1122 -Ghe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Live Stock and Dairy 
One-cow and Other Small Silos 
Several years ago I wrote The R. 
N.-Y. about a one-cow silo and was asked 
if I could furnish a picture of the silo. 
At that time I could not do so. hut after¬ 
ward secured one. shown on this page. 
I wish to say. however, that this silo is 
a thing of the jiast. It has been rei)laced 
by a two-cow silo, and I will try to give 
a description of each, showing the im¬ 
provement in the second one. The owner 
of these silos. James Tompkins, is not 
exactly a farmer, although he and his son 
George work several acres of land. His 
wife is a fine buttermaker. and they have 
always kept a good cow. So he conceived 
the idea of putting up a one-cow silo. 
Mr. Tompkins is a genius in mechanical 
work, and runs a steam mill where he 
jilanes lumber, makes crates, and most 
anything else. Ills barn is but a little 
way from his engine, and the first year 
or so he ran a small cutter with a belt 
direct from the engine. Afterwai'd he 
bought a custom silo-filling outfit and fills 
with that. 
Ilis first silo was G ft. 4 in. by 14 ft. 
It was, as you can sei* by the lucture. 
built of 2 by 4-in. staves, with iron hoops. 
It kept silago very nicidy. and as he fed 
it in the cold weather but little of it 
spoiled._ 7'he only trouble was that as 
they raised tx nice calf and had jilenty of 
corn if was not big enough. So he took it 
down and built the finest-looking little 
silo I ever s.aw. He used built-up elm- 
wood hoops lined inside and outside with 
.vellow pine flooring. It is tight as a 
ban-el, and warmer than a stave silo. It 
is ( by IG ft., with a jieaked roof. lie 
says the small silo is a succe.ss. and gives 
him better feed than he can have in any 
other way. Whether it would pay if he 
had to hire the power for filling is a 
question. Silo-filling rigs charge $7.r»0 
for a set-down job filling small sihis. 
However, I cannot see why a man with a 
small cutter and ga.soline engine could 
not do it. . 
Speaking of ■what can be done in silo 
filling reminds me of a farmer I knoAV 
who owns his own cutter, but has to 
hire his engine. When he got ready he 
.started out to hire an engine, but after 
looking a day c-ould not find one. A 
neighbor told him he could take his four- 
horse gasoline engine and welcome and 
do what he could, but he said he did not 
believe it would run the cutter, to say 
nothing of cutting corn. Ho he hunted 
for a power for nearly a week without 
finding one. He then went to his neigh¬ 
bor and said he might as well be putting 
in his time trying to cut corn as looking 
for an engine. To his surprise he hail 
his silo filled in less than a day and a 
half. But this was with a carrier cutter 
and not a blower. Since the draft it is 
hard for any of us to get the help to keep 
a large cutter going. Last Fall by ex¬ 
changing work we managed to do it. but 
with .several rigs at work in the same 
neighborhood many of us were expected 
to work at two or three different jilaces 
on the same day, so some places lacked 
help. Why will not a five or six-hor.se 
gasoline engine and a steel carrier solve 
the que.stion? Who has used a steel car¬ 
rier, and is it a success? If not, why not? 
Another picture, at the right, shows the 
bottom jiart of a small silo owned by a 
neighbor wlio has wintered four or five 
cows. It shows a rather poor picture of 
our herd bull, Findern Holdene Pontiac. 
This silo is 8 by 24. and keeps silage 
perfectly. With a large cutter it was 
filled in 2^V^ hours. There are several 
silos near here of 10-ft. diameter, from 20 
to 30 feet in height. I think these things 
prove that the small silo will kei-p silage 
all right, but as for economy everyone 
will have to judge for himself. 
