Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-08-01
be successful if you persist.
THE FORAGE CROP rRosnzx.

very much interested in the raising OF
forage, as keep several head of young
cattle, and as this has been an exceed
ingly dry season hay crop has been al
most failure, SO I am put to it to
know what 1 am to do for forage for
next winter. Would a corn shredder be
PORTABLE in north Georgia, where we
raise only a small amount of corn?
How much shredded slower would 80
bushels of corn to the acre make ?
What is the value of shredded stovel
as compared with timothy or red top?
Is there a market for shredded slower?
What do you estimate it to cost to
shred corn? l.aal
The drouth in certain sections of the
state has undoubtedly cut down the
forage crops very materially so that
the supply of rough feed for next win
ter will be limited unless farmers take
active steps to overcome the shortage
by planting all the forage crops posi-
bic. 1t is not too late yet to sow cow
peas In many localities, and certainly
millet or corn and sorghum sown broad
cast will yet mature sufficiently to
make excellent hay. These crops may
be sown with safety in many sections
as late as August I. corn shredder
should prove a profitable investment
where one has considerable acreage to
handle. OF course. the shredder may
be rented out to other farmers or sew
eral might buy one comparatively. We
have had considerable experience in the
operation of these machines and have
found them quite satisfactory. The
purchase price is of course rather high,
and like all other machinery they wear
out but the life of a shredder should
be 10 to IL years, and where 1t is given
good care 1T may last much longer.
The shredder cleans the shucks from
the corn quite completely. Once in a
while an ear comes through which has
not been perfectly husked, and of
course. a few ears are broken and there
is some shelled corn, but not large
amount in proportion to the totaI
amount passing through the machine.
We have found the larger types of ma
chimes more satisfactory than the
smaller ones in so far as perfection of
work is concerned. OF course. it takes
more power to operate a larger ma
chine. and since a few shucks on the
ears is not objectionable, one mus
choose between the larger type and bet-
ter work and the smaller type and less
power. A crop that will yield 80 BUSH
els OF corn should ordinarily yield a ton
and a half Of stover. It is probable
that the stover will not turn out SO
heavy this year as In seasons where
there is more rainfall.
A good quality Of clean, bright
shredded slower which has not been
damaged by the weather compares fair
ly well in feeding value with timothy
or red top hay We know this to be a
fact from experiments conducted with
cows and other classes OF live stock
On the college farm we have USED
shredded slower largely as winter
roughness for our work stock and we
feed 1t right along to our cows as d
dry roughness supplementary to silage.
/ think there is good market for
shredded slower In most sections or
Georgia and that 1t will bring from 81
to $12 ton. At this price If It has
been properly made and preserved 1t is
cheaper relatively than timothy ano
mixed hay imported from the west. \
can not say just what it would cost to
operate a shredder per day, as we have
no data on this subject The cost
would depend largely on the amount or
corn put through the machine. This is
a factor which would be determined by
the character OF soil on which the crop
was grown, so 1t would not be possible
to make a very close estimate in this
respect