Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1886-06-22
a Test of Ensilage.

Mr.. A. F. Withrow, a leading farm
err of Augusta county, Va, in letter
to the secretary of the Augusta Coun-
ty Agricultural Association, gives the
following account of his experience
with ensilage:
81 dug a hole something after the
old style ice-house in as dry bank
as had near by my barn, fourteen
by fourteen and twelve feet deep,
gathered up some old framing and
plank laying around the farm, lined
it, ran a ditch into the bottom, put a
floor on it about three inches off the
ground with sleepers resting on the
bottom. Now after all this was done
I had house about twelve by twelve
in the clear, covered the house with
three foot boards-entire cost about
S25. The first of June 1 planted
about one and a-half acres in fodder
corn, in drills two feet apart, about
three bushels per acre. The first of
September I cutit when in full bloom,
hauled it to my pit, had a small straw
cutter that connected an old horse
power with, and cut the green corn
threc-quartcr of an inch long, let it
run into the pit in which 1 kept a
horse tramping all the time. I sup
pose I had about thirty-five tons from
the one and a-half acres, it filled my
pit six feet deep. After all was cut,
say twcnty-four hours after, when one
would suppose it was hot enough to
set the house on fire, l put on COW
cring of two-inch boards twelve inches
wide, and on them about 400 pounds
of rock to the square foot. &
" Now for the results: On the goth
of December took up two boards
and found it had decayed just as far
in as air could get to it, which was
three or four inches; 1 took out the
whole two-foot layer down to the floor,
pounds to the COW at feed, with a
half-pint of meal on it twice per day,
and gave, say four or five pounds of
dry hay, or little fodder. My COWS
increased one-half in milk at once
l wintcred twelve cows out of my pit,
and on the corn that came from the
one and a-half acres my cows wiEtered
better than ever before since / have
been farming. Some of them will sell
for beef to-day. Anything that eats
green food will eat ensilage,, and fol-
low you all over the barnyard for it.
81 am sure every entcrprising
farmer in Virginia that feed is an OBJ
jcct to, will have silo inside of ten
years. If 1 was only going to plant,
five acres in crop on my farm, two
acres of that would be corn, oats,
cow-peas or millct for ensilatc, either
of which, 1 think, will make good
feed. I will try oats this year. En-
silage is nothing more nor less than
saurkraut on n large scale, but all
must bear in mind water must not get
to it, or it will spoil at once. think
what put up last fall cost me about
S1.25 per ton, but can make it this
year for IS cents per ton. There is
nothing to equal ensilage as a laxative
for cattle of any age, and I claim
every farmer should keep it for that
alone.
'sAny farmer that wants to know
anything more about cnsilage in Vir-
ginia, let him enclose stamp, and 1
will give him all the experience have,
though it be little, for feel sure it is
in its infancy, and the time will come
that feeders will look back at the old
style of dry feed and grasp ensilagc
as one of the wonders of the age"