I find that quite a lot of our farmers 
.who have silos are raising cabbage and 
mangels, al.so claiming that it saves 
grain, and that they are able to get more 
milk than they can without them. If 
that is so with those who have silos it 
would seem as if it would be good prac¬ 
tice for those who have not. The cabbage 
is drawn to the barn and thrown in a 
heap outdoors, where it can be got at 
easily. This is not done until cold 
weather, and when the cabbages are 
partly frozen they are covered with straw 
and brought in and allowed to thaw be¬ 
fore feeding. In this way they keep all 
Winter. george w. boger.s. 
Oswego €o., N. Y. 
Filling Silo With Husked Corn 
Will you inform me as to the process 
necessar.v in filling a silo with cornstalks 
after the corn has been husked? 
I. K. E. 
Dry cnrn.stalks are .successfully ensiled 
by cutting the corn into half-inch lengths 
as in the case of green corn for silage. 
Enough water must be added so the 
silage will pack well. When one has a 
water jxressure system it is a very easy 
matter to run the water either directly 
into the silo or into the blovver. If it 
mu.st be put in by hand it is iiuite a 
chore. It will take GO to 75 lbs.*of water 
to each 100 lbs. of corn.stalks. The main 
thing is to get the fodder to take up 
moisture enough so it will pack tight. 
There is no danger of getting in too much 
water if the silo has a drain .so any 
excess can be drained out after the silo 
is filled. II. F. J. 
Value of Silage 
I have a GO-ton silo, and the corn to 
fill same, but having disposed of my dairy 
herd during the Summer, I am desirous 
of disposing of this silage. Dne of my 
neighbors who is short of hay would like 
to huy same in the silo, har.i the silage to 
his. farm at intervals during the Winter. 
Would you advi.se just what price I 
.should put on this much-needed commod¬ 
ity? I am not desirous of a big lu-ice. 
but want what it is worth. Hay is sell¬ 
ing between .$20 and .$2,0 per ton. 
Columbia Co.. N. Y. L. N. s. 
Siu-h values are comiiarative and not 
based on composition. 'riK* usual rule is 
to consider good silage in the silo worth 
ca.se, with the ha.v prices given, the silage 
would, therefore, be worth .$7 to $10.50 
per ton. 
Balanced Ration for Swine 
I would like a balanced ration for pigs, 
shotes and hogs, one for growing them 
for breeding, and one for fattening in the 
most economical way. What grains are 
best suited for hogs when one buys all his 
feed? Is cottonseed meal suitable to mix 
with other grains? I have used old jiro- 
cess oil meal with .seeming success. I have 
green food, .such as apple.s, beets, pota¬ 
toes and rape. f. II. L. 
New York. 
It is difficult, indeed to suggest a ration, 
or a series of rations, that will enable 
anyone to feed out pigs profitably if he is 
compelled to buy all of his feed. Forage 
crops should be the basis of profitable 
pork production, and it is not at all en¬ 
couraging to attempt to feed pigs and 
carry them up to a weight of 2.j() or 300 
pounds if one has to rely upon the food 
dealer for all of the concentrates util¬ 
ized. The following rations are useful 
but m»t necessarily the most economical, 
though seemingly apply to existing con¬ 
ditions. Answering your question, let it 
be definitely stated that cottonseed meal 
is not suitable for feeding swine. It lias 
toxic proiierties that have been known to 
cause death among pigs fed for any length 
of time with this by-product. It fihoiild 
not constitute any jntrt ich at soever of any 
ration intended for feediny sici)ie. 
Old-process linseed meal is a protein 
carrier, but does not compare favorably 
with digester tankage or meat meal as a 
supplement to corn and hominy in a ra¬ 
tion for growing or fattening pigs; nev¬ 
ertheless it is perhaps quite as economical 
as tankage, since the latter has advanced 
to over $100 per ton. It will require ap¬ 
proximately five pounds of oilmeal to i‘e- 
place two potinds of digester tankage, and 
usually for fattening animals the oilmeal 
has proved to be too laxative. If you 
can .secure digester tankage or meat meal 
the.v will be found sujierior to either the 
old or new process oilmeal. 
