Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-01-26
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
Captain Gilbert Morton OF Essex addressed the
meeting upon the subject Of

The captain Is an old sailor who In his old age
has taken to farming. He gave a very amusing
account Of his agricultural beginnings, his expe-
rience with smart neighbors, and his scholarship
in agriculture under the teachings Of the agricul-
tural papers. Last fall he tried ensilage In
cheap and plain way. He made trench twelve
feet wide, sixty feet long, and nine feet deep
stoned up with wal-stone, plastered, and the bot
tom cemented, at cost of 800. 1t was banked
up on the outside to the top, only three feet
being below the natural surface. The corn-stalks
were cut in one-fourth inch pieces trodden down
firmly, and covered with boards heavily weighted
with stones. The cows are doing better on ensil-
age than on hay and meal alone, giving more
milk He feeds one hundred and eighty pounds
Of cut hay to one hundred pounds OF meal and |
bran Mixed in addition to two hundred and fifty |
pounds ensilage, to twenty seven head Of stock,
large and small, including seven cows In milk, |
which are now giving forty quarts Of milk day. |
The preservation Of the ensilage, which was
shown, is very good, though 1t is slightly acid |
The main point, says the captain, is to keep the
corners well trod down in packing the so. In
feeding he mixes the cut hay, meal and ensage
all together, and then portions the whole out in
rations to each animal, according to size. The
enslage averages to weigh fortysix pounds to the
cubic foot In the silo. lie used both the Blunt
enslage corn and southern gourd seed the latter
he thinks il the best, and in the end Is much the
cheapest Sanford corn Ia too small for profit as
an ensilage crop lie plants in rows two feet
apart about one bushel OF seed TO the acre, cuti-
vated with the Thomas smoothing harrow There
were about two acres Of corn. It cost ten dollars
to get the whole into the slo. The captain thinks
that with tight silo and enough pressure the en-
silage will come ont almost perfectly sweet. He
has five shoats raised on one bushel ensiage and
ten pounds Of meal day, that are the best he has
ever seen. His ensilage butter, made this winter,
sells for thirty-five cents a pound. He thinks
that ensiage corn fodder doubles its feeding value
somehow, no matter what chemists may say. W.
N. johnson, manufacturer Of ensilage cutters,
stated that he made the first cutter for DR.. Bailey
of Billerica, Massachusetts, two years ago. This
,ast season there has been quite demand for
| cutters.
Mr.. George W. Whitney Of williston read
useful paper recounting his experiments in
FEEDING DAIRY cows
These experiments to be comprehensive, need
to be given in full, as shall try to do hereafter
The deduction from these experiments is that
much higher feeding than Is usually practiced
pays well.
| Mr.. Cramton Of Swanton said his experience
agreed with MIR. whitney's. The more you can
get a COW to eat the better she will pay. Has fed
grain the year round had no bad consequences to
the cows. Fed about half meal and half shorts
| in winter. In summer he prefers all coarse wheat
middlings. Feeds two quarts Of shorts and one
quart of cotton-seed meal with hay as another
ration. Thinks cotton seed a profitable, perhaps
the most profitable single grain feed he has used.
Mr.. Cheever OF Massachusetts, said he had
aimed for years to feed his cows as well as he
could 1t has proved profitable. Has fed cotton
seed meal at the rate Of two quarts day Others
feed twice as high, with excellent results when
bog hay was fed with it instead of meadow hay
He never feeds cotton seed meal without an ad.
| mixture of corn and oat meal and shorts But
there is danger Of feeding too much meal Of any
kind along with the best hay Together they
make too rich feed. When rich feeding stuff
is used, coarser forage should 60 with it. Corn
stalks oat and barley straw are best with rich
meal feed
Much miscellaneous and unreportabe discus.
sion followed, after which Mr. Cheever repeated
some statements recently made by Professor
Goessmann OF the Massachusetts Agriculture
College, regarding ensilage to the effect that 1t Is
impossible to preserve green vegetable matter in
| a silo, no matter how thoroughly closed without
fermentation, or without loss Of value In conse-
quence of the fermentation Also that there is
no loss OF niItfi1ve value incurred in tho process
OF curing grass into hay when carefully done,
without accident from weather. Also that there
Is greater loss in corn ensilage from fermentation
the sweeter the variety or in other words that the
rankest, coarsest, least sweet variety is the best
suited for making ensilage.
WEDNESDAY EVENING.
T. D. Curtis Esq, of watertown, New York,
read paper upon
ECONOMY OF THE DAIRY.
The subject is very comprehensive one. With
out wise economy there is little opportunity fol
profit. We must cheaper production. We mus
have good grass for dairying. A dairy farm mus
be grass farm, with soil fit for the growth of al
dairy forage. Good water must be abundant. |
the farm Is ont OF condition, the wise applicatio
of fertilizng materials is required This isa par
Of the science OF farming. We must learn to us
fertilizers with chemical accuracy This is tn
way to get the largest crops at the least expense
With the farm in good condition we must have
dairy and large mixers for cheese, goo
creamers for butter. All our selecting and breed
ing must be directed accordingly. Skill in breed
ing comes in here as potent element in economy
Ignorant breeding gives us mongrel breed
Careful breeding of the herd from no-proft cow
must be effected by repeated tests carefully cor
Quoted. Better small herd Of paying cows tina
a large one OF all sorts. Wise selection and CON
bination Of feeding crops is a prime element |
the economy of feeding. Without right know
} edge on this point, as well as skill in arrangin
and combining the ration for the cows according
times and seasons there is no true economy Th
requires both chemical knowledge and much pra(
tice Also the question of how feed shall be pr,
served. Shall we cure or ensilage our fodder, c
both? 1t is economy to feed literally. los
,, flow Of milk can rarely be restored To perm
a cows to come through the winter spring-poo
is a losing practice. Roughness to dairy anima
is a dreadful waste. Make the cows comfortabl
and the COWS will be glad to see you and n
ward you. Cold stables In winter Is the wor
, of bad economy. We cannot afford to us
' food for fuel. Forty-five degrees is the be-
y winter temperature for the cow stable. But I'll
= stable should be well ventilated and lighted. II
> fresh air should rome in at the heads of the COW
and the impure air be let out at the rear OF IL
|
l. the dairy is OF the essence of true economy @
9 the dairy farm. Order and system are also ecoi
q omy. A time and place for everything shoul
B. be the rule Milk, skim, churn, all at a reguli
l. time Have all needed conveniences for the worl
y We cannot do the best work with imperfect in
70 plements There Is waste OF cream in mixing II
l. milk OF cows Of different breeds, and in usin
d that of mongrel cows. All the butter does NJ
B. come at once from this class of cream. Here
IL the use OF well bred stock, the cream OF which
D. most uniform. Mr. Curtis suggested two or thr'
"a skimmings, to separate the different sized glo
Is ules, which he thought should also be churne
70 separately. Refined salt should always be use'
al either American or foreign. Home markets ter
a greatly to economy These should be sought an
is developed, both In butter and cheese.
st A discussion arose at the conclusion OF nj
O. Curtis paper as to the ascertaned facts In regal
or to the churning of large and small globult
g. cream together. Nothing very definite WI
s elected, except that there was difference
s opinion Several speakers (Mr Cheever al
n- Mr., Vail Of Pomfret among them) narrated exp
% riences which tended TO show that all separab
no globules are separated In churning when q
n cream is properly prepared, without regard to Il
u size OF the globules.
be toosrEuED on RsIDEI