The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1882-02-18
An Ensilage Congress.

|
President Of the New York Plow Com
pany, conceived the idea of gathering
the experienced disciples of ersilage
together to discuss the advantages and
results of this new plan of preserving
| fodder. There are two principa! me-
thods practiced, with variations accord
ing to circumstances The first to be
Ppracticed in the country was the her
| metically sealing or preserving of the
fodder by excluding Che air, with only
sufficient weight to serve this purpose
Thiscwas theplan practiced by Monsieur
Goffart, of France, whose treatise on
the subject was translated and publish
ed about SIX years since. Hon. Orlan
do B. Potter, Of New York, was one of
the first to put the theory in practice
in this country, and has now several
silos on his farm at Sing Sing. The
second method is to depend upon hea-
w pressure so as to make the mass
compact, and thus prevent fermenta
tion beyond the alcoholic state. Mr.
Clark W. Mills, of Pompton, n. j., has
used this method with most satisfacto
ry results. and believes the cost of hea-
Wy, expensive walls may be avoided by
the use of sufficient weight to make the
mass impervious to the action of the
air
In accordance with the plan of Mr..
Brown, on Wednesday last about one
hundred Of the professional farmers
who had either already tried the ensil-
age system or were desirous of learn
ing the results of the experiments
made, assecl bled at No. 81 Beekman
street, New York, and discussed the
following topics: The most profitable
creps to ensiIage :" "Cultivation and
cutting;" "How to build and fill ST.
los" How to feed ensiIage;' IS Eco
nomic value of ensilage as compared
with other fodder" and Improved
farming Methods
, Mr.. Francis Morris, of Maryland, one
of the first to begin the system, said he
had very successfully preserved the
green crops by simply digging trench
and laying down the corn and covering
with earth to preserve it from the ac-
tion of the air. .......
Mr. Potter had tried various green
crops, as corn, sorgum, clover, rye, and
millet, and found the results from feed
ing them in that state to be far supe-
rior to either the green, or the cured in
shape of hay. In his practice it was
learned that cattle did better on a ra-
ton of mixed ensilage, say of corn or
sergum, and clover or millet, and he
would build his silos from fifteen to
eighteen feet deep, from eight to ten
feet wide, and from fifteen to twenty
feet long, so as to have the various
crops stored either separately, or, if
possible, together, SO as to feed a mix
ed ration.
The question of the cost of raising
and storing the ensilage was discussed,
and the average, As learned by the ex-
preston of the majority, was that 81 so
per ton, exclusive of rent for the land,
was the total cost, and that from fifteen
to sixty tons per acre couldo be raised
by using certain varieties of corn. The
amount cow would eat depends some
what on the amount of grain used in
connection. Most of the farmers used
about three quarts of meal middling or
barley -four in addition to the ensilage,
of which sixty to eighty pounds per
day was given.
Mr.. Mills said he had kept 100 head
of cattle and fourteen horses on the
product of twelve acres for seven
mon tbs, and was satisfied that by this
system the product of the dairy region
could be increased ten fold, aud that
beef could be raised in competition
with the great ranches of the plains.
Samples of the milk and butter made
from the ensilage were exhibited, and |
had the high coIor and rich flavor of
that made from the best pasture.
Mr.. Reed, of Warwick, r. l., gave
the results of feeding hay and varions
kinds of snsiIage, and showed conclu-
sively that cows not only increased in |
weight, but also in the quality and
quantity of milk.