Ho far as aiiples are concerned, they 
do not posse.ss a great deal of fattening 
value; they are bulky and carry about 85 
per cent of water. Potatoes are a little 
more nutritious, and while they will jiro- 
vide a useful ration for mature animals 
that are being maintained, they are not 
satisfactory for young animals or those 
being fed under jiressure for fattening 
purposes. If potatoes are used for feed¬ 
ing pigs they should be cooked and the 
watei- drained off before they are mashed, 
for there apjiears to be a toxic prxqterty 
in the potato water that limits to a cer¬ 
tain extf-nt the amount of corn that a pig 
will consume. 
The following rations are suggested 
for pigs weighing from 40 to 100 lbs.: 
Corn or hominy meal or barley., 70 lbs.; 
digester tankage, 10 lbs.; oilmeal, 5 lbs.; 
ground oats. 1.5 lbs.; or. hominy meal. 40 
lbs.: ground rye, 25 lbs.; ground oats, 25 
lbs.: digester tankage. 10 lbs. 
Ration for shotes weighing from 100 
to 1.50 lbs.: Corn or barley, 85 lbs.; di¬ 
gester tankage, 1.5 lbs.; or, ground oats, 
45 lbs. ; ground barley. 45 lbs.; digester 
tankage. 10 lbs. 
For fat hogs weighing from 150 to 2.50 
lbs.: Rye, corn or hominy meal, 95 lbs. ; 
digester tankage, 5 lbs.; or. oilmeal. 10 
lbs.; or. gi-ound rye, 30 lbs.; ground bar¬ 
ley. 30 lbs.; ground oats, 30 lbs.; digester 
tankage. 10 lbs. 
A useful ration for brood sows, either 
nursing pigs or suitable for feeding pre¬ 
vious to gestation, is as follows: Ground 
oats. 10 lbs ; hominy meal. 45 lbs.; oil¬ 
meal. 15 lbs.; Alfalfa hay. 20 lbs. 
Or. if one has the facilities for grinding 
or chopping the Alfalfa, a useful mixture 
would be : Cornmeal. 40 lbs.; ground Al¬ 
falfa. 40 lbs.; oilmeal. 15 Ib.s. 
It must be remembered that, so far as 
comiiarative values are concerned, corn- 
meal. hominy meal, and ground rye are 
about eciual in ft'eding values. Of course, 
corn is more palatable, and pigs of any 
age will take this substance with more 
relish than prevails with either hominy 
or rye; but since corn has such a high 
feeding value as a human food and per¬ 
mits storage and shipment with such con¬ 
venience. it has been necessary to relea.se 
a large quantity of this product for ex¬ 
port. Hence the live stock farmer has 
been compelled to use other products that 
have been released from other issues of 
production. 
Brood sows must be wintered largely 
on coarser foods, such as Alfalfa bay and 
clover hay, supplemented by such legume 
September 28, 1918 
products as Hoy beans and by-products, 
from slaughter yards. Rye, corn and Al¬ 
falfa hay alone will satisfy brood sows, 
provided they are not thin in flesh when 
this ration is introduced. 
F. C. MINKLER. 
AILING ANIMALS 
Epilepsy 
I have a .young cow three .vears old, 
and about every week she has hard fits, 
she falls down and trembles all over, 
seems to be short of breath, and after she 
gets over the fit she seems all right. v^L 
.vou tell me what to do for her, ancT^ 
there any cure? J. M. 
New Jerse.v. 
We know of no remedy. If the ani¬ 
mal is known to be free from tuberculosis, 
as shown by the tuberculin test, we should 
advise fitting her for the butcher. A. S. A. 
Growths 
I have a pair of pigs four months old 
doing well. One has a little spot on 
shoulders that bleeds about every three 
days; the other a place on top of head 
by cars; looks a little like a small wart. 
Will it do any harm, or give remedy? 
(Vinnecticut. s. D. o. 
