Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-07-02

G0Io(6O 08 00COIO SAoo ~
October II. 1903. at the postoffice, OF
tumwa, Iowa, under the ACT OF So'i-
\ gress Of March 8. 1879.
Foreign representatives: Cone, LOT
en5en & Woodman, Steger buliutns s;,
Chicago: 2z5 Fifth Ave-. ne" i'A
City.
WASTE IN CORN BELT.
One Of the greatest, If not the great
est. waste in any single industry IN
this country is made with the corn
crop. This declaration is made by n.
M. Cottrell, agricultural commissioner
on one of the great trans-cont1nental
railroad lines, whose work throws MIN
into constant touch with the farmers.
The grain of the annual corn crop
OF the United States, says Mr.. Cottreii,
A worth on the farms one ana nan
billion dollars In a ripe corn plant
so per cent of the feed value Is con-
tanned in the kernels and 40 per cent
In the stalk and leaves. with me
grain worth on the farms one ana hali
billion dollars, the feed value OF me
rest of the crop, If fully utilized, Is
billion dollars. At least 80 per cent
OF the feed value of the stalk Is los'
under the present system OF 1arm nlan-
aeement-al waste with this crop alone
Of nine hundred million dollars year
". No other business but farming
could stand such an enormous LOSS
Continuing Mr.. Cottrell says:
IN the New England and the mldoie
states most of the stalks are sayeu
"a fodder, and there are also many
silos hut With the damage from wealth
erfnz the waste in handling and the
loss In digestibility from drying. the
farmers are very far from utilizing
the full feed value of the corn stalk.
n the corn belt, where the bulk OF the
CROP is raised, comparatively rev
corn growers harvest the stalks, ana
tha only returns most of them secure
from the forage is by pasturing the
dead stalks In the cold and storms OF
winter.
Contrast this waste by the corn
grower with the practices of large
business organizations. For years the
ereat packing houses have sold dress
al meat for less than they have pald
4 mr. tine live weight of the animals
from which the dressed meat was Sc
cnred., Yet every year these packing
houaes return millions OF dollars pro-
Afr because they utilize to the fullest
extant the value of their by-products
ina standard OIL Co., takes crude OIL
into it's refining plants. puts II
through costly processes, using appa'
ratus that requires an outlay or mil
lions. pays freight and delivers the
Kerosene and gasoline direct to con.
sumers at q lower rate than is asked
for mineral water. where the only
expense Is to run the water through
: nine from the spring into bottle.
The Standard Oil Co., is doing this
and making more money than any
other large corporation because 1t
,,tilizee all waste and all residue pro-
duced In refining. On one Of the large
railway systems of the United States,
every night the empty envelopes that
have held the days mail In the gener'
al Offices are collected, baled and sold.
This Is only one example of the close
economy that is pract1ced AT the
same time the corn growers are vast
ing most Of 40 per cent Of the feed
value Of over one hundred million
acres OF corn.
The silo provides the corn grower
with the means for utilizing the larg
est proportion of the feed value OF his
entire crop, grain and forage. The
whole crop can be stored economically
In the silo in compact form, with
little waste The silage can be kept for
DAYS. months or years. or feeding
may begin as soon as filling the sllo
is completed The silo can be filled IN
good weather, when 1t Is raining, or
In times Of extreme drought and hot
winds Silage Is a good feed daily, both
In winter and summer. 1t may be FED
daily through the winter. sWhen grass
Is ready In the spring, the feed that
remains In the silo can be covered and
will keep we'll until needed when the
summer drought comes. Silage furn-
ishes q green, succulent, appetizing
feed through the winter, the same as
grass through the summer. 1t keeps
the animals system in as good condi-
tion as when the stock lie, on good
pasture, and feeds given with It are
better digested when fed with dry
forage. -
corn. Milo and sorghum follow, their
value being in the order mentioned.
broom corn, after brush has been
harvested, is used successfully around
T.iberal. Kas Green peavines and
husks and cobs from the canning FAC
tories make good material to put In
the sflo. IN CONTINUOUS rainy Wedtuer
alfalfa. clover and other hay crops
may be saved in good condition in
the silo. Any solid-stemmed food plant
will make good silage, If harvested at
the right stage of growth. Plants with
hollow stems, like green wheat and
rye, make silage that Is unsatisfactory.
Every live stock growing district In
the United States needs the s1lo. the
general use of the silo Will make the
high-priced small farms OF the corn
belt profitable growers, as well as
finishers. of beef cattle and mutton
sheen The vast dry farming sections
Of the Southwest will be as thickly
settled with comfortable farm homes
as ia the northern corn belt whenever
dairying. drought-resistant forage
crops and the silo system Of farming
f,lyoXvod instead If grain farming