Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-03-11
FARM AND PRESIDE.

,ENsILAGE.-Thomas ). Watson, ESQ, a
practical and intelligent farmer, of Lou
lisa, gives his views about ensilage to the
Louisa News and Farmer. p as follows
A French agriculturist. M. Goffart, has
has published little book in which he de-
scribes the means by which he succeeded
IN preserving green CORD. savory and sound
as food for stock. A second edition of the
translation of this book, the title of which
is THE Ensilage of Maize,'' by j. B.
Broun, N. Y, has been published in this
country; and the subject Of ensilage is re-
| ceiving general and deserved attention
from intelligent farmers IN many parts of
the United States. Urn 4eo
With view of testing Mr. Goffart's
statements, and those of others, in this
country, who have practiced his plan for
several years. dug two pits last year. and
cultivated two pieces of corn, which cut
up and packed away in these pits; and I
wish to give my countrymen the benefit of
my experience in the matter, which is de-
cldedly favorable to the safe-keeping of
the corn. t-r-o.7 - IA aft reeg
That clover, corn, and other forage
plants, put up and preserved in a green
state, would be valuable addition to our
winter feed, nobody seemed to at all doubt:
but most persons held the opinion that it
would not keep, .'You may cut it up and
put it in de pits, but fore God,' its gwine
to mould.' said Ralph, (colored). Now
my silos. 1.-THE pits in which the stuff is
packed are called silesl, were designed to
test this very question; and i affirm that
it will not rot, but will come out, after
three or four months sound and wholesome,
and will be greedlly eaten by the cattle L
have been feeding cattle upon it, for about
month, and they look strong and healthy.
am now prepared to express an opinion
IS to its nutritive value. Most of those
who have tried it seem to think hay wo to
dc uble as much as ensilage, that is, 50
pounds of hay will keep an animal in Is
good plight as 100 pounds of ensilage. If
this is true, my Judgment is that an acre
IT land will produce three or four times IS
much forage in ensilage as in hay. On
one piece of my land from which ensilase
was cut, corn had grown for six years Z
succession. It was good land, of course,
md the yield Of ensilage was at the rate
Ut about twelve or thirteen tons per acre.
My opinion is that two tons of hay per
acre would have been good crop for this
land under the circumstances; in other
words, the quality of forage obtained in
ensilage was three times what it would
have been in hay. A practical neighbor,
Mr. James M. Vest. after looking at the
growing ensilage said to me, 'sIf this land
mad rested few years, and you had then
turned under good crop of clover, there
would have been double this quantity of
corn on it.''
My si'os being merely experimental,
we're not constructed with the accuracy
and thoroughness that is desirable. Z
They should be, as nearly as possible,
1ir and aoater tight; but my trial has been
so successful and satisfactory that 1 look
forward to building larger and more per-
Fect silos. and ensilaging large quantities
II corr and clover. aFtH
This communication is intended merely
TO draw attention to the subject. Those
interested will do well to study M. Goff-
arts book, and inform themselves more
accurately than can be done by newspa-
per article.