The Holly chieftain., 1908-04-24
EXTRA FEED CROPS,
Be Sure Your Cows Get Enough to
Eat in Summer.

l am confident there are more cows
that do not get enough to eat during
the summer season than in winter
The thought that when the COWS go
to pasture they need no other food
till fall is most common and harm
full one. Usually not to exceed six
weeks is as much as the pasture will
AFFORD all the good food cows need to
keep up their milk flow, and degree
OF flesh, to enable them to do their
best. Practically every farmer knows
that when a cow is allowed to shrink
in her milk, and the secreting glands
shrink, no subsequent feeding will
fully expand them until she again
freshens. 1t must be remembered that
unless she is in good flesh she cannot
do her best. 1t is cheaper to keep
flesh on her than to restore 10. These
things, therefore, emphasize the i'm
portance of some feed to supplement
the pasture.
When 1t is to be had, there is moth
ing cheaper or better than silage. says
William II. Underwood, writing in
not have this. In case something
should be needed very early rye sowed
thickly the previous fall. and cut just
as the heads begin to form, followed
by wheat. will do the business. This
land can then be used for summer
crop. The pasture is usually most
abundant at this season, and the great
ID. 1b
the balance of the season. Therefore,
the crops that will furnish feed dur
ing this period must receive attention.
Glover can often be fed by the mid
die of June. This can be followed by
oats and peas, using two bushels ox
bushel of oats, and sowing two to
three bushels per acre. On rich land
the lighter seeding is best. Put them
in as early in the spring as the
ground will permit, getting the peas
in about four inches deep. The oats
will do better sowed three or four
days later, about two inches deep,
then the ground rolled. Another SOW
ing may be made ten days or two
weeks later. This will give feed from
the last of June to early August.
From this time till the corn is ready
it is somewhat difficult to get some
thing that will fill the gap.
Sometimes a second crop of clover
can be procured where crop has
been cut early in June. For this pc
riod millet will give good salts
faction. Barnyard or Hungarian millet,
sowed the middle or last of June,
will be ready in five or six weeks,
| and is greatly relished by the cows.
Sow to IL quarts to the acre. This.
like all other feed, loses much of its
| palatability and worth if it is allowed
to get hard. All these feeds give best
results If they are cut just as they
| come into bloom. This really means
making the first cutting little ahead
of this period, so the crop is gone be-
| fore 1t begins to get woody.
Later, corn can be depended on;
green, planted in the middle of June,
will be in fine shape in nine or ten
weeks. 1t is well to feed ears and all.
From this time till frost, there should
be no trouble in getting an abundance
of corn of any kind. Often there will
be a second crop of clover to feed in
| the latter part OF August and first of
September, which will give variety
and is in the line of economy, but it
is not as good as the corn.
Last, but not by any means least, is
the most valuable but too often de-
spised pumpkin. | value them most
highly. and like to have them to feed
well into November, and have no diff
ficulty in keeping them If they are
| not allowed to freeze and are kept in
| cool, dry place. The old idea that
the seeds are harmful is an erroneous
one. have fed tons of them, and not
removed seed for years. In fact, |
consider the seeds of value as tonic
and vermifuge.
Often we get good growth in the
corn, but more certain and better
way is to plant them in plot Of
rich ground by themselves. There
are few crops that will turn OF more
feed from the same land.