Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-16


moisture and the silage made from IA
will probably heat and fire-fang. II
IL is combined with sorghum there Is
less danger from this source, as that
plant is far more retentive Of its juices
than corn. When sorghum and kafiI
corn, grown either separately or in
combination, are used for silage tht
crop should be allowed to almost ma
ture before IL is cut for this purpose.
In other words, the seed heads should
be practically ripe. This is more par
ticuiarIy true of sorghum than il is OF
kafir corn. Some people who have useo
these two crops for silage purposes
have complained greatly about the sour
character Of the silage. This makes IL
unpalatable and probably not so whole
some as where the silage contains less
acidity. The trouble was due alto
gether to cutting the crop when in too
immature a condition This Is one
point which. cannot be emphasized too
strongly with reference to the Saccha-
rine sorghums. Most people are afraid
they will dry out too much. On the
other hand. they nearly always make the
mistake of cutting and SLIDING. them
when in too green condition to IN
sure the best results. If cowpeas or
soy beans are to be put in the silo the
crop should be left until ii is in con-
dition to make good hay. This is gen
orally best evidenced by the yeilowing
Of the leaves at the. base of the plant.
Velvet beans can hardly ever be put
in the silo with satisfaction because OF
the very large amount Of water they
contain. When combined with othel
coarse growing crops like corn they can
be used to fairly good advantage. Al
falfa should be put in. the 4silo only
when IL is in good condition to, cut FOL
hay. --'.~
Crops to be put in the silo should
as a rule. be cut in the middle or the
morning after the dew has DRIED o1I;
and allowed to wilt during the balance
of the day. It is best not to cut IN
advance Of the amount which can be
handled in a given day. 1t is very I'm
uertant that sorghum and other plants
which are retentive OF their Juices
be given a longer time in which 10 VIII
| than corn. The cutting may be done
by hand. though this is too, slow :, Ia
borious and expensive to be practcal
! AZ the present time. A sort Of boat
with culling knives attacked to, the
the sides can be used with advantage
ON the small farm. Where operations
are conducted on any considerable scare
the corn harvester should be utlllzeu'
Bv this arrangement the crop is nouna
into sheaves and can be loaded on WaS
ons with much better advantage A
truck should be used for hauling the
silage from the field. An implement oil
This TYNE is close to the ground ana
thereforh. so much effort and energy arr
not expended in loading the 'sheaves-oi
heavy green. feed on to the wagons,
Two or three wagons should be used
in orderNto insure the, handing OF tne
cron. .economicaily; one TO be at tht
cutter all the time, one on the road tC
| the field, and one being loaded IN the
| field. A corn harvester properly op
| Grated can, of course, cut down more
siIase in the course OF day than even
three wagons can properly handle Ihe
old ood-burnfng engine Is now IN. Ia,
uor because of the scarcity of coal IL
Is. however, a rather dangerous ma
chine 10 use IN the vicinity of a barn
bacarrsa there is always danger OF
SHARKS flying out and igniting the sur
rounding structures. Gasoline engines
are satisfactory, but they must. De OF
much larger horsepower relatively thai''
steam engines. In purchasing gas
en1ine To drive a power cutting box, re-
member that a 20-horsepower machine
will he found more satisfactory thah
/ one Of lesser rating.
There are several types Of cutting
boxes on the market. One of the rotary
type with the blower attachment VIII
/ probably be found as satisfactory as
any which can be used. 1t is good
capacity so that it can be fed up TO the
maximum without choking. Smaller ma
chimes are often very troublesome in this
respect especially IL they are fed too
/ fast. The blower type of machine has
the advantage of being able to distribute
/ the silage well over the inside or the
structure. This lessons the labor neces-
sary on the part of men to distribute II
and pack il down close to the exterior
wall. In filling a silo il is very important
] to. remember that the material should
be uniformly spread over the surface of
the interior. 1t must be packed very
/ tightly against the outside wall and silo
/ thoroughly filled. "A great many people
who are inexperienced in filling a silo
make the mistake of allowing it to pile
nm in the center and spread out over the
side AS a result there is a great leak
age in the structure and considerable
part of the silage along the outside wall
spells. This loss can be eliminated alto
gether if the silage is properly packed.
II the blower is properly adjusted one
man should be able. to distribute the
silage. He should be replaced from time
/ to time, as this is hard work. There
/ is no objection to Intermittent filing OF
the silo, that is, filling for one or two
days. allowing to settle day. and then
/ filling again In fact, if silo is filled
/ right up TO the top this practlce must
/ be followed, because when it has appar-
/ emily been filled the heavy mass of semi
green material IL contains will settle
/ down several feet in the course Of a
/ few days 1t is our practice here always
Il to refill the silo once or twice after il
| has been allowed to settle for two or
| three days. When the filling is completed
/ take a hose and thoroughly wet down
/ the top. Filling with water win not be
| Objectionable. 1t will cause no loss or
damage Of the silage On the other hand,
/ il will result in the formation of a mould
/ on top in the course of few days.
] This will not extend down to a depth of
\ more than six inches. This makes the
i finest kind of a covering for the silo and
l will prevent further spOilage. When
/ feeding begins this top should be taken
! of and disposed of in some manner
which will prevent animals reaching 1t.
as the mould II contains may cause the
T animals consuming il to become sick. II
! is good practice to allow the silo to
stand a few days after it has been filled
. to settle and cure out. There is no rea-
son, however, why the feed contained in
a structure of this kind may not be
used early in the fall We have begun
feeding often as early as October 7.
Y When the silo is opened in warm
weather OF course, IL must be fed down
- -@4N So