Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-04-07

Those of course. who hold the idea that
they would like to use more than one
form of nitrogen can crafty their wish
BY using some blood, tankage or fish
scrap along with the cotton seed meal.
Questions of this character, however
should be determined largely by the
relative ease with which the various
materials can be obtained and the cost
of the same. While the use of cot
ton seed meal as fertilizer rather
than a foOdstuff is to be deplored, still
il constitutes one of the most impor-
tant and desirable carriers of nitrogen
available to the farmers of the south
at fairly reasonable prices under exist
ing conditions. Therefore, it should be
given very careful consideration, be-
cause, after all, il is a by-product or
the farm and combines well with such
materials as are available to provide
the most satisfactory rations which the
farmer can hope to use in 1916 in the
absence of potash salts.
CHOPPED OATS AS A CALF FOOD.
correspondent Of Greenfield. Tenn,
writes: What is meant by chopped Oatsf
have been told that whole oats are not good
for young calves account of the bulls.
In feeding shelled or threshed oats shGul9
wholes How high should the trough De from
the ground?
BY chopped oats I mean oats which
are very coarsely ground or only run
through the burs once. This breaks
the husk but leaves the oat in coarse
condition and thereby requires very
complete masticatiOL on the part of the
animal consuming 1t. Personally,
have seen whole oats fed to young
calves for long periods Of time without
any injury whatsoever. The calves
should of course be watered little
while before eating oats, as the only
Injurious results L have seen from eat
ing whole oats is a few cases OF bloat-
ing due to the calves eating the oats and
then drinking water. For calves, now
ever. l believe 1 would like to grind or
chop them as indicated above.
The trough should of course be eight
cen inches from the ground and should
have a rail running around ii, say four
to six inches high, to keep the oats from
being knocked out on the ground.
Where one has no silage the best
method to practice is to run the coarse
dry feed through a cutting box, add a
little salt and moisten by sprinkling
with water. Let this stand for a few
hours before feeding. For instance,
prepare the nights feed in the morning.
Then scatter the grain over the mass Of
feed. This gets rid of the dust in the
coarse feed and also increases its pal
atability. The dry feed is best placed
in a rack where the animal can pick 1t
over at will In the days before the
silo thousands of farmers followed this
| method Of feeding and management and
| were able to make beef economically and
maintain breeding stock very satisfac-
| tel lily.
| FOOD AND FERTILIZER VALUE OF
VELVET BEANS.
A
| varieties Of velvet beans were raised in this
county in 1915 and the yield was bountiful.
qualities ana some have been crushed in
the pod. The grist is eaten by cows, horses
and hogs with avidity. What are the posi-
| bilities Of velvet bean meal as fertilizer?
Please give the accurate values of the vel
| vet bean In nitrogen and potash. Will the
| velvet bean meal ever have food and fer
| tilfzer value rivaling cotton seedg
1t is gratifying to learn of the success
you have had in cultivating velvet beans
/ in Tattnall county. and it Is to be hoped
/ that you will extend the cultivation of
Il this important soil building crop in the
/ immediate future. Through the medium
Of the velvet bean you can enrich your
soils materially and obtain, not only hay
OF considerable value as a food, but a
very considerable quantity of grain, as
you have already demonstrated, is OF
/ great value in the nutrition of the sew
eral classes of live stock kept on the
average farm. You will find the velvet
bean a tower of strength to you when
the boil weevil invades your section OF
| the state. You should therefore give II
a permanent place in any crop rotation
system adopted in Tattnall county.
For your information l will say that
not as much is know about the velvet
| bean as should be. The seed, however
contains ISL per cent digestible protein
sos per cent digestible carbohydrates
and SO per cent of digestible fat When
the seed and pods are ground together
they are found to contain 14.1 per cent
of digestible protein, 51.9 per cent of
/ digestible carbohydrates and 3.S per cent
digestible fat.
/ Cowpeas contain about 1914 per cent
digestible protein. Navy beans 1873 pei