The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1914-04-03
THE SILO IN
SOUTHWEST LOUISIt Ma.


McBurney OF Welsh to give us his ex-
per!enCe and best judgment on the
Silo proposition and he has very kindly
consented to do so. Mr.. MCBurney is
one OF the largest and most successful
ralSerS CT registered Poiied Angus
in the Southwest and what he says Of
the the SilO and the possibilities in stock:
raising in this section ought to be Of
profit to this section Of LOUISIANA
where everything is so favorable to
this particular line of industry.
His interview follows
Concerning the SilO | will say from
my experience and from the conditions
that confront the farmers here, | think
every farmer in the rice belt should
have a SilO, the size depending upon
the amount of feed needed to care for
the live stock he owns.
All through the north they are using
the silo exclusively where conditions
are such that they can easily cure
their hay and other products for
roughneSS. In this country it is very
hard to cure hay, corn fodder or any
kind of foliage Of this nature, on az
count of the dampnesS of our climate.
THE government has made and is
still making experiments trying to per-
feet steam heated device adapted To
this climate for the drying Of various
kinds of grasses in few hours in order
to save the product in proper condition.
A device of this kind costs several
thousand dollars and the average
farmer can't afford to own one-neither
can the average farmer afford to Pay
from $4,000 to $500 per ton for mixed
feeds the bulk Of which is often made
from grasses cured in this way, when
feed of greater value can be grown
and saved at tome at a very low cost.
There is nothing hard to understand
about keeping Of feed in. a SilO, the
principal being the same as the canning
of fruits or vegetables. Neither is
there anything hard to understand
about the building of silo. The state
and government are doing everything
in their power to encourage the use Of
the silo. If anyone wishes to erect a
silo the government will furnish all the
details, telling the exact cost of ma
terial. Ii concrete Silo is to. be built
they will furnish all the information
necessary, telling the exact amount Of
each material used, the exact cost laid
down at your station, and will furnish
a man free to personally Superintend
the building of the silo. The state has
sent man, Mr.. Perkins, who is now
located at Lake Charles and will he
more than willing to furnish any infoF.
nation asked. This shows that the
State heartily endorses the Silo. Every
banker in the rice belt will furnish
money to any responsible party to
build a silo, and is doing everything
possible to encourage Their patrons
along this line. showing the bankers
heartily iRdorse the building Of siloS.
Last year built silo twelve feet
in diameter by twenty-four feet high.
1t holds about fifty ton of insilage. 1
didn't know anything about building
a Silo-never had seen one and had no
idea what the feed would be like, but
wanted to try it. built the fouR-
dation out of cinderS and cement and
bought the slaves from the Taught
Lumber Company, the whole cost be-
f, ing about $175O0.
Filling it was simple process. Our
cutter cost $146.O0 delivered. Several
| farmers can use the same cutter. The
time for cutting corn for insilage is
when the ear is well glazed and the
lower leaves begin to turn light
colored. Three men cutting the corn
in the field will supply the cutter nicely
| II requires about six wagons to handle
the fodder, with one man to feed the
cutter and one man in the Silo To
properly distribute and pack the con-
tents. 1t is very important to have
the contents well leveled and packed
firmly, especially around the edges, to
exclude the air, thus keeping the insit-
age in perfect condition.
IAN outfit as mentioned above will
handle from 80 to so tons of fodder per
day, the cost of handling being less
than the husking of the corn grown ON
the same land, and demonstrations
have proven that the corn stalks and
fodder in the silo is worth more for
feed than the corn in the crib, SO an
acre of corn in the silo is worth two
| in the crib at less cost. An acre OF