Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-06-02

N'1oung FARMER" in the Boston JOurnal)
Have you weakened in your faith in silos
and ensilage !" asks friend, as we meet on
the street. II have seen nothing about it in
the Journal lately, and so suppose that the
scientific men have converted you to the be-
lief that dried grass, with bucket of water,
is just as good as green grass, or that pre-
serving the green grass in a silo destroys its
nutritious qualities"
On the contrary, my faith in ensilage is as
strong as it ever was, and have said nothing
about it lately because it seemed to mo that
all the agricultural papers were advocating it
in their editorial columns, while all their cor
respondents were nearly unanimous in favor
of the new method las it is called) of preserv-
ing corn fodder. But if the scientific men
are combating it upon the principle that there
is nothing lost in the drying of grass or corn
fodder, excepting certain weight of pure wa
ter which evaporates, l cannot agree with
them, unless they can give me more scientific
knowledge than l have now. am more in
clned to agree with the editor of the Ameri-
can Oultivator, who asks very pertinently,
whether the believers in that doctrine would
accept a slice of dried beef and dish of dried
apples, with glass of water, as a substitute
for juicy beefsteak and n good mellow apple
1t may be that that which evaporates CON
tains nothing 9Olich can be measured or aoeigt.
Ell, excepting pure water; but the rich flavor
and delicate aroma are gone, and we cannot
replace them, nor do l know of any way to
estimate their value as nutrition. Whether
this volatile essence contains nutritious prop
critics, or imparts value by the part it plays in
the digestive process, we cannot ascertain in
any better way than by asking the animals to
which we have fed the green grasses and the
well-cured hay. If they are willing to give
more milk, make moro butter or store up
fat fba 10. -.
upon the dry, supplemented with all the pure
water they can drink, then shall trust to the
Judgment of the COW rather than to that of
the learned professor, and shall believe that
grass contains something more than hay and
water.
And will venture another assertion, and
call upon any one who has practiced sOiling
his cattle to prove it. The amount of grass
which will keep COW thriving and in good
How of milk when fed to her green, will not
be sufficient ration for her If it is made into
well-cured hay. This may be easily proven
by cutting two lots of grass of equal weight,
and curing one of them.
AS regards the chemical changes in the en-
silage while in the pit, the weight of evidence
seems to indicate that they make the fodder
more nutritious and valuable than it was when
put in; yet, as much may depend upon the
condition of the fodder when put in, or the
rapldlty or perfection of the method of pack
ing, this point may be considered an open
question for the present, and one that is wor-
thy of investigation.
The point which the practical farmer will
desire to know is not whether ensilaged fod-
der is more valuable than it was before it was
put INTO the pit but whether it is more valua-
bic than II it were cured by the process of
drying, and can it be put in the pit at less
cost than it can be dried. The evidence of at
least nine-tenths of those who used silos last
year leads me to believe that both these ques-
tons may be answered in the affirmative.
Young Farmer" IN Boston Journal.