The Robesonian., 1917-09-20
BY DAN T. GRAY.

opOA
of our Southern cheap feeds for live
stock will probably accept the title OF
this article in the same way that the
man who visited the menagerie for
the first time accepted the reality OF
the giraffe. After examining the
giraffe from the front, side and rear,
and taking into consideration his long
neck and general ungainliness, he
said that he had always believed that
there was mo such animal" and he
was now, after seeing him, thoroughly
convinced that there was no such
thing. In like manner farmers who
have never made use of our really
cheap feeds are apt to say, at the
present time, without an investiga-
ton, that there is no such thing"
The doubling farmer, however, as
we'll as the visitor to the menagerie,
is mistaken, because there are cheap
live stock feeds even at the present
purchased grains or by-products.
There are two classes of cheap feeds
to be secured for the coming winter
silage and pastures, especially the
latter. All kinds of live stock make
use of pastures if the opportunity is
offered. Some kinds of live stock
make use of silage. The live stock
farmer expects to avoid an expensive
winters feed bill must supply either
silage or pasture or both. If these
two feeds are to be provided the pre-
liminary work must be done in
September.
There is plenty of evidence at hand
to show that our farmers are awake
to the fact that these two feeds are
our cheapest ones. During June, July,
August, and September hundreds of
silos were built in the state. During
August, September and October these
silos will be filled with various kinds
of silage crops and during this same
time thousands of grazing crops suit
able for fall, winter, and spring graz
ing will be sown.
The majority of farmers who keep
certainly provide a silo and all of
them should provide some kind Of
fall, winter, and spring grazing. Var
ious kinds of crops may be used for
grazing purposes. In the first place,
many of our farmers have failed to
appreciate the value of the old corn
and cotton fields, and these we have
with us always. AS a result of this
neglect vast quantities of roughage are
wasted each year which should be
I turned into meat and milk. The good
farmer allows none of these cheap
feeds to go to waste. We should not
only not allow the feeds usually pro-
duced to go to waste, but just now an
effort should be made to create new
feeds by putting many of our idle
acres to work. %
Under the direction of Mr.. R. S
Curtis, of the Animal Industry Divis
ion of the N. C. Agricultural Expert
ment Station, experiments have beer
under way for several years to deter
mine the value of permanent winte7
pastures in the western part of thu
state. The work has been done il
cooperation with Mr.. T. L. Gwyn o
| Haywood County, prominent bee
, cattle raiser of that section Thos
who know the agricultural condition
Of the western part of the state know
that one of the greatest problems is t.
develop system of farming whicl
will employ some of the lands lyin
, idle at the present time.
fhocn tho Ioof an
tie carried through the winter upo
various rations and an accurate az
count kept Of the amounts and cost
Of feeds of each winter together wit
e the gains made by the stockers. On
q carload of stockers each winter wa
J fed upon ear corn, corn stover. ha
" and straw. A second lot was fed upo
a corn silage, corn stover, hay an
I straw. A third car of stockers we
f fed during the winter months upo
e corn silage, corn stover. hay an
/ straw, while a fourth lot was give
e no feed at all except that obtaine
5 from the winter pasture.
=, Mr.. Gwyn made these winter pa
! lures by first clearing the mountai
S, s1ueS OF the trees. A contract w;
r made with the mountaineers givir
;o them the free use of the land for tv
d. years if they would deaden all of til
n large trees, clear out the small brus
70 and put the land in cultivation, plan
~ ing corn each year. The second ye
~ ~ at the last cultivation of the corn
in mixture Of Is pounds Of orchard gras
lie pounds of blue grass, and 7 poun,
IN OF timothy and clover were seed,
IN broadcast through the corn. II
le grass was permitted to grow throu,
&c the following summer without he'll
Us grazed. It, Of course, grew up a,
III fell ever thus protecting the roo
during the cold months You
N blades continued to come out duri