Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-04

on the subject until Mr.. Brown backed
up Lees judgment as to the likes and
with his scythe, for the brush and
stumps made it impractical to use
moving machine. The weather favor
ed him and he cut and cured three tons
of that hay. The NOW of our barn IL
too small to be of much account. but
Lee hauled the hay to the barnyard
and stacked il carefully against the
coming of rain.
From the meadow along the creek
and in the orchard we have cut an
other ton of hay. and next week we are
going to cut an acre of oats lin the
milk" The oats was sowed q nurse
crop for grass and isn't thick, but we
ought to get at least a ton OF good
hay from the acre. With five tons of
hay and the fodder from three acres of
corn, it would seem l ought to make
considerable impression on the winter
feed bill.
Nor is this all. Both in the cornfield
and in the garden. at the final cultiva-
tons. | am going to SOW crimson clo-
yer and winter rye. Primarily this
will be for blowing under next spring
to put organic matter in the soil, but IL
next winter is as open as last winter
was ii will furnish lot of grazing
for our live stock and green feed for
the chickens.
Trying Some Experiments.
l have several pieces of ground. some
of which has not been used at all and
others from which peas and other early
crops came. which I call my expert
mental plots. They range in size from
fifty feet square to quarter OF an
acre. and on them ] am trying all sorts
of things. This. to me. is one of the
chief sources of fun in farming. and
now that l have a man to do the hard
work part of it l am going to make
the most of the opportunity.
On one of the largest pieces l have
alfalfa. I'm inclined to think this ex-
pertinent is not going to be bowling
success. for the ground was too foul
with weeds The alfalfa is up all right,
but the weeds are upper and it
doesn't look as if the alfalfa has a
chance to come first under the wire.
When 1t comes to race between grow
ing things the one that is useful al
ways is at disadvantage against the
useless one. Whether 1t rains too much
or doesn't rain at all, the weather Is
bound to suit the weeds better than 1t
suits the crop you are trying to grow
in opposition Next spring I am going
to take a clean piece of ground which
has been a part of the garden for two
years and give alfalfa a trial under
more favorable conditions.
On another of my experimental plots
I am growing kaffir corn. to be cut
tional winter roughage for the cows.
There isn't enough of 1t to have any
great bearing on the winter feed prob
lem, but II the cows like il and it
seems to be a milk maker, I'll grow
| more of 1t next year. Kaffir will thrive
with less rainfall than almost any 9TH
| or crop. In the semi-arid regions of
| the west 1t is grown extensively for
| the making of silage. but 1 have not
| been able to get any reliable data as
feeding
| Because of its drought resisting quail
ties and the fact that 1t is an enormous
producer. the experiment seems espe-
cially worth trying. Maybe I'll dis
while to the dairyman of this part OF
the country.
Root Crops for the Cows.
One thing I am doing which is not
| done generally by dairymen hereabouts
| but which is of proved value. is to
grow root crops for my cows. Be-
tween my rows of small fruit and in
other available places 1 have planted
| mangels and carrots. If the crop is a
| good one. and so far everything Ger.
tainly has been in its favor, 1 ought to
| have enough roots to half fill my ice
| less icehouse. In addition to these,
| am going to broadcast white turnip.
where the sweetcorn comes of. These
I will leave in the ground. pulling then
| for use as needed in the late fall ane
early winter.
| The roots, figure. will give the COW.
| plenty of succulent food the winter
| through, when no other green stuff il
to be had, and there isn't any doub
that both their health and their mill
| flow will be improved thereby. Ever!
agricultural college and experiment sta
ton breaches the value of root crop:
| for dairy cows. and the surprising thine
! is that SO few dairymen practice feed
ing them. They do it on the fine farmi
| where record-mak king cows are kept
but the average commercial dairymar
doesn't seem to care for the extrs
profit.
Where silage is made and fed roo
crops are less essential. but expert
ments show that even with silage the.
are a valuable supplemental feed. /
ever I reach the point of keeping fou
cows instead of two, 1 am going Il
| have a silo. Small ones which will fer
ment and keep silage perfectly ma,
now be had at a very reasonable price
and it no longer is necessary for tn