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VOL. LXVIII INDIANAPOLIS, AUG. 23, 1913? = Things to Know About Riling the Silo The silo long since passed the experimental stage and is now generally acknowledged to be one of the.necessaries on a well regulated dairy farm or even on the farm where beef and butter making receive only the average amount of attention usually given to them by the diversified farmer. Ever since the first silo was built in the United States, the kno%vledge of silage and its value as a food for live stock has rapidly been spread among dairymen and stockmen, until it has crystallized into an astonishing development of the use of silage. An acre of corn will yield more feed for cattle when properly put into a silo than any other kind of feed grown on the same ground. All of the corn crop is utilized when put in the silo. There is actually as much food value in the stalks as in the ears. The trouble was, before the coming of the silo, to get the stalks into shape so that the cows could make use of all of the corn stalks. More than one-half of the value of the stalk is below the ear and this Is wasted when fed in a dry state, as cows cannot properly masticate this woody-fibered stalk. The only parts they can make use of are the leaves and fine portion or top of stalk. And a portion of these edible parts of dry fodder is wasted by tramping under foot. This is especially true when fodder is scattered on the ground for the stock in the fields or feed lots. Ordinarily, the cow, and the horse, too, only use about one-third of the stalk when cured and fed dry. This not only necessitates the handling of a great bulk that is not used, but leaves littered around a lot of canes that are a nuisance in the manure pile or in the feeding lots. Then the process of husking the ears from the stalks and securing a sufficient quantity of fodder to carry the stock through the winter ls ra'her Blow, expensive work. When properly handled, the cows eat silage down to the very butt of the stalk, as the heating and fermenting in the silo 80 cooks and softens the stalks that it is easily masticated. The same can also be said of the grain on the ear. It ls put into that condition where lt is as easily masticated and digested as though lt were shelled and ground in a milt Indeed, it is put in even better shape, as lt is most thoroughly mixed with the coarse part of the stalk and in the end ls better assimilated. Precautions to Take in Filling the Silo. The filling of the silo is a comparatively simple operation when the farmer has the necessary help and machinery, though there are many precautions that must be taken, lf first-class silage is to be secured. It has been said that to make good silage is more difficult than to make good hay. The silo may be of wood, brick, concrete or tile, but it must be tight enough to exclude the air. If a stave silo, it should be examined before time to fill and the hoops should be tightened and all doors ought to be numbered so that each door will fit properly in Its place aa soon as the silo is filled up. Suggestions for Making Silage of the .Best Quality By W. F. Purdue The methods employed by different farmers vary greatly. This is occas- sioned largely by the scarcity of help and by the kind of machinery that is used. There are several makes of silo- fillers and any of them will do good work. The most efficient power for operating the silage cutter is an engine such as is used with threshing rigs. If sufficient power is lacking the the cutter. The stalks of corn should be fed in just as fast as the machine will take them, so as not to lose time. When possible, they should be fed in tassel end first; the machine takes them better that way. The pitchers can greatly assist the feeder by pitching the bundles right end to, and pitching them at a steady, regular rate. The most desirable length to cut the corn A Busy Day on the Farm of J. F. Larkin, Martin County. process of filling the silo will be very slow. The main thing in operating the silage cutter is to keep the knives sharp, so thi-y will make a clean cut at every revolution. The knives should be kept sharp enough at all times to cut the husks of the ears. "When the knives begin to get dull the husks will be blown up uncut, although the stalks and ears will be cut all right. The main rate of filling depends a great deal upon the man doing the feeding. It is hard, active work to feed fast and properly, and for this reason some farmers aim to work two men at the feeding, each feeding a few hours at a time while the other keeps the loose stalks and trash picked up and fed into is variously estimated, but ordinarily the shorter the better, enabling a more thorough mixture of the mass and a more compact settling. The exclusion of air is the main point. The customary length is one-half inch; the stalks and corn will then be in a fine condition for feeding. After the corn begins to enter the silo there should be at least two men to see to its proper distribution In the silo and to pack it thoroughly. The distributor renders good service, yet no small portion of the heavier parts of the corn drop almost directly down and soon form a pile there if not thrown to the outside with a fork. The outer husks and leaves blow to the outside wall, and if no one is at hand to The Owner of These Silos Feeds Ensilage Nearly the Year Round. A Gasoline Ewjine is Used to Furnish Power to Run Silage Cutter. keep the silage properly scattered the silo will fill very unevenly and settle unevenly and thus cause more or less moldy silage. The ideal way to have the cut corn in the silo is to have all parts evenly distributed, but it is hard to keep it this way when everything is working well below and there are no stops. The silage must be firmly packed in place. Especial pains must be taken to trample heavily about the walls as no air should enter down the sides of the silo. Taking everything into consideration, the hands in the silo have a