Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1883-04-16

some OF the new grasses might be IN
troduced to advantage. 1t is ac-
knowledged that nothing is better for
the production of milk than the
sweet, new growth of good quality
of grass, and experiments have
shown that early cut grass, properly
cured, is nearly as good as the fresh
grass in the pasture for producing
flesh or milk. Hence if it were pos
sible for the farmer to harvest suf-
ficient amount of this. food for his
cows, especially, the best results
might be reached. The cutting and
curing of two crops of hay would be
somewhat expensive, and often times
impracticable on large farms, but it
might be more than offset by the ex-
pense and necessity of grain with
old, woody-stocked hay. Here is,
certainly, line of thought which the
sagacious farmer ought to consider.
If he can so improve the quality of
his fodder as to require less grain, he
ought to do it.
There is another line in which there
ought to be both study and expert
ment, and this is in regard to raising
root crops. That the animals of the
barn heartily relish almost everything
in the line of roots and vegetables is
a good argument in regard to their
worth and that turnips, beets,
carrots, etc., are healthful diet for
the COW or the sheep is generally
conceded. These things do not con-
tain the quantity of food, butter or
flesh substances contained in grain
but as much accordingly as grass,
and more than the corn stalk. 1t is
probable that some of the better
kinds of roots. selected with refer
ence to their flesh or butter produc-
ing qualities, might be grown in
Vermont proftably. Most roots of
the kinds mentioned can be produced
here easily, and at least as profitably
as oats OF barley. The farmer, who
expends one hundred dollars for
grain, can fill a cellar with roots for
the same money.
Ensilage, now being used and
experimental upon, may prove profit
able and help to take the place of
more concentrated food. The ensilage
system appears to be very useful in
preserving crops, especially maize in
q condition similar to the green crop,
at least, nearly as palatable and use
full as the same crop fed green in the
field. Corn in the state in which it
is cut or ensilaged for fodder con-
tains large per cent. of water and
comparatively little food, but animals
have a stomach capacity sufficient to
work mass of this which will pro-
duce flesh and milk in reasonable
quantities. We have noticed, how
ever, in almost every barn where
there is silo, large bin of meal,
and we learn that those who feed
ensilage like a ''little' meal to 90
with it, so we conclude that while cattle
may relish ensilage and it may, by
some quality peculiar to itself,
keep them in thrifty and healthfui
condition, it requires some more con-
centrated food to put the butter oil
into the milk and flesh on to the ear
cass. But ensilage is liked by those
who use it, and we Judge it more
profitable than the buying of grain
raised in Illinois.
Vermont soil is well adapted to the
small grains and the census records
gives her the credit of producing
larger crops per acre than the western
states. The oat and barley crop is
reasonably sure-hardly ever a fail
ure here-the wheat crop for the last
few years has been more sure than
1ntotnac. u-bi1a oop,, hoe, hoo,, ,~roE+
able, both in fodder and seed for
fifteen years, and only occasionally
fails; hence it is not question
whether sufficient grain can be raised
at home, but whether farmers aciU
raise it. If the amount of money
sent out of this county the past year
for grain and feed had been expend-
ed last season, extra, for the produc-
ton of feed crops, the result would
have been surprising. All the money
paid out for extra labor, at least,
would have been paid out here, and
some of our young men, who have
gone where they raise less grain to
the acre, might have found profitable
employment at home. We are aware
that there is a gain in manure when
imported crops are fed out, but that
can be easily offset by the use of fer
tilizers in small quantities and might
be counterbalanced easily by extra
efforts to save manure. 1t Is easily
demonstrated that a man accumulates
money in proportion to what he
saves, not what he makes, and this
applies to the matter of farming with
great pertinency; if the cash received
for butter is largely put into grain
the profit is small.
We are not assuming to offer adj
vice to those who ought to know
much more than we do about farm
ing, but we hope to provoke thought
and comment, and thus do some good
in treating this subject. The bust
ness of farming in Vermont-and
this is the business of the state-is in