Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-09-23
OUR BEEF SUPPLY.
The Possibilities with Intensive
Farming and Smaller Ranges.

Throughout the whole cattle coun-
try of the West and Southwest con-
troversy is raging as to the effect of
splitting up the great ranges into
smaller holdings. Many who should
be we'll able TO judge maintain that
the division of the ranges intaasmali
farms has caused steady decrease
in the supply of American cattle, but
the truth of this statement is disputed
by some Of the large ranch owners OF
Texas who find that the industry in
their state was never in more pros
perous condition than 1t is at pres
ent. One Texan authority on the
subject says that the vest pocket
ranchmen," as be calls them, are now
raising more cattle to the acre than
ever before in the history of that part
of the country. and they can do this
because they can put UP the forage in
silos, which lie things is the solution
of the cattle problem. On the one
hand we have the meat packers pre-
dieting that the supply Of cattle will
soon be insufficient TO feed the people
of this country, and on the other hand
we have the statements from cattle
that the Western farmer will produce
plenty of live stock If he can get fair
share If the price which the ultimate.
consumer pays.
This has been a summer Of extreme.
dryness Throughout the country that
lies between the Mississippi and the
Rocky Mountains, south of the Mssis
souri, River. As a large part of the
cattle that reach the markets Of Kan
sas City, Omaha and Chicago come
from this section of the country or are
fed IN it, after being brought down
from the mountain manages. the outlook
for deer meat is rather formidable from
the point of view of the city dweiler
The suggestion that the silo will solve
the problem Of maintaining a supply of
beef cattle seems to be very well con-
ceiVed. In a section of the country
that is tile natural home of Indian corn
and where il grows to its greatest per
fection there can be ne doubt about the
success of preserving ii in silos for cat
lie feed throughout the year. As a silo
is ret very costly it would pay he far
mefs CT the Southwest to build them,
even if they did not put them in use
every year though there is no doubt
that once tested they would never be
abandoned. In some parts Of Pennsyl-
|vania. northern New York and through
out the province of Ontario in Canada
both dairying and beef raising farmers
haze used silos for more than quar-
ter of a century In these sections
corn does not thrive as well as In Kan
sas. Nebraska and oklahoma, but the
| farmers of the North are able to feed
| from four TO six times as many head
of cattle by preserving the corn plant
in silos as they could by any other
method of feeding that they have ever
tried.
Corn is cut in the fields, chopped
into short lengths. and packed in the
silo so firmly that the air is practi-
cally kept from circulating through
the mass. Then acid fermentation
sets up and the stalks, leaves and
partly matured cobs are softened and
at the same time are preserved very
much as sauerkraut is kept in bar
rel This forms very nutritious food
| for cattle and it can be supplemented
! by rations Of grain and other feed
when finishing cattle for the markets.
3, The ensilage will keep for a year or
more and it is now the practice in the
dairynss districts of the North where
! slos are used to feed the cattle ON
ensilage throughout the year. The
| cattle are turned out on pasture fields
more for the purpose of giving them
fresh air and exercise than for the
feed that they get in that way. the