responsible place to fill. When to Cut and How to Handle the Corn. The best time to cut the corn for the silo is after the kernes have dented and yet before the leaves have dried. At this time it will be found that two or three of the lower leaves of the cornstalk have begun to turn yellow, and when this stage has been reached operations should be begun and carried on rapidly, for frost may come at any time and corn matures very quickly after it has once started. During a normal fall the perloa when the corn may be cut ls from a week to ten days. If the corn is cut too green the silage will be sour and thus not very palatable to the cows, and so much of it will be left and wasted. If allowed to become too dry before it is put Into the silo, portions of It will dry mold or fire fang round the edges, thus permitting the air to get in. In this case also a large portion of the silage is wasted. In addition to this, the chemist has found that a very large per centage of the valuable feeding nutrients of a plant is stored up during the first stage of maturity, hence the importance of cutting the corn at the right time. It is generally considered that the best corn for silage is that which is well-eored, so that there will be plenty of grain in the silage. A number of farmers claim that overripe or badly frustc-u corn can be turned into good silage by applying water in the blower- box of the cutter if there is not enough moisture left in the corn, so that the silage will go into the silo dripping wet. If a slat-carrier type of silo filler is used, the water will have to be sprinkled on the silage Inside of the silo. The corn harvester or binder, which is being prefected year by year, is a great aid in making silage. In upstanding corn it does its work with neatness and dispatch, and binds the corn into convenient bundles for handling and feeding into the cutter. Even where corn is blown down or lodged, present- day devices enable the binder to do creditable work, so that it is seldom necessary to employ the corn-knife ■which means a lot of extra hands if the s'lo is to be filled with dispatch. The binder should ba started the day before filling time and lt should be kept running steadily while the corn is being run into the silo. It is never advisable to get too much corn cut down before filing commences owing to the danger cf rain or other unfavorable weather. Continued on page 9.
Object Description
Title | Indiana farmer, 1913, v. 68, no. 34 (Aug. 23) |
Purdue Identification Number | INFA6834 |
Date of Original | 1913 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | United States - Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or not-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Date Digitized | 2011-04-18 |
Digitization Information | Original scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Subjects (LCSH) |
Agriculture Farm management Horticulture Agricultural machinery |
Subjects (NALT) |
agriculture farm management horticulture agricultural machinery and equipment |
Genre | Periodical |
Call Number of Original | 630.5 In2 |
Location of Original | Hicks Repository |
Coverage | Indiana |
Type | text |
Format | JP2 |
Language | eng |
Collection Title | Indiana Farmer |
Rights Statement | Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes. |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Digitization Information | Orignal scanned at 300 ppi on a Bookeye 3 scanner using internal software. Display images generated in CONTENTdm as JP2000s; file format for archival copy is uncompressed TIF format. |
Transcript | VOL. LXVIII INDIANAPOLIS, AUG. 23, 1913? = Things to Know About Riling the Silo The silo long since passed the experimental stage and is now generally acknowledged to be one of the.necessaries on a well regulated dairy farm or even on the farm where beef and butter making receive only the average amount of attention usually given to them by the diversified farmer. Ever since the first silo was built in the United States, the kno%vledge of silage and its value as a food for live stock has rapidly been spread among dairymen and stockmen, until it has crystallized into an astonishing development of the use of silage. An acre of corn will yield more feed for cattle when properly put into a silo than any other kind of feed grown on the same ground. All of the corn crop is utilized when put in the silo. There is actually as much food value in the stalks as in the ears. The trouble was, before the coming of the silo, to get the stalks into shape so that the cows could make use of all of the corn stalks. More than one-half of the value of the stalk is below the ear and this Is wasted when fed in a dry state, as cows cannot properly masticate this woody-fibered stalk. The only parts they can make use of are the leaves and fine portion or top of stalk. And a portion of these edible parts of dry fodder is wasted by tramping under foot. This is especially true when fodder is scattered on the ground for the stock in the fields or feed lots. Ordinarily, the cow, and the horse, too, only use about one-third of the stalk when cured and fed dry. This not only necessitates the handling of a great bulk that is not used, but leaves littered around a lot of canes that are a nuisance in the manure pile or in the feeding lots. Then the process of husking the ears from the stalks and securing a sufficient quantity of fodder to carry the stock through the winter ls ra'her Blow, expensive work. When properly handled, the cows eat silage down to the very butt of the stalk, as the heating and fermenting in the silo 80 cooks and softens the stalks that it is easily masticated. The same can also be said of the grain on the ear. It ls put into that condition where lt is as easily masticated and digested as though lt were shelled and ground in a milt Indeed, it is put in even better shape, as lt is most thoroughly mixed with the coarse part of the stalk and in the end ls better assimilated. Precautions to