The news., 1882-02-23


ILAGE.--Farmers have heard
much about ensilsge lately, and q few
details regarding it would not be out
Of place. They wish to know how
silos are made, food prepared, and the
cost, etc. Ensilage was f's' practiced
in France in 1873, but Gas not at
tempted in this country until 1875.
Its advantages are claimed to be many
and among them, that BY its use an
acre Of land will keep COW one year,
and in the hands Of those who under
stand the management Of preparation
and feeding several months longer.
Green corn Cont in the tassel) and
clover are considered the best for pre-
serving. Nothing hould be allowed
{, cure or bec, me criei. but should be
preserved fresh and Z cen. The food
can be mixture of many kinds if
desired, such as coro, clover, millet,
green oats, cabbages, turnip tops or
anything on the farm that can be cut
up and packed away
As to the silos, there are several
methods of making them, but the
items Of masonry and such ike fright
en- farmers of limited means. Nor do
We wish to recommend farmers TO go
to much expense with experiments
but a. we are discussing the matter
lst US try something cheap, such as
one with Q small farm would like to
use, and if it teaches anything the
coming year it can be tried on a
larger scale the year following. A
silo ten feet deep and ten feet long
and ten feet wide will hold ensiIage
more than sufficient for two COWS .
year or four six months. A cubic
foot Of ensilage averages about forty
pounds, and cubic foot may be con-
sidered ration, as meal, bran, etc.,
are always given extra. Sometimes
foot and q half is fed, according to it's
quality. Silos can be made by dig
ging pits and building walls around
their sides Of stone and cement. Some
have tried only boards with good
results. A ebesp method is to dig
. pit the size desired and make the
walls Of concrete. This ia done %
follows: Gather together stones,
gravel or anything that will I'll up.
Stake . barrel Of lime, and after it is
well slaksd add plenty Of water. Put
your stones, ETC., in it, 10 order that
the lime water will adhere to every
piece. Now thicken to the consisten-
ey Of thin mortar with sand-just
thin enough to be poured from . buck
ets-and your mortar 10 ready. Before
preparing the mortar have . frame
made to it inside the silo, Of wood,
and then pour the concrete on the
outside Of II. Il will soon set, and
the frame can be Withdrawn, leaving
. concrete wall. Spread o layer Of
mortar on the bottom Of the silo, also.
In order to make Ii alright and pre-
vent water from entering, make .
mixture Of equal parts Of Stacked
lime and fresh buIlock's blood. APP
ply to every part with . whitswssh
brush, and your clio Is close enough
to resist cir and water. Lime and
bullock's blood mixed Is . splendid
waterproof paint, and very cheap.
Or, II scacrste il too expensive, dig
your pit and insert wooden frame,
making Il very close.
TO prepare the feed. supposiug
every one knows how to grow IL, cut ID
Into very shsrt lengths With . cutter
mot ever An inch 10 lsngth, half
iash d bsttsr--And In it, green state
pack Il closely BY trampling on 1t,
every little space being fllsd and ,csH
pressed. Continue this until the silo
u filed. Bear In mind that pressure
q Gil there ID In the art; the more
pressure the better ii will keep. 1t
may b made to hold more by
baildipg the upper part Of che silo
some few feet above ground. In fact
. silo may b inside ssusirsly above
ground # desired, but ~ the pressure
= very great and the snsilsgs very
ans the mass escapes, or the silos may
burst. The air must be entirely ex-
eludsd. Feed can be stored away in
. corner Of the ground floor Of barn
BY extra boarding with strong fasten-
ings, and straw paper between boards
to keep out air. After the feed is ell
securely packed heavy boards must
be placed on top of it, and on these,
stones or any other weight to give