The farmer and mechanic., 1909-08-31
Progressive Farmer.)

There is no doubt that in the humid
climate of the Southern coast section
there is often much loss of fodder
that is cut off and shocked and I Of
ten am inclined to hesitate in advis-
ing farmers in that section to cut
and shock their corn. Only last week
! had letter from a very intelligent
farmer in Beaufort county, n. c., say
ing that he is puzzled, as he prefers
to clear the ground at once, but that
in three seasons out OF five the corn
and fodder have been damaged in the
shocks
I believe that it is true that the man
who tops and strips his corn at the
usual time loses enough corn to pay
for the labor Of saving the fodder,
but so far as the actual labor is con-
cerned, there is little to choose be-
tween the two methods. Hence [
can not always blame farmers in the
humid sections for adhering to the
old practice
Peanuts and Hams.
This week I was in the peanut coun-
try of southwest Virginia. There the
common practice is to have cowpeas
among the corn and hog them down
after gathering the corn The shocks
Of corn would be in the way in this,
as the hogs might attack the corn.
This was in section around Smith
field in Isle Of Wight county, where
the hogs are very important part
of mans farming, for Isle of Wight
is not only famous for peanuts, but
for fine bacon and hams.
One Of the first things I saw in
Smithfield was big sign '"Todd's
Packing House, esta blished in 1900"
So Smithfield was packing hams long
before Chicago was ever heard of, and
the old Todd esta tablishment is not now
The largest. The conditions surround
ing the farmer in any section will, of
course, have an influence on the me-
thods he uses in his farming.
They certainly grow corn around
Sn1ithfield for I saw there fields that
promise to make ten or twelve bar
relS per acre, and the hog feeding
may atone for topping and stripping
Saving the Whole Corn Crop.
Eut as a general rule, l would al
ways cut corn off at the ground and
cure it in shocks, and would shred the
stover so that more of it is eaten and
the waste put in better shape for the
manure pile, and no forks broken with
long stalks in the manure and cuss
!(1S saved.
] would cut the corn, because
would want to follow it with fall
soVn grain crop, and would try to
Rave forage in plenty without depend
irg on the fodder. But in most sec
tons where the farmers still adhere
to topping and stripping it is done
fec2use their main dependence for
The fact is, that farmers must use
their own brains in this matter in
others. But where a farmer has any
interest in cattle. and every one should
have some such interest. the best way
to manage at least a large part of
the corn crop is to put it in the silo.
The stock get more of it there and in
a more palata BILE shape than in any
other.
How the Silo Helps.
But the man who makes the great
est success will always have a silo
and put all the corn he wants to feed
into it, and thus save more Of it than
in any other way. Read what Mr..
]. w. Robinson says: ''if l had to
give up silage, I'd give up stock"
That is just what I said long ago,
when | was storing 600 tons a year.
In fact if l were to go back to stock
raising. the first thing / would build
would be silO or two. I had three
when last managing a stock farm
Every now and then some one writes
IN the papers advocating the raising
of beets as a winter feed. / have done
that, too, and found that the beets
cost me three times as much to grow.
as the silage, and far more trouble
to store and feed, while they are not
bit better than the silage as feed.
The Demand for Good Butter.
Prof Archibald Smith we'll says
that families paying 35 cents a pound
for Elgin butter would rather pay the
same for homemade butter of SINH
lar quality. But I have seen men
from the country who called then1-
selves farmers, going around our
towns with an old tin bucket covered
with piece Of cotton from some old
garment, and asking the merchants if
they wanted any butter. And they
invariably told them no, while they
were at the same time sending off Or
Gera for Fox River butter. They knew
The sort of grease that was in that old
tin, and were not buying grease.
Years ago lady wrote to me that
she had fine Jersey cows out in the