Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-05-13
what About That si1o3

| economical manner possible? II so,
| it is time to mature your plans to
| that end. There can be no doubt
that the silo' is the most valuable
an effort is made to keep any consid-
| cradle number of live stock. There
| is no doubt but that the stlo holds
| the key to the successful operation
of beef and daily enterprises in the
| south. There is no doubt but that
| it will furnish the best substitute
| for grass which has ever been dis
! covered UP to this time, There is no
doubt that through the use of the
silo we can make our supply of con-
centrates go twice as far as it will
otherwise go, lessen the cost of pro-
| duction, keep our animals in first
class condition, and put our section
of the country on a competitive
basis with any other section IN so
far as live stock Industries are con-
cerned.
They silo is like the keystone to
the arch. If we take it out the
put it in it has the sustaining
I strength to carry wonderful load
| through even centuries. The silo is
the keystone to the arch of our
southern animal industries We have
attempted to build up live stock
farming many times in the past. We
have obtained more or less of q
success along certain lines, but we
have always been confronted by the
excessive cost Of the roughage ra-
ton, and so the dreams which were
about to come to fruition have fire.
quentIy crumbled into the dust. Now
we know that the arch was incom-
plete, that it lacked the keystone.
Having found out just what kind of
a structure to put it in to act as
this keystone we are in position now
to go progressively forward with
out undue delay and without none
tary loss. While we are making
progress in the building of silos and
in the use of silage it can be truth
fully said that we have scarcely be-
gun as yet. We need literally hum
dreds of thousands of these struc-
lures throughout the south and
there is no better time to undertake
their construction and begin their
intelligent use than the present.
There are any number of types of
silo which will be found we'll adapt
ed for use in the south and I shall
not attempt to detail or outline them
at, this time. There is no difficulty
about obtaining informa ton relative
to structures of this character, since
there is hardly a college of agricul-
ture which has not issued bulletins
on this subject. There are many
manufacturers who would be pleased
to give information to those who
will take the trouble to inquire. Blue
prints and specifications can be OBJ
tanned free of cost from several
sources. The materials out of which
SiloS may be constructed are avail
able on many of our farms and they
can be obtained through the agency
of any good lumber or hardware
concern in even our smaller towns
and cities.
We have no excuse to offer, there
fore, relative to our failure to build
a silo, unless it be that the educa-
tional campaign relative thereto has
not taken deep enough root as yet,
and SO / am attempting in this ar
ticle to emphasize these facts and to
thereby create a greater interest in
this type of structure. It can be
safely said that on any farm where
as many as eight or ten cows are
kept a silo will pay. 1t is just as
valuable to the producer of beef cat
tie as it is to the dairymn.
Silage, IF course, is chiefly USE
full as a source of roughage for
Eliminating animals. Only limited
quantities can be fed with any sat
isfaction to work stock or sheep and
IL has Uul 1llLl6 value LOT nOSSs
Therefore, build silo! 1t is the
best investment you can possibly
make. It will not call for the out
lay of more than 500 to $500, de-
pending on the type and size of
structure you wish to build. MY ad-
vice would always be to put up
permanent silo, but would put up
any sort Of temporary structure
rather than do without the benefits
h inl a.
Stockman.
Next let US consider what crops
should be used for the silo, when to
plant them and how they should be
handled and harvested. In spite of
all that has been said and written
on this subject there is a general
Misrepresentation relatives thereto.
I cannot be mistaken in this respect,
because I receive hundreds of letters
annually about this particular sub
Ject. 1t is true that a great variety
of crops may be used for silage, but
now that 1 can look back over rs
years of acquaintanceship with the
.S1lo l am firmly convinced that there
are two crops which should be main
ly relied on for filling it in the south
eastern states. These are kaff1r corn
and sorghum. The former is nom
Saccharine and the latter is sweet,
One is comparatively dry when it
natures and the other is abundantly
supplied with moisture. Both of
them are strongly drought resist
ant. They are admirably adapted for
cultivation all over the southeastern
states. They are not particular as
to type or location Of soil, but like
all crops they give their best yields
poets a large tonnage per acre,
therefore, they must either be plant
ed on good soil or else literally fer
tilted. Any good standrd formula
will answer very we'll. A complete
fertilizer is to be preferred. Three
per cent nitrogen, 8 or per cent
phosphoric acid and 3 or per cent
of potash will be found adequate in
most instances. Five hundred pounds
per acre is not too much to use. we
would not hesitate to put all Of this
fertilizer under the drill row at the
time of planting this crop.
AS for planting, that may be done
any time after danger of frost is
past up to June in north Georgia
and even July 1 in south Georgia.
There is ample time yet, therefore.
in which to prepare land and seed
1t to the crops best adapted for fill
ing a silo. AS to methods of plan
ting, we would prefer to SOW in
drills about to As feet apart. we
would sow relatively thickly, using
say 10 to IL pounds of seed per acre.
Alternate rows of kaffir corn and
sorghum may be sown. We prefer the
white kaffir corn and the Red Head
sorghum. These are not the only
two sorts that may be planted, but
we have had the best results with
them and hence are inclined to their
use. This crop should be cultivated
as any other field crop. Keep weeds
ana grass in check Preserve a good
dust mulch and so save the moisture
for the development of the crop. Oc-
casionally a drouth period may &C.
cur when the plants will stand still
for a period of even 80 days or
. longer, but when the firts good rains
come there will be a great REIN
vigoration of the crop and an aston
lshtng growth and development will
: follow, and yield be harvested
quite heVOnd One'S aYpaptotioy An