Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-08-08
THE ADVANTAGE OF A SILO

to conclude that 500 silos were built
in Georgia last year, and of course.
good number were built in each of the
southern states. The writer has yet TO
learn of any individual who built a silo
under expert advice and according to
approved plans who is not delighted with
IL. 1t is true that one must make some
investment in machinery for handling
the silage. but as the crop can be stored
in comparatively few days and can
be produced with a minimum of labor,
il is no more costly TO handle and place
in the silo than IL would be to harvest
and cure as hay and dispose of by the
labOrious methods followed in the past.
Now. Mr.. Farmer, what are you going
to do about the silo proposition this
summer? If you are keeping ten cows
or more you should arrange to build
structure varying in size according to
your needs and capable of holding from
so up to $50 tons. Every farmer who
starts out to build a silo always thinks
he is making the structure too large and
that he has invested more money in
IL than Is wise and proper. In a col
lege experience of twenty-three years
/ do not know of a single farmer who
has ever built too large a silo. Prac-
tically every man who uses one soon
or four. If you make your silo twice
as big as you originally planned, it will
not be two years before you will wish
you had a larger one. While the writer
would advise the use of a cheap or tenn
pOrary form of silo for the sake of get
ting II introduced and letting the far
mers appreciate the value and merit or
silage. ii can not be regarded as the best
or safest kind of an investment because
10 iii uhn 1xr tn . rpnlaCp0.
a little more money a permanent type
Of structure good for many years can
be erected and will naturally prove the
most economical investment in the long
run.
MAKING HAY FROM SUDAN GRASS.
z w L. Townsville, Ca, writes; What
is the best grass for a hay crOpl Is there
anything better than Sudan grass? This
grass tends to rust with US IN wet weather,
especially the second cutting. We make
hay Of oats and cowpeas, but would be
glad 10 have a summer grass for hay also.
If Sudan grass does at all we'll in
your section, ii is likely to prove one
Of the most desirable crops to grow
for hay. for if seeded thickly on soil
of fair fertility, IL makes a fine stalk
and a hay which is we'll relished by live
stock The hay is equal in feeding val
ue to Johnson grass, and therefore, to
Timothy and other standard hay grasses
grown extensively in the northern states.
We have not had any trouble with
Sudan grass rusting here on the college
farm, and your complaint with refer
ence to this matter is the first one to
come to our attention. Presumably, the
extremely wet weather Of last two weeks
accounts for this trouble, and possibly
after this cutting is made you will not
have a repetition Of the experience
81 rn-hf Or
its ton has been excessive in the last
few days and the warm weather has
tended to favor the development Of
rust spores
You should be able to grow German
'millet or Hungarian grass to good adj
vantage in your section. This crop only
takes from so to 80 days to mature ard
in a favorable season might even be cut
twice We have often planted an early
maturing variety Of cowpeas with millet
to good advantage. Millet and peavine
hay is a standard hay in Tennessee.
OF course, you know that millet is very
extensively grown there. 1t is said TO
be a hard crop on the soil This is due
probably to the quickness with which
IL natures and the abundant yield 1t
makes under favorable conditions. Pos
sibly in proportion to yield it is not
more exhausting TO soils than some 9th,
Sudan grass with legumes and millet
with legumes should enable you to
produce summer hays of excellent quail
~ and well adapted to the needs of va
rious classes of live stock.
QUICK MATURING STOCK CROPS.
A. c.. TOccoa, Ga, writes: Would be
glad to have information in regard to quick
maturing stock crops. The river has
ruined the corn in the bottoms, but people
will still have four months season. What
would you advise plantingT
Probably one of the very best crops
you can grow in your section of the
state would. be millet. Various varie-
ties may be seeded, but the German or
Hungarian grass are standard sorts ex-
tensively cultivated in many sections
OF the country and If cut at the right
time produces a fine quality of hay
which is readily eaten by all classes OF
stock. You can also secure good yields
from millet on soils which are rich. 1t
natures in from sixty to ninety days
under average conditions. You should
lot find il difficult TO secure seed. OF
course a good seed bed should be pre-
pared and the millet sown under the
most advantageous conditions. The
sooner the planting is accomplished the
better. The drilling in of the seed will
generally give better stands than broad
casting. The uniform covering of the
seed is an important matter. Millet
and cowpeas are very extensively grown
I'm Tennessee for hay and forage pur-
poses. L believe you can plant no crop
which is likely to prove more advan-
tageOus TO you under the circumstances
than one of those mentioned above.
MERITS OF BERMUDA GRASS
W. F. f., New Hope, Va, writes: Is
Bermuda good pasture grass? viii il
thrive well on mountain land where the
ground Is rich and loose: When is the best
time 10 il:
Bermuda grass is essentially a south
ern grass and adapted for growth in
relatively hot climate and under con-
ditiOns where drought periods of more
or less extent are Likely to occur from
time to time. Bermuda grass does we'll
as far north Knoxville. Tenn, where
the elevation is from 600 to 900 feet.
II is grown quite extensively in various
parts Of the Piedmont area. We would
hardly expect il to do much at eleva-
tions higher than that indicated. The
chances are that at greater elevations
iT would be destroyed by freezes. Ber-
muda grass is a fine sod former and
Taught at