News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-12-04
FARM AND GARDEN.

Farm, Mountainville, N J., and report
"a upon by Winthrop E. Stone in the
G.,0atIy Ge1atlen1ar, give results appar-
ntly antagonistic to DIR. Manley Miles's
heory and add an interesting contrlbu-
Oh on the support of silos and ensilage.
will be remembered that DIR. Mles's
heory was based upon the view that
rrmentation results from the action of
minute organisms called bacteria. What
,ver destroys the vitality of these will
prevent termination and the resulting
acidity so universal in ensilage. 1t was
claimed that the heat generated IN the
mass of ensilage, when left without
packing or weighing, would be sufficient
TO destroy the bacteria and produce en-
,ilage free from acidity. DIR. Miles's
experiments seemed to indicate that
temperature of 122 deg. to 140 deg.
Fahrenheit maintained for an hour or
two would be fatal to the bacteria. In
each of the eight filings of the expert
mental silo at Houghton Farm, the re-
suits show that bacteria appear in nine
Or ten hours after filling that free acid
was always found after twenty-four
hours, and in strata where the tempera-
ture of the entire layer rose above 12Q
legrees in about forty-eight hours.
Granting that 122 to 140 degrees is sutfi-
cient to destroy the bacteria and pre-
vent fermentation, Mr.. Stone does not
understand how tie generation of this
degree of heat in silo can prevent
scidity in the ensilage, when bacteria,
fermentation and acidity are all present
at temperature of ITO degrees. He
says: "Even if the principle of the
theory is correct, the above results indi-
cate that its practical workings would be
failure, since before the high tempera-
ture can be produced the mischievous
fermentation is we'll under way But
in Mr.. Stones obser, ations there is
nothing to indicate that 140 degrees
above which point the natural heat of
,ilo rarely rises-is detrimental to the
development of the bacteria, or the re-
sulting fermentation and acidity. Ex-
periments were made to ascertain what
legree of heat was necessary to destroy
he bacteria. These experiments
showed that the vitality of the bacteria
was destroyed and fermentation pre-
vented between 195 and 1914 degrees
continued for four hours. These figures
are not given as absolute. Mr.. Stone
thinks it possible a lower temperature
for a longer period might accomplish
the same result, but does not think less
than 100 degrees will suffice, and no or
dinary silo temperature reaches this
point. These observations, it ought t.
e explained, are not presented by Nc.
Stone as arguments for or against any
heory, but as a contribution to the
knowledge of ensiling.
DOUBLE CRoPPING. Il have been
unite successful this year in raising two
crops in garden of about half an acre.
The soil is a warm, gravelly loan, in
good condition. 1t was plowed early
md planted at once with potatoes, sweet
corn, peas, beets, lettuce, radishes and
parsnips. Everything was fertilized i'll
the hill or row with a mixture of super
phosphate and henmanure. The weather
was warm after planting, and the seeds
Ill came up, but the frost the latter
part of May killed the corn and potatoes
to the ground. Another time l would
hoe dirt over them as protection from
frost. The corn was planted over. About
half of the first planting grew; and as
three kinds (early, medium and late)
we're planted both times, there were
really two crops of corn. The first
planted-Early Minnesota-was ready
for picking early in August; the differ.
ent kinds and two paintings came on
successively as wanted, and we are now
October 81 using the last of Stowell's
Evergreen. Most of the hills contained
some stalks of both early and late corn
| One did not seem to interfere with the
| Developments of the other. After the
early had been picked and their stalk!
cut out, there seemed to be good crop
of the large late corn left. The potatoes
planted were the Beauty of Hebron
The yield was large, the tubers large anC
If fine quality. They ripened early
md the tops. whic h were never large
were early out of the way. After tn
one hoeing and hilling which they re
ceived, quantity of fine manure, ashe
and superphosphate was put between
the rows and well mixed with the soil b.
running cultivator with only two lont
teeth between the rows. The surfac
was levelled and cabbage, celery ant
tomatoes set, and beets, beans, radishes
summer squashes and turnips planted
All these except the turnips have don
we'll The whole garden except tn
corn ground is still covered with grow
ing vegetables, from which we draw
largely every day and which will contrib
ute much to the winter supplies. 81
! D.. WARSAW. N. Y