The Asheville citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1885-1889, 1885-12-31
Al DAIRY FARM.

! Al DAIRY FARM.
4 On Tuesday weuvisited the beau
j full farm of Mr.. " s. Lusk, on the
/ sESwannanoa river, adjoining the
& Connally farm, which lies north OF
it. The farm contains 140 acres,
! part bold hilly upland, the remain
] der perfectly level, fat as a billiard
table, and in the season, as green.
1 Mr.. Lusk in the cultivation of this
farm set himself to solve a problem
which has suggested itseIfto many,
but which, unfortunately, few have
worked upon, and that is whether.
dairy farming could be made profit
able. With this view, he supplied
himself with astock of mich cows,
of approved breeds, but mixing
lthem forthe present, to test their.
comparative merits. He has now,
about 20 COWS, Jerseys, Ayrshire,
Devons, Shorthorns, not all pure,
but satisfactory mixers. He has
also about 20 calves, from 6 months
to a year old. A full blooded Jer-
sey bull is at the head of the herd.
The product of the COWS is sold as
fresh milk, delivered in Asheville
every morning. The present Weld
is about 40 gallons daily, of the
richest quality. The cow are hous-
ed in large airy stable. each one
having and knowing its own stall, in
which it is regularly and fully fed. |
Abundant water is convenient, and
contentment plays on every bovine
face.
AS an essential to success, every |
effort is direoled to an abundant |
supply of good succulent provender,
With the exception of culture in the
hill land of corn and potatoes, the
ground is given up to grass, rye,
oats, corn sown in drills, and also to |
turnips and n1angold wurtzel. Of
this last, we saw on the premises
last season the finest we ever saw
growing any where.
So the barn yard is thick with
stacks of hay, fodder and straw, and
the barn loft groans with its load
of forage, and the cellars burst with
their storage of root crops.
But the crowning glory of the
farm is the silo. 1t is not necessary
here to describe its structure, be-
cause it has been written about; our
only object being to show that it
proves itselfsto be what it claims to
be. The silo of Mr.. Lusk is 80 feet
long, II wide and 10 deep. 1t is
sunk in the ground, and is made of
stone with cen1ented walls. Over it
is a barn, the floor of which is used
as a cutting room, from which the
material is conveniently shoveled
into the pit below. When filled the
top of the ensilage pile is covered
with loose boards, upon the top of
which, stones to the weight of twen-
ty-fve or more tons were heaped to
secure solidity by compression; and
the mass thus becomes very cons
pact.
Corn sowed in drills, and cut
about the time the tstssel begins to
show itself, is the principal materi-
al used. This is. cut by an ordinary
cutting machine run by horse pow
er, into pieces as small as possible,
the pieces of corn stalk being not
more than half an inch long. Grass,
clover, pea vines, any other forage
may be cut and mixed in with equal
acceptability to the cattle, who de-
your every particle, even to the very
smallest, with avidity. Mr.. Lusk's
silo has been opened only about a
week, and its condition was perfect.
We cannot call the contents special
" odorous. 1t is enough thatthey
are so to the cattle. Mr.. Lusk esti~
mates the supply in his silo suffi-
cient tosupply his cattle for four or
five manths. 1t is too early, after u
weeks use, to note the effect OH the
increase of milk; but it may be as
sumed that the effect will be good;
1OI IL ID GS1dOl1L LIllL ItIO C6IGClC d1S LII
a highly thriving conditioa.
We regard this silo success; and
with success, the problem of dairy
farming is solved. The cost Of the
construction ola silo is small, one
of labor rather than of money. Any
farmer can make one. The chief
element is the provision of the ma
terial, and that depends upon in
dustry altogether.
The farm is under the charge of
Mr.. Thomas Orr, Seotehman, from
near Glasgow, who has all the in
dustry, intelligence and thrift of his
countrymen, with much practical
experience.in dairy farming; and he
is ably aided by his worthy wife,
the very embodiment of good humor,
hospitality and industry; herself the
epitone of all the substantial excel
.lencies of the Scottish race.