If warts are present hpply lard freely 
to the surrounding skin and then apply 
dilute nitric acid with a flat stick. Re¬ 
peat the application in three or four days, 
and afterward as often as found nece.ssary 
until the growths are cut down. 
A. S. A. 
Skin Trouble 
Eight pigs about three months old and 
their mother all seem to be afflicted with 
some sort f)f skin disease. Their .skin is 
very red and tb.ey scratch continually. 
Home t’bices back of their ears, for in¬ 
stance, get sore. They ai'c not thrifty. 
Have been feeding .some whole milk, calf 
meal, red dog flour, middlings and bran ; 
also some bone meal, ashes and .sulphur. 
New York. M. D. 
I suspect that the pigs are white in 
color and have been jiasturing rank, wet 
growths of rape or other green crop, and 
have then been .scalded by the sun. Huch 
cases are common. Crude petroleum is 
useful as an application in such cases?. 
Wash the pigs clean and then let them 
liathe in water on which has been poured 
enough petroleum to form a thin layer on 
the surface; or tub them in such a bath. 
Add epsom salts or raw linseed oil to the 
slop, then omit bran and calf meal from 
the ration and add ground barley or rye 
and a little flaxseed meal. A. S. A. 
Calf Cholera 
About two weeks ago I had an Ayr¬ 
shire bull calf born which seemed to be 
very spry and lively for about two days, 
when I noticed it seemed all at once to 
get weak in his back and legs; it would 
stagger to its feet and in a minute or 
two have to lie right down again. It 
seemed to have a good appetite and I got 
milk down him for three or four days, but 
he kept getting weaker. At about the 
fifth or sixth day he commenced to scour 
and died in about a day. He was allowed 
to suck the cow until he was too weak 
to stand up to her. and then we had to 
feed him from a pail. Now. about two 
weeks later I had another cow freshen 
and I i)ut her in the same box stall the 
other was in. and she had a fine bull calf, 
born in the moruiiig about five o’clock. 
He ate well all day and sucked the cow 
about 5 p. m.. when we left the barn. 
In the morning I went out to feed him 
and he lay there all stretched out, too 
weak to move; his eyes were sunk way 
back in his head. We took him outdoors 
in the sunshine and at about 10 a. m. he 
was dead. Could you give me an.v idea 
what ailed my calves and what must I 
do not to have any more trouble? Must 
I disinfect my whole barn or will just 
the bo.x .stall be enough? B. I.. C. 
New Y'oi’k. 
This is a germ disease born in the calf 
or contracted at birth by way of the navel 
or mouth. It .sometimes is called white 
scour or calf dysentery. There is no sat¬ 
isfactory remedy, but the di.sease may be 
])revented in a fair proportion of cases 
by immunization of the calf at birth with 
polyvalent calf dysenteric serum, or by 
similar hypodermic use of a white scour 
bacteria. Consult your local graduate 
veterinarian about this treatment, which 
we also have found remedial in some 
cases. , Meanwhile provide a new, clean, 
disinfected and whitewashed, light, per¬ 
fectly ventilated box stall for the recep¬ 
tion of the new-born calves. Keep the 
bedding fresh and clean. At birth sat¬ 
urate the stump of the navel with tinc¬ 
ture of iodine and then dust with .sifted 
slaked lime. Repeat the application daily 
until the navel is perfectly dried. Wash 
the teats and mjfler with a 1 per cent 
solution of coal tar disinfectant before 
the calf is allow’M to suck for the first 
time and do this’ daily for at least 10 
days if the calf nurses. Also disinfect 
the rear parts and genitals of the cow, 
A. S. A. 
Featisush : ‘Ts your wife interested 
in any agricultural pursuit?” Benson- 
hurst: ‘’Well, .she cha.ses chickens out of 
our garden, if that’s what you mean.”— 
Yonkers Htatesmau. 
A One-Cow Stave Silo. Uf Feet High 
3,5 per cent of fiay in the mow. In this 
