1893 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
o99 
THE FEEDING OF STRAW. 
HOW TO MAKE STOCK EAT IT. 
Good Straw a Necessity. 
Stock will eat more straw and there will be less 
waste when it is chopped and moistened with water, 
and sprinkled with meal. Whether this would be 
profitable to the farmer would depend upon his supply 
of other feed and the amount of labor at his command. 
Where it is necessary to economize straw, and feed 
more grain, it would undoubtedly pay to steam and 
moisten the straw. I have never practiced t^e chop¬ 
ping of any kind of straw except that of wheat, 
although the power and cutter are always ready in the 
barn for this purpose. This wheat straw was fed to 
horses moistened and mixed with a grain ration of 
grourd oats, corn and rye. 
The best oat straw is fed to the horses when not 
working hard in the winter. A good sized forkful is 
fed three times a day. The grain ration is from four 
to six quarts of oats or rye meal. Much depends on the 
horses, but the aim is to give enough grain to keep them 
in good, thriving condition. The mangers are cleaned 
out before feeding at night, and the waste used for 
bedding. My horses are kept in large box stalls. The 
cows are fed a large forkful of barley or buckwheat 
straw each, twice each day. This is supplemented by 
a ration of chopped stalks and mixed grain meal. The 
waste is used for bedding. The sheep are fed straw 
at noon ; either oat, barley or buckwheat. Plenty is 
put in the racks, and what is not eaten is used to 
litter the sheds at night. Hay and grain are 
fed the sheep morning and night. It will be 
seen that none of the stock eat much hay (ex¬ 
cept the sheep) during the colder months. I con¬ 
sider that the waste straw is as valuable to me 
as an absorbent, as it would be if fed in such a 
manner as to be entirely eaten. To me good, 
clean barn-housed straw is a necessity, and 
while not making it the only feed of sheep, 
horses and cattle during the winter months, I 
give them at least one feed of it each day. 
New York. Charles chapman. 
A Stop Put To Straw Burning. 
Only a few years ago fully three-fourths of 
all the straw grown in this section was burned 
as soon as the grain was thrashed out of it. In 
many cases this was done because it was the 
easiest and cheapest way to dispose of it. The 
advent of the straw-s‘acking attachment to 
thrashing machines changed matters some¬ 
what, and now all of the oat straw, and most 
of the wheat straw is carefully stacked. The 
long swing stacker now in use enables three 
men to put up an immense semi-circular stack 
555 or more feet high, with the greatest ease, 
and all of the chaff, chess and light grain that 
is blown out goes into the stack. When the 
stack is not in a yard or small pasture, 
many farmers enclose it with a temporary 
fence, and yard cattle, horses and pigs about 
it all winter. The horses and cattle eat part 
of it and trample the rest down, converting 
the whole into a mass of coarse manure which 
is afterwards hauled out and spread on pastures or 
corn ground. While yarded about a stack of straw 
like this, the cattle and horses are given one feed a 
day of corn fodder with the ears left on, and the pigs 
yarded with them see that none is wasted. Some 
farmers put a fence around the stock and feed the 
straw to the animals in large feed racks placed just 
outside the fence. After the stock have picked a rack¬ 
ful over, the coarser stuff remaining is thrown out to 
be trampled down and a new supply takes its place. 
With one feed of shock corn a day, both horses and 
cattle winter nicely on straw. Sheep also do well on 
good bright straw, with one feed of mixed oats and 
shelled corn a day. 
It wouldn’t pay here to chop and steam the straw, 
and the stock eat very little more of it when dampened 
and mixed with ground feed of any kind. When hay 
is scarce and high, good straw sells at prices that pay 
the farmer well for taking good care of it and hauling 
it to town, but when hay is plentiful and reasonable 
in price, there is no demand for straw except for bed¬ 
ding. Every man who feeds stock has learned that, 
compared with good hay, straw of any kind or quality 
is poor feed for horses that are at work, cows giving 
milk, cattle fattening for beef, or mutton sheep. All 
of them will eat limited quantities of it, but it lacks 
the nutriment found in good hay, and also its palata¬ 
bleness, and I know of no method of adding these to 
it sufficiently expedient to warrant its adoption. 
Christian County, Ill. FRED, grunby. 
Good Forage for Idle Horses. 
Plenty of straw is good to have in the barn, but I 
have never made any use of it as stock food until last 
winter, when, having no hay and but little corn fod¬ 
der, oat straw was fed to the horses. The racks are 
filled twice daily, and about one-half is eaten and the 
rest pulled under foot, where it is all right for bed¬ 
ding. Three quarts of oats and corn meal twice a 
day, and what long straw they will eat, keep our 
idle horses in good condition. Usually we have more 
clover hay, corn fodder and ensilage than we can 
handle through the barn, and having no commercial 
value in the market, we are bound to feed them in pre¬ 
ference to straw, only enough of which is used for 
bedding, the rest baled and soled. p. h. munroe. 
Illinois. 
Straw Feeding in Virginia. 
Straw should be well put up in a rick, running east 
and west, in pens just high enough so that cattle can 
reach the straw and not tramp on it Cattle over two 
years old will commence eatirg it freely before the 
grass is gone, and will do well on it, with one feed of 
fodder or hay each day. If hauled out and scattered 
about they will not eat it. Cattle frequency get the 
chaff in their eyes, and this causes some inflammation, 
but they soon get well. For milch cows, good, bright 
straw cut and steamed with chop over it, is the very 
best of food—even better than most hay. Stock eat it 
well and will increase in their milk. One bushel of 
shelled corn, two of oats and one of rye ground to¬ 
gether, then wheat bran and a little cotton-seed meal 
added, make the best mixture to use over straw, hay 
or fodder, or to be fed dry, that I ever tried. 
