Connecticut western news., 1877-04-20
Cheap Food for Cattle.

Cheap Food for Cattle.
 Mr. Geo. R. Ives, of Ashley Falls, who for long time past has been an invalid and who finds occupation for his mind ir the study of various matters relating tt agriculture, has recently given much atten- tion toathe subject of corn fodder for cat tie; method for its preparation and preser vation, and he desires we should give place in our columns for the following in rela ton to the matter, ss he is sure it will be oi interest and benefit to the people:
 Francis Morris, of Howard County, Md, has lately adopted method of preparing and preserving corn fodder, that has fol the last ten years been growing in favor in the south of France, and which, according to the reports of the Agricultural Society of France. has superseded every other kind of fodder in that country on account of its quality and cheapness. MF. Morris is sat. isfied that it's adoption in this country will entirely revolutionize the system of farm- ing. He related his experiment and the result as follows:
 "About the 1st of last August I planted five acres of ordinary wheat land in Indian corn, and I allowed it to grow until the lst of October, when it was in tassel. I then had 1t cut down with reaper and passed through the ordinary process of chopping using for that purpose an ordinary feed cutter. The fodder thus produced was mixed with straw in the proportion of four fifths corn fodder to one fifth straw. It was then put in trenches, trampled down and covered with earth. The fodder re- mained in this state until last Christmas day, when the trenches were opened and the fodder taken out and fed to the cattle. The fodder was found to be in as perfect a state of preservation as when it was first put in, and the cattle seemed to relish it from the first, and now prefer it to any oth- 1T kind of feed. The cost of producing this fodder was only about dollar ton, which is only one twentieth as much as the cost of timothy hay, which is not equal 10 It in any respect. If the land is planted early in the spring, 20 or 30 tons can be raised to the acre, but in France the land IS highly manured and the corn is sowed only two feet apart, which often makes the yield as high as 40 tons to the acre. The same land can afterwards be planted in bar ley. and loses none of It's strength by the the planting of the corn, as it.is principle Tn agriculture that the strength of the land is only lost In the formation of the grain. By the use of this fodder every farm of 100 acres, planted with 10 acres of this fodder would be able to fatten 100 head of cattle during the winter, which would yield a profit of 50 per cent, besides the adYan- tage of having such an amount of stable manure, which in itself, if utilized, would pay for the fodder thus used"
 The advantages of this method, Mir. Morris states is best shown by comparl- son between the cost of production of this fodder and the cost of timothy hay:
 Phosphates, 10 acres at $16...........$l6O
 Team and plough for 30 days......... 60
 Man to tend the team..................... Is
 CutunS. ............................ To
 Hauling and preserving. g.................. 25O
 Total cost $500
 "A fair estimate of the crop of these ten acres would be 800 tons. Five hundred tons of timothy hay would cost $lO.OOO, and as this 800 tons of chopped fodder will answer the same purpose as the timothy hay, it is easily seen that every community can thus raise it's own meat at about half the cost to import it."-N r Tribune, Feb. 3.
 A correspondent to the Ploughman wrote for further information and received the following reply:
 OAKLAND MANOR, Oakland Mills P. O.)
 Howard Co.,, Md. Feb. 13, 1877.)
 GEORGE R. IVES, Eso.-DeGr Sir:- Yours of Feb. 9th is received. am satis- fled from my experIence of corn fodder preserved by the French method, that it is of immense importance to all farmers Drill corn in rows about two feet apart. dress heavily with barn-yard manure or su- perphosphate. Cut (when in the tassel> with a reaper. With a cutting machine cut up into lengths of one inch or less, add 20 per cent. of cut straw, put into trenches of the following dimensions Depth, l-2 feet :; length, 26 feet on surface of the ground, sloping down to 24 l-2 feet at the bottom {; breadth, 1-2 feet on the top sloping down to 1-2 feet at the bottom In each of these trenches about 10 l-2 tons of fodder can be packed. The trench is filled up and the fodder piled up above the surface to height equal to it's depth below the surface. The earth is then thrown up- on the mass before fermentation commen. ces. Two feet depth of soil will depress the pit at least yard by simple pressure. After some days of fermentation it shrinks to one half it's original volume. Tie weight of the material increases by con densation from 800 pounds per cubic yard to 2OOO pounds. The trenches must be watched when first filled. as the fermenta. ton of the fodder opens Assures in the covering soil, and the air thus admitted will change the process of fermentation in to one of putrefactlon. Sand must never De used for covering. The corn should pc cut and the trench filled and covered IT one day. The trenches must be built ir dry soil, and above all, the earth on tor kept tightly beaten down. Tha ground should slope in every direction from th, trench. This insures the fodder agains moisture.
 khaye no doubt your friend will find it use greatly to his advantage. have fed i to my cows for the past two months *' They ate it with avidity from the first, not Withstsndlng it's peculiar smell. I intent to put up 300 tons ot it for their use mex season.
 There are many little items my spac will not allow me to give for them rete you to pamphlet translated from th French to be published by the New Yorl Flow O., Beekmsn St., New York.