal. The COWS averaged 750
pounds each. They we're being regu.
larly fed on about 50 pounds OF hulls
and meal to the FIVE head in the pro
portion of "a pounds of hulls to IL
bounds of meal, or the ratio Of to l.
Chopped up corn stalks were used for
bedding and the manure from the i've
head for d hours saved and weighed
Immediately. 1t weighed 177i pounds.
or 355 pounds each. made care
full analysis of the manure under the
direction OF skilled chemists, and
found that the commercial value OF
the 35s pounds Of manure was cents,
which represents the value OF the ma
nure from one COW fed On hu.ls and
meal at the ratio of 4 TO l every u
hours. It is easy to figure the cost OF
the herd: 81 pounds Of hulls at II
cents per hundred (S3 50) per rton) make
II 1.5 cents, Is pounds Of meal at IS
cents per pound $50 per tom make 1t
cents; total cost Of feed for I've COWS
2715 cents, or per head 5 Il 100. In
this case, the value OF the manure was
over 81 per cent. Of the feed.
These figures ought not to need any
comment. They speak for themselves.
The time will come when the commu,
nifty that permits an oil mill to burn
cotton seed hulls when wood can De
had at less than 81 50 per cord will Dc
called unciviIizad, and the farmer who
puts valuable food stuff in the ground
to raise cents cotton without first
feeding it and turning 1t into manure
will be looked upon as curiosity.
If there is any farmer who does not
believe this let him 90 and make some
fertilizer from cotton seed hu!ls and
meal, or employ his COW TO do II, !
don't care which, count up the cost OF
the feed and then have the manure