The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-11-05
that SIL0 TRAIN
Farmers Come Many Miles to
Hear Gospel Of Experts.
Rotation Of Crops and Silage Ii
Advice Given Them.

Spivey. Kan. Nov. (On Board
Kansas Agricultural College-Santa Fe
"Silo and Live Stock Speciar)-
There is a remedy for the unearthly
working hours on Kansas farms-at
least in southwestern Kansas. Farm
ers who nearly kill themselves in
summer caring for q wheat crop and
then have little or nothing to do the
remainder of the year are engaged in
a wrong system OF farming. Plant
fewer acres to wheat; raise more Hive
stock. and grow more dr6uth-resist-
ant kaf1r, milo, and feterita. Then
the farm hours will be more adapted
to humans. and the agriculture of this
section will be on . permanent basis.
If several thousand farmers in
southwest Kansas aren't converted to
that system of farming this week the
"silO and live stock special operated
by the Kansas Agricultural college
and Santa Fe railroad will have been
run in vain. For that is the doctrine
expounded on this train. And the
lectures are telling in plain words
what ails farming in southwest Kan
sas.
We're not here to discourage
wheat growing" said H. M. Banner,
agricultural demonstration for the
Santa Fe. but we want to encour-
age you to grow other crops, and live
stock with it. Grow live stock. raise
some sorghum crops for silage, and
by rotating crops and manuring you
can get just as much wheat on fewer
acres. besides having a dependable
income from live stock in bad wheat
years. You've got to come to that
sooner or later, for it is the only per-
manent system of agriculture for this
region. So. in the words of the re-
vival leader, Why not now ?"
Don't talk silos to me-" said H.
w. Skinner of Medicine Lodge, who
has some 5000 cattle. II have ab.:ut
ting up silage this week at the rate
of 200 tons a day. I'm a convert.
Talk to these other fellows"
Eighteen hundred dollars for silo
full of feed was the price Lutte Chaplin
Of Zenda got last week. Chaplin was
offered $500 for his crop in the field.
He refused, built a big silo for $500,
$500 on his investment.
You can't keep farmers at home
when there's a silo show in town-not
Kansas farmers. Nineteen hundred
and fifty of them drove through a
cold, drizxling rain down in southwest
Kansas to hear lectures about silos
and live stock by experts from the
Kansas Agricultural college AID from
the agricultural department of the
Santa Fe. The "silo and live stock
six-day tour of this part Of the state.
They just would hear about silos,
in spite Of pneumonia weather. At
every one Of the nine stops a crowd
of 100 to $50 waited shivering on the
platform. Thirty-minute lectures
were given in warm coaches. after
which the crowd was invited to in
spect the silo models and silage cut
ting machinery which are shown on
flat cars. The train stopped at God
dard, Cheney. Kingman, Rago, Har-
per, Anthony, Attica, Medicine Hpdge
and Belvidere.
It's q com bination system OF farm
ing that southwest Kansas needs, the
experts said-silos and live stock in
stead of grain farming alone. In fact
the lecturers will deal death blows to
grain alone" farmers all week. That
kind of farming Is uncertain and it
depletes the soil, farmers were told.
On board the special are E. c. John
son, superintendent Of institutes at the
Agricultural college: A. s. Neale, in
charge OF silo constructions; H. M.
Banner. agricultural demonstrator for
the Santa Fe; Lee H. Gould, district
farm demonstration agent along the
Santa Fe lines: Fred Vandegrift of the
Santa Fe publicity department; L. r.
Bacon. assistant general colonization
agent. who is in charge Of the train;
and Grant Harrington, secretary to
Governor Hodges. Today the train
will run from Eng1eWOod to Spivev