Connecticut western news., 1884-11-12
FARM AND GARDEN.

ENSILAGE AT hOUGaToH fARM.-EA' periments undertaken at Houghton Farm, Mountainville, N. J., and report cd upon by Winthrop E. Stone in the Country Gentleman, give results appar- entity antagonistic to Dr. Manley Miles's theory and add an interesting contribu- ton on the support of silos and ensilage. It will be remembered that Dr. Miles's theory was based upon the view that fermentation results from the action of minute organisms called bacteria. What ever destroys the vitality of these will prevent germination and the resulting acidity so universal in ensilage. It 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- silage free from acidity. Dr. 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 e1peri- 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 120 degrees in about forty-eight hours. Granting that 122 to 40 degrees is suffi- cient to destroy the bacteria and pre- vent fermentation, Mir. Stone does not understand how the generation of this degree of heat in a silo can prevent acidity in the ensilage, when bacteria, fermentation and acidity are all present at temperature of no 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 Mir. Stones observations there is nothing to indicate that 40 degrees above which point the natural heat of silo rarely rises-is detrimental to the development of the bacteria. or the re- sulting fermentation and acidity. Ex- periments were made to ascertain what degree of heat was necessary to destroy the bacteria. These experiments showed that the vitality of the bacteria was destroyed and fermentation pre- vented between lS5 and 194 degrees continued for four hours. These figures are not given as absolute. Mir. Stone thinks it possible lower temperature for longer period might accomplish the same result, but does not think less than 160 degrees will suffice, and no or dinary silo temperature reaches this point. These observations, it ought to be explained, are not presentad by Mir. Stone as arguments for or against any theory, but as a contribution to the knowledge of ensiling.
 DOUBLE CROPPING. --I have been quite successful this year in raising two crops in a garden of about half an acre. The soil is a warm, gravelly loam, in good condition. It was plowed early and planted at once with potatoes, sweet corn, peas, beets, lettuce, radishes and parsnips. Everything was fertilized in the hill or row with mixture of super phosphate and henmanure. The weather was warm after planting, and the seeds all came up, but the frost the latter part of May killed the corn and potatoes to the ground. Another time I 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) were 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 plantings came on successively as wanted, and we are now October 9 using the last of StoweIl'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 stalks 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 and of fine quality. They ripened early, and the tops, whic h were never large, were early out of the way. After the one hoeing and milling which they re- ceived, quantity of fine manure, ashes and superphosphate was put between the rows and we'll mixed with the soil by running cultivator with only two long teeth between the rows. The surface was levelled and cabbage, celery and tomatoes set, and beets, beans, radishes, summer squashes and turnips planted. All these except the turnips have done well. The whole garden except the 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. 70. H. D., WARSAW. N. Y.