The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1915-04-22

excerpts from aspeech made by Nj
Parmley before a settlers meeting at
Ipswich, South Dakota. which con-
tains SO much common sense that it
deserves republication, especially
as the conditions referred to as exist
ing in South Dakota prevail over much
of the territory under development in
the semi-arid west.-EditOr.D
The greatest mistake We ever made
in South Dakota was turning too much
of the native sod wrong side up for
the number of men We had to till il.
Had We signed promises to pay for
cows instead of plows. fewer people
would have precipitately left in the
moonlight and your profit and loss en-
velope would not have assumed such
plethoric dimensions. But we were in
hurry to get rich and could not wait
for the slower but more certain meth.
cd OF marketing natures abundance of
rich grass on foot or through the
cream can.
Il have never seen "A time when will.
ordinary industry we could not provide
feed right of the native sward for
twice as much stock as we raised. The
worst knockout we ever saw was in
1911, but we lived through ii, and the
man with a reasonable amount OF stock
made money. That memorable year
is fresh in mcmory-especially to the
man whose grain acres were spoken
for in four figures. Its lesson burnt
deep and to that same year of our
Lord, 1911. and to its experience
want to pay my respects this after
noon. In coming years 1t will be green
for In that year the speaker put in his
first silO
"Since the day of the Buffalo he had
seen the uncertainties of grain farm
ing as well as the profits of stock rails
ing and the silo, but was to learn by
actual experience the bitter lesson of
1911. and the anti-dote l am not going
to tell you about the silo in Wisconsin
and how 1t made the state with soil
inferior to ours, one Of the richest In
the Union. or to repeat the experiences
of the planter in Louisiana with his
cane. corn and cotton seed, but to tell
you what has been done and can be
done right here in the northern part
Of South Dakota-your field of opera
ton.
I'm 1911. with surface cultivators
and mower wheels kept down the
weeds and kept up the little moisture
we had in 800 acres of corn, but 1t was
mighty poor stuff When I saw it was
not going to mature l offered enough
OF 1t to fill a silo to any farmer who
would put one up. When filling mine
Of 100 tons the cutter surprised us by
handling the corn more rapidly than
our seven teams would bring 1t from
the field. II there is any one thing that
CRATES on my nerves it is to see men
standing around andwaiting for the
bundle teams or for some one to tell
them what to do.
Russian Thistles
Il had ten acres Of alfalfa handy
and put mower and rake in 1t and
run 1t in with the corn. Even then the
silo was not full. Only the person of
experience can speak of the Unsuitable,
nav of the silo. Between the alfalfa
and the corn was a row of Russian
Thistles-some of them four or five
feet across-of late growth and still
full of moisture. l sent the mower
down the row and we ran in about Is
tons of these.
Along in January when nature was
calling for something other than straw
and hay and artesian water, the stock
ate the corn, alfalfa and thistle silaee
and didn't hear any of them kick a.
bout a few thistles. In fact they SEEM
ed to enjoy the thistles Just about as
well in the winter as in the summer,
and you all know how they will leave
native grass to eat the thistles on the
firebreak.
But am not advocating raising
thistles for silage. l don't think we
will find any thing better than corn
corn with the lower leaves dead-well
dented. run in all of that your silo will
hold, but If still room then anything
that is green. Follow common sense
and the experience of those who have
been in the silo game and you will
win.
"1t's the fellow who has never had
silo who will caution you about
freezing, about cutting the corn at
just the right time or it won't do, or
about feeding too much, or feeding it
to brood mares. A year ago I fed it
to brood mares. l have twenty mares
in foal now and the only feed they