Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-06-01

greatly lessened by prompt harvest
ing to save the leaves.
Green corn will mature to a certain
extent after harvesting, and unless
the ground is wet, or there is a prob
ability of heavy rain, it would be adj
visable to let the corn lie on the
ground for a day or two until partly
dry, particularly if the corn was very
green. Partly dry green corn makes
sweeter silage than when sliced too
green. Green corn shocked mined
lately after cutting may mould, and
there is a loss of juice or sap from the
bottom of the freshly cut stocks.
Corn should unq~uestionably be sliced
or shocked before it is rained on.
Rain on partly dry fodder is of great
damage to it.
Filling the Silo
Full value from the corn crop AN
not be realized in this section unless
it is fed through the silo. The silo
need not be expensive. The pit silos
cist very little, will not freeze or blow
down and enyene can build them.
Of full information regarding the
pit silo is desired, write for free
booklet)
The best silage is made by filling
the silo with practically mature green
corn, chopped fine and carefully pack
ed into the silo. If for any reason the
corn cannot be sliced at this time, it
may be put in later and water added
to replace what has been lost in dry
ing.
Low wagons are desirable for
handling corn fodder, as they save
maeh lifting. There are various meth-
DDS of loading wagons so as to have
them unload easily. The most COM
method is to lay the bundles
crosswise on the rack, with the butts
toward the side from which they will
be unloaded, as the corr is usually
fed into the cutter butt first. Begin
at the back end of the rack
and finish at the front, and unload in
the 0pposinte direction. This makes
it possible to lift the bundles without
10 pull them from under
others. Unload in just the reverse
order of loading.
The silage cutter must be sharp and
set to cut the fodder fine. One-half
inch length is not too fine; fine cut
silage packs better and feeds out
more satisfactorily.
Tramp the Stage
There should be a distributor of
kind on the cutter, so that the
silage will not all drop in one place
in the silo, as this makes it difficult
to keep the silage evenly distributed
and packed The silage should be
kept evenly distributed in the silo and
tramped down. This excludes the air
and silage does not mould or spoil
if air does not get to it. Thoroughly
tramping is essential to good silage.
Refilling the Sito
Where there is more corr than the
silo will hold, this may be shocked
until dry and then stacked and put in
to the silo any time later. We have
our pit silos as many as five
times in one winter. We run the fod-
Ter through the cutter the same as
the green corn, and add enough water
20 make it about as wet as the green
corn. Very dry fodder may take
as many pounds of water as
he fodder weighs. This water may
Dc put on the chopped fodder in the
silo, run on the fodder as it is cut or
INTO the blower of the cutter. 1t is
to get on enough water, so
hat the silage viii thoroughly pack.
Dry fodder makes good feed, but we
find that it will feed twice or three
lines rs far when SLICED, as there is
10 waste
Pasture the Flint Corn
The earlier flint corns viii mature
N nearly the same time as the small
and furnish good feed for hogs,
;heep or cattle. Hogs may be fat
on barley and flint corns by
them into the fields. This
Iayes the expense Of harvesting, and
viIl put the soil in excellent cendi-
ion for succeeding crops
Flint c0rns are cut with the mower,
.Aked and put through the ~threshing
machine. The fodder makes good
,ough feed, and the grain can be fed
o al kinds of stock The fodder can
- nut into q siho and makes better
seed for cattle
Corn il especially a fattening feed,
md for best results with dairy cows
II young stock. should be fed with
Ilfafx or sweet clover hay. Every
md of stock on the farm via utilize !
he corn to advantage and usually re-
urn = profit from the corr crop. But
he benefit derived from growing
cultivated crop. and putting some fer
;Istv back on TIC Land will make pos
ibie = larger profit from the i'm |
r~nsed grain crop. At the Brandon. /
s-~ Exxar4ruep x~fntsap xhans /.