Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1885-03-07
INSPECTION OF slL0s.

INSPECTION OF SI0S.
A very pleasant company met al
the home of Hon. T. r. Carskadon
on Saturday. 2lst, in response to ar
invitation to be present at an inspec
tion of his silos. Though the day
was cold, the pleasant parlors were
cheerful with blazing open fires, ra
dating heat and comfort to ever,
part of the room. An hour or two
was passed in social chat and then came
the request (" Gentlemen, please walk
out to dinner" Everybody at once ac
cepted the invitation, and no one, we
think, was disappointed. For variety
excellence of material and tOOthsome
cookery, it was a dinner hard to excel
The dinner over, and the slaves Of
the weed satisfied, the party adjourn
ed to the splendid barn, toinspect the
silos. These are three in number
They are about eighteen feet square,
and twenty feet deep, occupying the
bay on the west side of the barn. One
of them has been emptied and filed
with ice for summer use a second is
about half emptied, and the third has
not been opened. We descended into
the half emptied one, and stood on
the surface ofthe ensilage. At depth
of ten to tWelves inches the temper.
allure was found to be sixty-five To
seventy degrees, steam rising freely
from fork-fnll of it exposed to the
air. 1t has a mild sub-acid smell and
taste, not at all disagreeable. We
were shown lot of calves which had
been kept exclusively upon it. They
were plump and seemed to be thirty
ing excellently, as did also the sheep,
which had in addition daily feed OF
hay. All the animals seemed to eat
it with avidity. From its great cheap
ness, as compared with any other
feed, it seems to us that it ought speed
lily to come into general use. The silo
as proposed by Mr.. Carskadon is so
cheaply and easily constructed as to
be within the means of the poorer
class of farmers, and we are sure that
if farmers and stock growers will
adopt it, and with it the custom OF
sheltering their stock, their profits
will be greatly increased and their
losses quite as greatly diminished.
AoOdt ttilo OdDJCOt w . snail itttN Z
to say in the near future.
OF the editors of the State large
number of whom were invited, only
very few were present. Mr.. Hart,
of the Wheeling Lpteuigencer, was
promptly on hand, manifesting much
interest in the matter. In his paper
of Monday he devotes two columns
to this affair, and the subject. OF the
many other editors invited we are
sorry that SO few responded to the
polite invitation of Mr.. Carskadon.
We regret this on more than one ac-
count. We believe the visit would
have been of value to their agricultur-
al readers. The farmers of the State
will be benefited by the discussion of
new ideas, and the introduction of
new methods. In the matter of shell
ter to stock and of cheap and whole
some food for them, reform is evil
IDENTIFY much needed, and the country
newspapers ought to advocate III TO
this humanity and self interest alike
urge.
The value of the Silos is no longer a
debatable question. 1t has passed the
experimental stage and may be re-
garded among the proved and adopt
ed appliances of the farm. An acre
of good land will produce twenty tons
of ensilage. Every ton of this is
worth from one-third to one-half ton
of good hay. Putting it at the lowest
ratio, an acre of ground will produce
a value of ensilage equivalent to about
seven tons of good hay. The cost of
ensilage is from two to two and half
dollars per ton. It will be seen, then,
that ensilage will cost very much less
than hay, which has hitherto been re-
garded as the most profitable food
for stock.
Mr.. G. who is the pioneer siloist in
West Virginia, after a careful trial for
two years, and after q careful study
of the experience of others, is con-
WINGED that the capacity of land for
supporting stock is at least doubled
by the use of ensilage. He invites
any doubters to come to his barn and
see the stock fed.
Letters expressing regret at their
unavoidable absence were received
from Hon. Lloyd Lowndes and Major
Shaw, of Maryland, ex-senator III. G.
Davis, Hon. G. w. Atkinson, of
Wheeling, A. B. White, of the State
Journal, j. T. Rely, of THE MAR
TINsBURG HERALD, and others.
On the whole it was very pleasant
affair. Besides Mr.. Hart, and Mr..
Douglass of the Tribune, there were
present ID. A. Gerstell, who with his
humorous Renaissance aud witty sal
lies was the life of the party. DR.. r..
Gerstell, F. M. Reynolds, Esq, d.
w. Babb and G. NJ. Babb, of Grant
County, Okey Johnson, of Patterson's
Creek, Mr.. Rees, Hon. j. T. Vance,
of Hampshire County, M. j. w. Will
son, of Rawlings, and others. Keyser
Echo.