The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-02-07
he Value of Ensilage-Practical Farmers
Discussiog Their Experience.

NJ organized the Second Ensilsge Congress
Ieleciing as President Francis Morris
|6f Baltimore, the first man who built
q silo, or fodder pit, in this coun-
try. Mr.. j. B. Brown was elect
ed Secretary. Mr.. Brown, after brief
address in which he eulogized the merits OF
| the ensilage system, which he declared was
sdestined to prove the salvation of Eastern
Farmers, unveiled bust of Auguste Goffart,
the French inventor of the system, which
\was greeted with loud applause. Scattered
In tables near the platform were specimens
D. I ensilage and of butter made from the
cham Ct the cows fed on it, and the farmers
examined the sample closely, testing them
by the sense of taste as we'll as smell, al
though the odor sent forth by the preserved
fodder reminded the untutored nose of sour
mErout and whisky combined.
The first person who addressed the con-
ress was Alfred A Reid, a farmer who lives
mar Providence, r L. He is thorough
believer in the virtues of ensilage, and said
that his cows, calves, steers and working
oxen had steadily improved while feeding
upon it. lie presented detailed statement
of the cost of preparing ensilage at his farm.
From four acres of land he said he had
taken sixty-six tons 427 pounds of corn,
and this was raised and placed in the
silo at an expense Of s22S.9l, making
the ensilage cost S3.45 per ton. Mr..
Reid said that he had ensilaged clover, rye
and grasses, as well as corn, but his expert
ence was that corn made tn best ensilage.
Rev. William Ormiston gave his experience
in constructing silO and producing en.ilage
on his farm at Whitby, on Lake Ontario.
near Toronto. Even the most intelligent of
bis friends, he said, laughed at him when he
proposed Ia experiment on ensilage, but he
had faith in the system, and had gone on in
spite OF the laughs of his friends. He built
a silo fifty feet long and twenty feet wide,
and walled the sides with stone twenty
inches thick, aud ensilaged corn, clover
aud even weeds. The expense of getting
his crop from the field and packing it IN
the silo was about 81 20 per ton. and the en-
silage, when the silo was opened on June ],
was found to be as sweet aud green rs when
the fodder was first packed. The horses,
cows aud hogs ate it greediiy. at is sue
cess indisputably," said Dr.. Ormiston, land
the people are now determined TO have en-
silage. Cattle prefer it to turnips or dry
r fodder, and the milk of the cows seems to
VI.
The only question now is whether II will
make as good beef and am experimenting
now to find out"
The question as to whether wooden silos
we're as good as stone or concrete occupied
good deal of attention. Mr.. Moore, of
Rockwell County, and Mr.. Percy, OF Chat
ham, IN this State, related their experiences
with wooden silos, are pronounced in favor
Iof Them declaring that they had succeeded
IN producing excellent ensilage in them.
eEnd that the fodder was almost as
thoroughly protected against frost as that
Enclosed in masonry. W. A. Strong Of
SGolden's Springs, exhibited some corn
Which he had ensIlsged without first cut
ting it into small pieces, aud SAID that he
found it easier to pack the stalks in this
way, and that his cattle relished the fodder
as we'll as they did the ensilage. He was
satisfied, he said, that il was a mistaken
notion that the silo must be air tight in
order to preserve the fodder. The
only thing required was to
have sufficient pressure. 1t costs
him only two and a half cents day to feed
a COW on ensilage, and with this he mixed
little brewers grain. The question of the
amount of pressure necessary to preserve
the fodder was discussed for some time. Mr..
Smith. of Syracuse, who is Q large importer
of Holstein cattle, and feeds these valuable
animals almost entirely on ensilage, said
that the first silo that he constructed was of
brick, and that he used a pressure of 300
pounds to the square foot. The result was
that the walls of the silo burst. DR.. Ormis-
ton said that he had used 100 pounds to the
square foot, but he thought that was too
much weight, and he was going to try less.
Mr.. Reid. OF Providence, said that on one of
his silos he used four screws to obtain the
proper pressure, and on the other 1880
pounds of stone which was equal to about
66.4j8 pounds to the square foot, and he
found this pressure to be about what was re-
quired to secure good ensilage.
Mr.. J. Y. Smith. of DoylestowD, Pa,
bought the fodder should be cut before il
was packed in the silo, and said that with
his machinery he could cut his corn and
pack il more eheaply than Mr.. Strong could
bind his uncut and pack it. He was enthus-
iastic in his praise of ensilage as a feed for
animals, and declared that it made as good
beef as any produced in England or any
Swhere else. He revealed some of the secrets
of farmers business which will prove of
interest to housewives 81 have made but
ter" he said, ''for six and three-fourth cents
pound that my hOusekeeeper has had the
impu6ence to sell TO you city folks
for fifty cents pound. and
for cent can fill a quart pail with milk
and still have profit" These facts he at
tributed to the discovery of ensilege. Mr.
j. w. Walcott, who owns a large farm near
Boston and a hotel in that city, said that
the entire cost of his ensilage, with which
he fed 10i COWS, was little over 50 per ton
He sold 1000 pounds of ensilage butter a
week, and received sixty five cents a pound
for il. "a silo that you can fill In day."
said Mr.. Walcott, lis the most convenient
size. The sooner you can fill ii and weigh
it the better your ensilage will be. In the
matter of silos it makes no difference
whether they cost S25 or $25. co., One will
preserve your ensilage as well as the other
The only thing required is continuous
pressure. l believe that pile of corn in
the open air can be perfectly preserved
IL weight enough Is placed on the
top 10 expel the oxygen. l use aoout 13C
pounds of weight to the square foot, and
never uncover any part of my silo until
want to use the ensilags." Mr.. Morris, the
President of the Congress. SAID that he had
always used earth silos, and any farmer
could make them by simply digging a pit
filling il with fodder, aud covering with
two or three feet of earth. This was the be t
sIlO because the least expensive.
The cost OF producing ensilage was the
subject of much discussion, aud the figures
given differed widely. J. NJ. Brugler, of
New Brunswick. ~ j., found thst 1853 tons
cost him S. % per ton; G. K. Benedict, of
HOlyoke, Mass, said that his ensilage cost
him tri6e less than IS a ton. and w. H.
Gilbert, of Richland, n K, declared that
he raised and packed fifteen tons az an av-
erage cost of 81 40 per ton.