Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-06-14

age. On account of their superiority
to corn as drought-resisting crops
they are more commonly grown in
those regions of the West where the
rainfall is too light or irregular for
good growth of corn. 1t is important
that the sorghums be harvested at
the proper stage of maturity if the
best results are to be secured. A mix
ture of corn and sorghum has proved
satisfactory in some localities where
the rainfall was so variable as to
make the corn crop uncertain.
Glover can be used successfully as
silage crop yielding palatable
product high in protein, but it is pref
cradle to make it into hay, or the sill
age made from clover, as from other
legumes, has an Objectionable odor,
necessitating particular care in feed
ing to avoid tainting the milk. 1t
does not pack so we'll as corn, so
great care should be exercised in the
tramping of the silage at the time of
filling, and the depth of the silo
should also receive particular atten-
ton. Glover should be chopped be-
fore SLIDING as matter of convent
ence in feeding and also to secure
more thorough packing, although it
can be placed in the silo without chop
ping. Glover should be harvested
when in full bloom and some of the
first heads are dead.
COwpeas, Alfalfa and Soy Beans.
Cowpeas, alfalfa and soy beans can
be successfully made into silage by
exercising the same precautions as
with clover. They should be cut at
the same time as for haymaking.
However. it is ordinarily preferable,
as with clover, to make them into hay
rather than silage. The lamentations
which take place in silage made of le-
gumes cause greater loss of nutri-
tive material than with corn silage.
Corn husks and pea vines from can
ming factories, beet pulp, and other
by-products are also used in scertain
localities for filling the silo.
Corn for the silo can be cut either
by hand or by machine. Hand cutting
is practiced on farms where the
amount of corn to be harvested is
so small as to make the expense OF
purchasing a corn harvester too great
to justify its use. Hand cutting. is
slow and laborious, and there are
probably few localities now where the
purchase of harvester would not be
a profitable investment.
There are on the, market several
makes of silage cutters that will give
satisfaction. The capacity of the ma
chine to be purchased is an important
consideration which should not be. ov-
mako Tho mis-
take of getting cutter which is too
small thus making the operation OF
filing the silo very slow and interfer-
ing with the continuous employment
of the entire force of men. 1t is bet
ter to get machine large enough, so
that every one will be able to keep
busy all the time. The larger cutters
are equipped with self-feeders,
labor-saving device which the smaller
sizes lack
The usual length of cutting varies
from one-half to one inch. The latter
is considered a little too long, since
pieces of this length will neither pack
so closely in the silo nor be so COM
pletely consumed when fed as will the
shorter length. On the other hand,
the longer the pieces the more rap
idly can the corn be run through the
cutter.
In case the corn has become too dry
or ripe before it is put into the silo,
water should be added to supply the
deficiency of moisture necessary to
make the silage pack properly. I'm
less it is we'll packed the siiage will
"fire-fang" or deteriorate through the
growth of mould. Enough water
should be added to restore the mois-
ture content of the corn to what 1t
| would be if cut at the proper stage.
The water may be added by running
directly into the silo by means OF
hose or by running through the
blower. 1t is claimed that by running
| it into the blower the water is more
thoroughly mixed with the cut corn.