The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-11-23
Ght @armer.
Preserving Corn Fodder in Trenches.

F. NJ, Ellicott City, Md, writes to the
Editors Of the Country Gentleman as fol-
lows Absence from home has prevented
an early answer to your correspondents
on the subject of the growth and preser-
walton of corn fodder. | have used corn
fodder grown in drills and broadcast for a
great many years, and if short of grass in
summer | always fell back on my corn fod-
der which gave me all the feed wanted
Tor cows, horses, pigs and sheep. In the
early summer of 1876 l read an account
OF the preservation of maize in trenches,
or, as the French call them, ''silos," and
at once decided to try the experiment.
l sOwed FIVE acres in drills about three
feet apart, and about one bushel of corn
to the acre. This was as late as the first
OF August, and ere the first week of Oc-
to0er 1t was in tassel and was a good crop.
L cut It down with a moving machine.
carried 1t to feed or straw cutter. cut il
up in inch or two inch pieces, added about
a fourth or fifth portion Of straw cut up
in the same way, buried it in silo, and
covered it with twelve inches of earth.
We opened the first silo on Christmas day.
and fed some twenty cows upon it. all
eating it with great relish except two. and
their portion was greedily eaten, when
they left their stalls, by the other cows.
The next day all the COWS ate their feed
and have continued to eat it with great
relish ever since. For milking cows, corn
fodder takes the preference of all feed that
| have ever used. The corn after being
sowed was worked twice with the cultiya
tor and was cut down 10 half day with
the moving machine. My feed cutter will
cut between three and four tons an hour.
and the crop was put in the trenches in
less than two days. | should think that
the expense of the crop is less than fifty
cents ton, if you leave out the rent for
the land and the cost of the manure.
These two items are arbitrary, and that of
manure can only be determined by cxpe-
rience.
In the construction of silos or trenches
every person will make them to suit him
self. | had larger quantity of fodder this
season, and | made a silo about 40 feet
long, 1O4 feet wide at the top, q feet at
the bottom and 81 feet deep. 1t Is three
feet above the level and was much higher
when first made. The great point in pre-
serving green food, is to protect against
the oxygen of the atmosphere, which de-
stroys it. A gentleman of much intelli-
gence suggested to me that TO build sios
for the preservation of green food for every
farm in our Atlantic States, would cost as
much as the railroads of the country have
cost. This may be so, but as every farmer
will. with his own oxen and scraper, do the
most work, the capital of the country will
not be called upon.
By high farming in France an immense
product per acre has been made of corn
fodder-80 tons or more has been claimed
per acre, ! have no question but that
that or greater amount can be produced
here. | am, however, inclined to believe
that if every farmer will put FIVE per cent
of his acreage into corn fodder, in drills
three feet apart, with bushel of corn to
the acre, and work his corn with a cult
vator, ne will gettwenty or more tons to the
acre, which will keep all his stock and give
him more milk and better milk than he
ever had befuTe.