Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1898-11-24
sssMreddad .sloFn stallss.s


Shredded Cora Stalks 8ssS Il
Asa matt Of much Importance
to farmers. i hayo again called their
attention to the immehse value OF
the corn |etslks usually left standing
and wasting il the fields when they
are shredded and used for forage. u
have recently had a conversation
with gentleman who is now selling
all he can make of this forage at $40
o ton in carload lots, and $12 a ton
in smaller quantities. His expert
enco is that from | 8 to % tons Of
shredded fodder can be made to the
aore, according to the size and num-
ber of plants, and that a large
machine will cut each day product
from six to twelve acres. Of course
in both cases the amount is deter
mined by the quality and yield of
the corn crop. 1t hes been ascer-
tanned that the largest machines
accomplish more profitable and more
satisfactory work than the smaller
ones, the stalk being more thoroughly
cut and shredded. These machines
being portable, il one farmer cannot
afford the higher price for the larger
machine, combination of farmers
can invest in one, and thus by NOV
ing from one farm to another, the
stalks for q neighborhood may be
converted into a wholesome and
nutritive food. Or, as suggested
before, ono man may own suoh q
machine, and by working all farms
in reach during the fall and winter,
the entire crop of corn stalks may be
shredded without expense to the
owners. A strange proposition, but
nevertheless true, because the toll
may be paid in kind, and is taken
from an otherwise worthless product.
At the experiment station farm
tho stripped stalks, which had been
left standing in tho field until Jan
uary, were hauled up and shredded.
The product was not only readily
eaten by the farm animals, but upon
analysis was found to contain more
nutriment than an equal amount of
cotton seed hulls, now so popular as
stock food. The shredded fodder
has this additional advantage over
the hulls, that it is much moro rel
ished by horses and mules, as well as
cattle, and there is not the same pro-
caution necessary in feeding it. 1t
is we'll known by those who feed
cotton seed hulls that there is dan
ger of its becoming compacted, if fed
in too large quantities, and that it is
always safer to mix it with other
moro concentrated food stuffs.
The utilization of such tremen-
dous quantity of forage will enable
us not only to raise more and better
cattle and farm stock for home use,
but will give an impetus to stock
raising for export.
There is a growing demand from
the West for Southern cattle, and
with this enormous addition to our
food stuffs, a comparatively largo
number of beevcs may be SUCCESS
fully raised to meet this market with
ort drawing too heavily upon tho
other resources of the farm. Thus
will be opened new source of income
for the South, and also the founda-
tion be laid for direct expectation
to Europe of thousands of Southern
raised beeves. We have every ad
vantage of climate and transporta-
ton, and once the business gets q
firm foothold we can scarcely COM
pute its benefits to the South.
Our superior situation and envi-
ronments will give us an immense
leverage over our Western competi-
tors. This plan of shredding and
utilizing the otherwise useless corn
stalks is growing in favor each day,
and the time is coming when shred
ded fodder will be as much ali article
of commerce as the popular cotton
seed hulls, once considered equally
Worthless.-R. ~. Nesbitt, Georgia
Commissioner of Agriculture.