Pulaski County, Va. R f. vorehead. 
fig! 
LET THE STATE PAY FOR SLAUGHTERED COWS. 
I think the advice given on page 679 to the New 
York State Board of Health respecting my cows is to 
the point, and I would be very glad if they could carry 
it out; but, as I understand it, they have power to 
kill, but have no jurisdiction to pay. After they had 
killed my cows, I wrote to the Clerk of the Board of 
Claims asking how I should present my claim so as to 
receive their attention. He replied by sending their 
printed rules, and also wrote me that I would have to 
get an attorney to draw up my claim, and also to 
present it at one of their hearings. I at once wrote 
to Dr. Balch, the head of the State Board of Health, 
asking if he could not suggest an easier and cheaper 
way out of my trouble, saying that if they were satis¬ 
fied that everything was all straight, an order from 
them on the Board of Claims should be sufficient. He 
kindly informed me that he could suggest no other 
way. I would have to be guided by their rulings. I 
mistrust that the majority of people when they see 
the slow and expensive workings of this law for en¬ 
couraging the stamping out of this disease, will be 
loath to avail themselves of its privileges. 
Oak wood, N. Y. a. h. Goodrich. 
Handy Road Scraper —Why spend money in buy¬ 
ing elaborate road machines? The 20-inch disk har¬ 
row is found on every well regulated farm. First go 
over the road, put in the culverts, cover them with 
dirt and take out stumps and rocks. Spread a 20-inch 
disk harrow to the full width of the road by bolting a 
2x8 piece to the weight box, and another in front for 
hitching. Put a team and driver in front of each gang, 
and go ahead, followed by another 20-inch harrow 
spread to run inside the first. J. a. mckee. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and address of the 
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not answered In our advertising columns. Ask only a few questions at 
one time. Put questions on a separate piece of paper.] 
IS THIS AN AIR CASTLE ? 
C. A C., Brooklyn, N. Y. —Some time ago I bought 
five acres of land in the fruit region of south Jersey. 
1. Can I make more at fruit raising than I can by 
working three-quarters of the time at the carper ters’ 
trade ? 2. What variety of small fruits would it be ad¬ 
visable to set out on a piece of virgin soil? 3 How 
loDg after the trees have been set out should they be 
looked after? The section—Atlantic County, New .Jer¬ 
sey—is well adapted to berries, but what kinds will 
do best on new land, if any, and what kinds of pears, 
peaches, plums and quinces would you advise me to 
set out ? My idea was to have about two or three 
acres cleared up this fall or winter, and in the spring 
set out my trees, and go down there in the spring 
next year and prune the trees and get some one to 
raise some kind of a crop on the place, and about the 
second spring go down there myself and set out my 
berry plants, build me a house, and I thought that by 
that time I would get some fruit from the peach and 
Keiffer pears. Am I building cas'les in the air ? 
Better Stick to the Bench. 
1. No. If C. A. C. can work but half-time 
at the carpenters’ trade he had better “ stick ” 
and make the best of the situation 2 Grapes 
and blackberries. But, unless he is religiously 
inclined, I would not advise him to set small 
fruits on virgin Foil. A powerful restrainirg 
influence of some kind would be required by 
the person who attempted to cultivate small 
fruits in a virgin soil, especially if a novice 
at the work. 3. The owner should be right on 
the spot. If C. A. C. stays away a year, he might 
as well stay away forever. Unless he possesses 
sufficient means to hire a competent person to 
look after his trees, he cannot afford to set 
them out and then leave them. Five acres is 
too small an area on which to plant such a 
variety as C. A. C. contemplates. I suggest 
that he confine himself to strawberries, black¬ 
berries, grapes, pears and quinces. To learn 
the best varieties to plant let him inquire of 
growers in his neighborhood. Whether his idea 
is an air castle or not depends a good deal on the 
kind of man he is. b. r. b. 
Mullica Hill, N. J. 
Don’t Farm at Arm’s Length. 
1. No ; not for the first few years at least; 
better combine the two. 2. Blackberries. 3. 
Trees should be looked after from the start. 
Bartlett and Keiffer pears will do well, some 
other kinds might also be added. Peaches 
had better be of the earlier varieties, as the dry 
weather of summer and fall will prevent perfect 
maturity of the latter varieties unless the soil is 
alluvial and moist. Would not attempt plums ex¬ 
cept experimentally. Meech’s Prolific quince will 
perhaps do as well as any other. It will be far better 
not to set out anything until he is there to attend to 
it. Farming and fruit raising at arms’ length, espe¬ 
cially on a small scale, will not pay. If it is desirable 
to build up a nice home for one’s self and family in a 
healthy location, and the person is willing to work at 
his trade a portion of the time, it would be worth 
while to make a trial; if not, not, for it would be dif¬ 
ficult for a man to make a living in that section on 
five acres of land in a business he knows nothing 
about. But after the trees and vines are in full bear¬ 
ing and the business of fruit growing and marketing 
well in hand and better understood, the profits there¬ 
from will be correspondingly larger, franklin dye. 
Secretary New Jersey State Board of Agriculture. 
Clean Land By Proxy, Nothing More. 
1. C A. C. can make more at fruit raising, if he will 
give his full time and attention to it, than by working 
part of his time at his trade. 2. As to varieties, all 
kinds of fruits will grow on new soil, if suitable, i e , 
not too low or wet. 3. Trees will need looking after as 
soon as they commence growing, the same as small 
fruits. Pears anc apples do well. Peaches are some¬ 
what unreliable, on account of late frosts, unless on a 
high location, and plums and quinces are not planted 
to any marketable extent here. There are some 
grown, but mostly for home use. As to small fruits, 
we plant them preferably on new ground ; blackber¬ 
ries are planted by furrowing newly broken ground ; 
