Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1908-07-03
ADVISES PLANTING KALE
FOR DAIRY COWS
Oregon Agriculture College Is
sues Instructive Bulletin by
James Dryden

hAlb ID one OF tue DtSJ JhlhlnR SioPo
in Oregon. When the Oregon booster
wants 10 prove that Oregon is the best
dairy state in the Union he has TO
talk kale. Unless he knows what
kale will do TO the milk bucket he
has not qualified as booster. 1t ID
called the Thousand Heade1 kale and
the butanist knows il as Brassica
eleracss, but it is the plain kale OF
four letters that does the talkiug.
The strange thing is that it has only
been daring the last two or three
years that it has had an audience,
though it is neatly 30 years old in the
Willamette valley. It has tried to talk
al those years but the people
wouldn't listen when it sought recog
milton. "We never heard it talk, "
they insisted, "back in Iowa and
New York. Back there COWS pro-
duce milk without kale, and / guesc
they will have to here. " That is ira
dition 1t took 30 years for kile TO
get an audience in this state and live
down tradition.
The dairyman Of New York under
stand what green succuleut food means
TO ths dairy COW, and they build ex-
pensive silos, buy expensive machin-
cry and grow fertility robbing corn
which they irrigate with their sweat,
in order that the farmer during the
loug winter months may have an ex-
cuse for milking his cows. The Ore
Ronian needs no expensive silos to
remind the COW of the good old sum.
mer time Kale is making Oregon the
greatest dairy state in the Union.
When grown ,under favorable condi-
tions kale will yield 40 tons per acre
Of green feed and its chief.value is as
soiling crop during the fall and
winter Splendid results are being
secured by feeding kale and vetch hay
to dairy cows without any grain or
mill feed DIR. Witbcyombe of the
Agricultural College says that l5
pounds of vetch hay and 40 pounds of
kale day is practically balanced
ration for a dairy cow. Mr.. W. l..
Wilson of Banks, Oregon. says: re.
ceived f207 from Ia cows in the month
of December and fed them nothing
but kale, turnips and vetch hay. The
man who feeds chop would have to
make $237 to clear as much as l do l
have not had speck of mill feed in
the barn all winter.
Mr.. Byron Hunter of Corvallis has,
as assistant agriculturist Of the
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S, De.
partment of Agriculture, made
special study of the forage crops of
western Oregon. and in Bulletin No.
81 published Jointly by the Oregon
Experiment Station and the Depart
ment of Agriculture has the follow
ing to say about kale which is
timely:
Methods of sowing For fall and
winter use, kale is usaully sown in
drills on well prepared and drained
soil as soon after the 10Th of March as
the season will permit, This fur
nishes plants for trsnsplanting in
June aud July. The land used for
is well manured and
plowed two or three times between
he first of March and the first OF
June. With the land in perfect tilth
{ IL plowed again with l2.inch
blow about the first of June and the
'oung kale plants dropped into every
bird furrow about 9ie to . feet apart.
This places about one plant on every
quare yard. The roots of the plants
're placed where the next furrow
overs them, leaving the tops un-
overed, The plants that are plowed |
n during the day in this way are
oiled in the evening of the same
nv to pack the ground. Two or three
ultivations are all that can usually |
q given, for tho plants will soon
ouch in the row il they do wellP |
NY plant, at fail to grow may b
eplaced .t Some growers prs.
er & u L. be seed in hills, aud
ihrn the ats are large enough,
hin tntu one plant in mll.
'ther Put X e out just as cabbage is
sually { ansplduted, Instead of pillow.
ng It N. ne time Of transplauting
aust be ietelmlned by the size of tue
lants aud the condition Of the land.
the land is wet aud subject 10
verflow the transplanting may be
clayed until during July. If the
md is we'll drained and the plants
re large enough 1t may be done be.
,re the first Of June, In transp plant.
*, enough plants may be left for
stand ON the land where the seed
ngs are grown.