Take in Filling the Silo. The filling of the silo is a comparatively simple operation when the farmer has the necessary help and machinery, though there are many precautions that must be taken, lf first-class silage is to be secured. It has been said that to make good silage is more difficult than to make good hay. The silo may be of wood, brick, concrete or tile, but it must be tight enough to exclude the air. If a stave silo, it should be examined before time to fill and the hoops should be tightened and all doors ought to be numbered so that each door will fit properly in Its place aa soon as the silo is filled up. Suggestions for Making Silage of the .Best Quality By W. F. Purdue The methods employed by different farmers vary greatly. This is occas- sioned largely by the scarcity of help and by the kind of machinery that is used. There are several makes of silo- fillers and any of them will do good work. The most efficient power for operating the silage cutter is an engine such as is used with threshing rigs. If sufficient power is lacking the the cutter. The stalks of corn should be fed in just as fast as the machine will take them, so as not to lose time. When possible, they should be fed in tassel end first; the machine takes them better that way. The pitchers can greatly assist the feeder by pitching the bundles right end to, and pitching them at a steady, regular rate. The most desirable length to cut the corn A Busy Day on the Farm of J. F. Larkin, Martin County. process of filling the silo will be very slow. The main thing in operating the silage cutter is to keep the knives sharp, so thi-y will make a clean cut at every revolution. The knives should be kept sharp enough at all times to cut the husks of the ears. "When the knives begin to get dull the husks will be blown up uncut, although the stalks and ears will be cut all right. The main rate of filling depends a great deal upon the man doing the feeding. It is hard, active work to feed fast and properly, and for this reason some farmers aim to work two men at the feeding, each feeding a few hours at a time while the other keeps the loose stalks and trash picked up and fed into is variously estimated, but ordinarily the shorter the better, enabling a more thorough mixture of the mass and a more compact settling. The exclusion of air is the main point. The customary length is one-half inch; the stalks and corn will then be in a fine condition for feeding. After the corn begins to enter the silo there should be at least two men to see to its proper distribution In the silo and to pack it thoroughly. The distributor renders good service, yet no small portion of the heavier parts of the corn drop almost directly down and soon form a pile there if not thrown to the outside with a fork. The outer husks and leaves blow to the outside wall, and if no one is at hand to The Owner of These Silos Feeds Ensilage Nearly the Year Round. A Gasoline Ewjine is Used to Furnish Power to Run Silage Cutter. keep the silage properly scattered the silo will fill very unevenly and settle unevenly and thus cause more or less moldy silage. The ideal way to have the cut corn in the silo is to have all parts evenly distributed, but it is hard to keep it this way when everything is working well below and there are no stops. The silage must be firmly packed in place. Especial pains must be taken to trample heavily about the walls as no air should enter down the sides of the silo. Taking everything into consideration, the hands in the silo have a responsible place to fill. When to Cut and How to Handle the Corn. The best time to cut the corn for the silo is after the kernes have dented and yet before the leaves have dried. At this time it will be found that two or three of the lower leaves of the cornstalk have begun to turn yellow, and when this stage has been reached operations should be begun and carried on rapidly, for frost may come at any time and corn matures very quickly after it has once started. During a normal fall the perloa when the corn may be cut ls from a week to ten days. If the corn is cut too green the silage will be sour and thus not very palatable to the cows, and so much of it will be left and wasted. If allowed to become too dry before it is put Into the silo, portions of It will dry mold or fire fang round the edges, thus permitting the air to get in. In this case also a large portion of the silage is wasted. In addition to this, the chemist has found that a very large per centage of the valuable feeding nutrients of a plant is stored up during the first stage of maturity, hence the importance of cutting the corn at the right time. It is generally considered that the best corn for silage is that which is well-eored, so that there will be plenty of grain in the silage. A number of farmers claim that overripe or badly frustc-u corn can be turned into good silage by applying water in the blower- box of the cutter if there is not enough moisture left in the corn, so that the silage will go into the silo dripping wet. If a slat-carrier type of silo filler is used, the water will have to be sprinkled on the silage Inside of the silo. The corn harvester or binder, which is being prefected year by year, is a great aid in making silage. In upstanding corn it does its work with neatness and dispatch, and binds the corn into convenient bundles for handling and feeding into the cutter. Even where corn is blown down or lodged, present- day devices enable the binder to do creditable work, so that it is seldom necessary to employ the corn-knife ■which means a lot of extra hands if the s'lo is to be filled with dispatch. The binder should ba started the day before filling time and lt should be kept running steadily while the corn is being run into the silo. It is never advisable to get too much corn cut down before filing commences owing to the danger cf rain or other unfavorable weather. Continued on page 9. |
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