The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-16
siIase For southern Cattle.

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 No agricultural country can maintain it's prosperity without diversified farm ing, there may be certain crops so well adapted to certain sections that those crops become the money crop of those sections and almost exclude all others, but such practice will do much harm to those sections. As evidence. sec the effect that one-crop of cotton has had on the South or single crop as constantly growing wheat in the great regions of the Northwest, the soil is steadily losing its fertility and these special crops every year growing lighter, there must be diversified farm ing, and stock growing is a necessary diversion of that diversified farming, if the fertility of the soil Is maintained or improved. The branch of stock growing that helps to keep up the fer tility of the soil better than any other Is growing and feeding cattle, both for the dairy and for beef. the run down lands of the South calls loudly for this kind of help. The south is well adapt ed to the business of dairying and beef feeding. Wehavc mild winters, abund- . ance of water; lands well suited for the summer grasses and are peculiarly suited for winter feeding of cattle, by the use of the silo and silage made of the three great and never failing crops so well adapted to our Southland corn, sorghum and cowpeas. Silage is cheap ly made of these crops and there is nothing better to produce beef. milk and butter.
 Practical dalrymen and beef feeders have of late years given close atten- tion toward the preparation of a. per- feet ration or suitable feed, containing all the elements necessary to produce hIRf tnr ,.l k,D and with the least waste of material and to grow as much of that material at home as possible. s1 as to be inde- pendent Of the great trusts, monopo- lies or combinations controlling the mill feeds, used in feeding beef and dairy cattle. Corn, sorghum and pea sllage will solve this problem with only the addition of Il little of our Southern grown cotton seed meal. For the past thirteen years have been feeding silage to dairy cows but for the past five years only I have used peas in the silage to add to the protein element necessary for satisfactory yield of milk and butter and am well satis- fled with the practical results and I want our southern dairymen and beef feeders to use this mixture more gen. erally, and l am sure the financial end of the business will be benefited. Build a silo and i'll it and use 1t, as one i'm portant branch of that diversified farm ing that every thinking Southern farm CT can sec that we need
 The best and cheapest Silo for prac- ttcal and economic use is round wooden tub or stave structure. made of 2x4 pin" or cypress slaves held to- gether and drawn up with 5-S round iron hoops, so as to be air tight they are easily and cheaply built and will last and give satisfaction. I have just hnished filling two silos of this kind the thirteenth time and l am sure they have paid me back their cost each year If you will show a banker or a busi- ness man where he can make an invest ment that will pay him 100 per cent per annum for constant period of ten or fifteen years, would he hesitate to make the investment? I am certain he would take up the proposition quickly, but the farmer is too cautious too fearful to even investigate propo- sition with such a promise In the flu ture.
 Silage is for the milk COW, the con. tlnuance of the rich, succulent pasture all winter ana also helps to do away with the s"nrching drouths of summer by furnishing a substitute for the dried | up pastures. Corn and cowpeas growI
 
 Is a success and goes a long ways to ward d cheap balanced food most espe cially for milk production, The corr | furnishes the cheapest and best car ponaceous portion of regular ration but of itself is too fattening for tn, | dairy herd, and can not produce a sat ] isfactory flow of milk or keep the COW! in perfect health It Is an imperfec ration of itself and requires an addi ton Of some food better suited to thu production of milk, such as clover, hay wheat bran. cotton seed meal or hay this part or element of the necessar! food is called the protein element, anC Is as necessary to animal growth anC usefulness as the nitrogenous foods art to plant growth. The cowpea is a fooC very rich in protein or milk and muscle producing element. We can grow tht cowpea much cheaper than we can buy wheat bran, and much surer and safel than we can grow clover hay, so WI should endeavor oincorporate as muct much of this home grown food as WIG can in our cattle floor for the sake oi economy in our expenses. It is uncer' tain and sometimes very difficult tC save good quality of pea hay on ac- count of unfavorable weather, but thi: uncertainty is overcome oy making silage of the crop. For we are inde' pendent of the weather make hay only while the sun shines and shines hot but make silage any time except wher the rain storm is on.
 We often hear of hay sheds, stacks or barns of dry hay being destroyed by fire. but silage Is good ire in