The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1906-12-29
rHs WASTE OF THE cANNERY.
The Husks and Rejected Sweet Corn
Ears Used for Feeding Mules.

Ears Used for Feeding Mules.
Illinois farmers who can the product
of three thousand acres OF sweet corn
have successfully utilized the shucks
and rejected ears by feeding them 10
a big herd OF Missouri mules. Here
tofore the shucks and other onai
have been a waste product. Tho
mules eat them greedily, fatten on
them and in the course Of few weeks
almost double their price. The farm
er Gamers buy the mules at prices
ranging from 800 to s135. They sell
them at prices ranging from SlSo 70
$3.50.
One OF the canneries at Hoopeston,
| Ill now has a herd OF four hundred
mules. They are quartered In great
harm that Is ESQ feet long and Iva feet
wide, resting on a solid concrete
foundation. The cost of the barn
alone was $4,000. The corn farmers
for they do all OF their own farming
In producing sufficient sweet corn 10
nut up $4,000 cans-ap2ropriated
$50 900 to buy the mules and build
the barn.
They commenced buying mules last
winter. All were bought In the 81
Louis market and were shipped Ill
rect to the yards Of the canning
plant at Hoopeston. When the can
ming season opened this year they be
gan feeding the mules with the
shucks. rejected ears ana offal from
the shucking room. where all OF the
corn is shocked by hand and the I'm
perfect ears removed. The mules
were fed three times a day and cca
sumed about $500 pounds daily. Inc
feed had the effect Of physicking tAe
animals at first, but they soon go
over 1t. and especially when a ration
} of hay was fed. The feed will fattel
: a mule In from five to six weeks. ii
the big barn none Of the mules arr
: over six years old, many
them are three year oidS
and the younger ones PAL
: ticularly are as fine looking lot Q
sleek coated creatures as one Woul'
: care to see. The fat mules are SOL
as fast as they arc ready for the maj
ket. Some of them came to the car
}. merry little more than skin and bones
= They eat the stuff greedily and het
Z baw for more. AS fast as q carloa
IS shinped back to st. Louis-for tn
: bulI of them go back whence the
= came-snother carload Is brought II
e Ii is proposed to keep on feea!n
mules all winter. The big barn
$ provided with a granary that wi
3 hold ten thousand bushels and NOV
that have a capacity of one thousan
} TOYS OF hay, so when the saucks Civ
cut the long cared high priced fellow
= Will be well taken care Of.
AS has been said, the canning PEI
pie do all of their own farming, f
by this plan they are able to contr'
4 the rlpening of their crops TO su
them. All Of the work OF three tho
sand acres Is done by mules. Tier
are fftytwo teams. There isn't
horse about the place. When the cal
! ming season is over the thirty-h'
( hands that orr 1-;nl,Hyeh ON the bi
- MY bfoNugn Tne corn stains G :
thereby returning much of the fert
= lily that has been taken from the sol
t In the canning season the plant en-
4 piOys an army of men, women an
children, and this feature of savin
a great deal of stuff that formerl
was waste and in preparing for tn
market some of the most useful an
nals OF the country will render tn
enterprise still more valuable to tn
town and country people alike.
: Graf, Ravenswood, III.