The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1913-10-16

Am 1 doing as well with my COVE
ASH ought Am / producing milk as
economically as / might? Is 1t pos
sible. with such feed as silage. my
COWS may be kept In n more healthful
condition. because this feed having In
II tho natural juices makes II more
eaeily digested and a COW Ia able TO
de more and better work.
Many farmers who have recently
built silos and many who did not build
are asking themselves the above Ques-
lions. and we'll they may. Those who
have built and have good sllage are
now getting their eyes opened. and
those that have no silos are now be-
ginning to see the handwriting on
the wall"
A natural feed OF this character
which has the natural juices all re-
tanned In II keeps the digestive organs
OF the animal in a cool. laxative condi-
tion and permits US to feed moro
heavily Of other feeds, and thus, we
are able to increase her capacity for
producing milk In a far greater degree.
Experience has taught me many
things about the silo. When | put up
my first one / was taught that almost
anything would do for a silo, and that
almost anything could be put In 1t.
The first year l planted a late matur-
Ing corn that grew and grew as though
IL had all the time In the world to get
ripe in. and when the time came for
the silo filing it was scarcely In good
roasting ear condition.
OF stun In a very acid condition that
had to be fed In a very limited way
TO keep the cows from securing and
getting of feed This was certainly
discouraging; but a man who makes a
success with cows must have grit
enough to meet discouragements.
] found out that year that to have
good silage ! must plant a kind OF
corn that would mature early and get
1t out in time so that It could mature
that i had better sacrifice some on
quantity. and have better quality. From
that year the silo has been filed with
the same kind OF corn that was raised
for field purposes. and there has never
yet been n single failure.
There is no secret having good.
sweet silage--just plain, common sense.
First the silo must be made In such
a way as to exclude all the air. Then
too. the foundation must be good, to
prevent settling and cracking. The
material used may be either wood,
stone. brick or cement Iron or steel
cannot be used. as the moisture and
acid In the silage would soon rust
through.
All stone, cement, brick silos. etc.
must be reinforced with wire or rods
TO insure strength. wood silo made
rough Is. OF course, strengthened by
the hoops. and that is the only kind
that would be built OF wood.
The size OF tho sllo, OF course. de-
pend on the amount Of stock you wish
TO carry as certain amount must be
fed each day to keep the top layer
from spelling. and the deeper the bet
ter. as each added foot gives added
weight to the silage and helps to make
1t moro solid and exclude the air.
II silo is made too large In dlamo-
ter, and this believe to be a worry fire.
quent error. one OF two things will
happen-either the sllage will be
mofdy all the time, owing to the inabil-
ity to feed It down rapidly enough, or
else the cows will be fed more than
they should have, In an attempt to
keep ahead OF the molding.
strongly favor the use OF good
silage in summer to hold the cows to
their'work and not allow them to shirk
in the milk flow during the short pas
ture Of July and August. think many
COWS may be made to add 70 per cent
TO their years production by tiding
them over this period. ! have tried
soiling. but never found anything so
cheap. so good and so convenient as
a we'll filed silo. A few feet In the
bottom Of deep sllo will 20 a long
way for summer use and there tho
conditions are most favorable for the
preserving of the sIlage, as the enor.
nous weight OF the silage I'm deep
sil0 has compacted II, and it's being
down near tho bottom away from the
circulation Of the air helps very mate
rally In It's preservation
The quality OF the silage may be
materially bettered by using care In
taking IT out. Don't put the fork down
FIVE or six inches deep, as though you
we're pitching manure, but use a fork
with tines close together and skim on
the top. only loosening what you need
for the days feeding
Keep the surface level, and perhaps
a little lower near the outer walls.
Sllage cannot be handled as careless.
" az ordinary roughage. The COWS
In eating Will sometimes throw some
out OF the managers and some may be
scattered in feeding unless you are
very careful If this is allowed TO re-
mein there u VIII soon cause bad
odor The man that uses the broom
freely along TIE feed alleys Is the one
that has a sweet smelling stabie--a
conditisn worth while. for milk takes
up foreign odor with surprising
fapi0ity, and unless yerythlng IS
swcst sInelling the milk will tell It.
and eventually ito customer will End
Il oft 50 tsha his trade eiseybero.