The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-01-19
Agricultural.


4 few iAys since. ~e. IL company With
II q pemias Esq the Montpelier aeen,
81 the associated press. visited the sllo Of
Ne ssfs A. ]. Hollisier A Sons, North Mont.
pelief This was built aud filed last sea
soa aud At the time Of our witt they hsd
been feeding from Il about weeks. The
pii j. bull, 10 an angle bc,s~sn two barns
shich NEE, at the eornets, aud Is covered
sith lean.to root from the main barn
The silo is 81 hy IL feet on the outside,
aud IS Zee, deep OF this. feet is eica,
yated aud : feet built above ground The
lover : feet Is wall built Of split granite
laid nn the cemen,el bottom aud e,.menied
or polluted" NJ though II is not laid mp
in mortar Above the wall is frame,
feet high. boarded inside and out. ins dc
with matched boards. la this pit the en-.
silagc stands ! feet inches ia depth, ten
tons OF the top Of which is corn fodder,
from which the ears ware picked for hnsk-
ing the crop, and tie fodder cut and put
on the fodder corn. cut aud packed before.
This has not kept as well as the fodder
corn. not being Juicy enough TO keep from
moulding The silo cost sl7l.s 81 all flu
ished, which includes all the work done
on it, OF this. Mr. II. reckoned 80 days
farm labor at one dollar per day. the men
helping 10 10 the chores on the farm; 80
per day for man and team; lumber at $40
per Thousand: aud stone at what he would
have had Ia pay for them, il he had bought.
though he had them about the buildings;
ccsaent, $40; plank for covering. 1918,
He planted q acres with Sanford corn. Of
which an acre proved OF no yalne, leaving
8 acres of fod Ter. which he began ensiling
Sept s. 1t took four days TO fill the pit
or rather to put in the fodder, for there
was not enough to fill the silo. and il took
men, yoke Of oxen and horse 10 do il
q, cost Of $40 per day, and the 10 tons of
corn fodder put in afterwards at cost OF
So. The weighting Of the silo cost 81, two
men doing it in day; and by a device we
have suggeted TO several who have used
cobble stones, viz, barrels filled with sand
which, with some large stones which he
used. not having barrels enough, must
have given him pressure Of about 800
pounds per square foot--a pressure sufii.
cient to eYpel some Of the juice at the bot
tom where the fodder has been taken ont
Mr.. II. calculated from his weighing
and measuring that he had rs tons of en-
silage in the pit, and of this he had fed one
third when we were there He has AZ head
of cattle and the average ration for COW
per day is 10 lbs. of hay, 8 lbs. corn fod-
der, 80 lbs ensilage, no meal, and he con.
siders the ensilage equal in value to half
its weight in hay.
He thinks it would require 30 pounds Of
hay per day for COW and believes GO
pounds of ensilage would do as well, but
thinks it better to feed ensilage with dry
fodder. He is.keeping II head more cat
tie this year than last, besides one yoke Of
oxen half the winter; is intending to raise
no calves, and has set his stakes at keeping
100 cows in four years from now.
He took up his cows the first week in
November from rowen and pumpkins, and
fed ensilage and there was no falling off
in milk. His crop Of ensilage was raised
at cost which he estimates ~ follows:
80 per acre. which We think low;
narrowing and marking. so; seed, 70 cents;
twice, 80. On one acre he put
s. worth of phosphate on the rest loads
Of manure per acre. Three acres in the
drill and one spread broadcast; corn tie
best where the manure was spread on. He
considered the manure worth $3.50 per
oad, which would make $l2 per acre for
manure against So for phosphate which,
we understood them to say, gave about
he same yield. Mr.. H. used the Sanford
,orn for his seed, which we think is mis-
take. We believe it the most valuable va
-iety to feed green, as it Is very sweet, but
N ensiling it, fermentation has changed
he sugar to vinegar, and the more sugar
he more vinepnr and Mr.. H. s ensilage is
lie sourest, that is. the most acid Of any
we have seen, though fermentation has
zone no farther than in other silos we have
,isitel. With the 81 uthern white corn
,nsilists will get much greater growth
with less sugar and consequently less vim
,gar. We have never seen sample OF en-
'ilage az Mr.. Goflart, its discoverer, claims
{ should be, and is done by him. He
,ays, 1T is above all important to avoid
III kinds of fermentation during aud after
and again, 'when ensilage is fed
put it should he exposed TO the air fifteen
,r twenty hours in order that fermentation I
nay commence, and again, 1T WAS hardly
exposed to the air when it underwent a We
liable change; the browuish color became 4.
ensibly green, the beginning OF alcbohol.
C fermeDt ton took place without exceed.
ng the limits which that fermentation
'ught never to pass. So it seems with
II the enthusiasm OF ensiists over what 4
las been done, they have not reached the
,oint where ensilage is at its best. ,
We cannot ~ yet point ont the cause Of !
he failure, bnt hope to discover it sooner l
n later. 1t is not in the insufficient , |,
Feighting it hardly seems possible that it !
! in the construction of the silo and that ,