The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-06-24

WHO KNOWS WHEREOF lie SPEAKS.
In response to letter from Capt. L
Julian Pratt, Mr.. A. M. Bowman. OF IN
firm Of Palmer & Bowman, and former
| prominent resident of this county, writes
as follows of silos and ensilage, u subJec
in which our farmers are beginning tofee
a deep interest. The letter was published
in the Vi.dicator last week:
SALTvILLE. VA, June 18TH, 1886
Capt. g. julian Pratt,
Waynesboro, "a:
MY DEAR SIR-Your favor asking mt
to give you an account, for publication
Of my experience with ensilage Was re
ceived some days since. but l was abou
to start for Chicago and postponed my re
ply until after my return. Since then
have been so pressed with business mat
teis that l have not found time, unit
now. to take up the matter
Having read great deal upon the sub
/ ject and conversed with number of in
telligent and practical breeders of live
stock who had used ensilage with proli'
and satisfaction, we determined, in the
summer of 1884, to
| GIVE IT A TRIAL
and see for ourselves.
| We decided to build 4OO-ton silo and
with view to filling the same, we plant.
ed about 80 acres of good bottom land in
fodder corn for ensilage. The corn was
planted in drills 8 feet apart, and was af-
| forwards thinned SO as to leave about one
| stalk to every six inches in ths row. 1t
was rather late in the season when we de
termined to go into it and did not get the
corn planted until the last day of June and
the two first days in July. The lateness
of the season and press of other work re-
strlcted the cultivation to one ploughing
and one hoeing, and the season being
quite dry throughout August and Sep
TENDER, the result. was very little more
than half crop, and that unfortunately
was considerably frost-bitten before 1t was
harvested and put into the silo.
A great cutlery had been made against
| enslage on account of the
SUPPOSED NECESSITY OF EXPENSIVE
SILOs.
We decided to build upon the cheapest
possible plan that was consistent with
convenience and utility. The silo was
built 32x32 feet, and II feet deep with a
partition dividing it into two Io)ms, each
1892 feet. This division gives practically
two silos either of which can be opened
without disturbing the other, and is i'm
portant i'll that the cover can be left on
one room whilst the contents of the other
room are being used, thus preventing the
ensiIage from all being exposed to the air
at one time. The silo was
SUNK ONEHALF ITS DEPTH
into hillside SO that on The upper side the
ground was on level with the plates or
top of the silo and the lower side on
level with the floor. Thus we are enabled
to put in the fodder on the upper side and
to take out the ensiIage on the lower side
without the trouble and inconvenience of
lifting it over the walls of the silo. The
excavation in the hillside was made about
S feet wider than the silo, making it mora
convenient for the workmen and affording
necessary room for drainage.
The rear wall next to the hillside was
made of stone laid in cement and is two
feet six inches thick, the inside of which
was also given a coat of cement nicely
al ybo 1%h
and the PARTITION we're made by setting
strOag locust posts three feet apart and
three and a half feet in the ground, and
the former boarded up on the inside with
matched inch boards doubled, with tarred
paper between to exclude the air.
THE PARTITION
was boarded up on both sides with inch
plank and the space between filled with
earth. The doors for taking out the ensi-
lage we're placed on the lower side of the
silo and are 34x6 feet. They are closed
by two courses of boards sawed to fjt the
door, with water proof or tarred paper be-
tween and are pat in as the silo is being
filled and are held in position by the pres
sure of the ensilage. On opening the silo
| few planks are cut out with an axe and
the rest are easily priced out by means of
q crowbar or other lever.
| After the roof was put on, the whole
building had the appearance of large
icehouse that was built half way into a
hillside. A free drain was made on both
sides of the silo, 10 inches from the out.
side of the wall and IS inches below the
bottom OF the silo, SO as to conduct the
water that fell from the caves and to pre-
vent the rising of any moisture In the
bottom of the silo, The silo was now
ready for the corn at cost of less than
$500.
For reasons already stated the
CROP OF CORN WAS LIGHT ONE
and the 80 acres did not yield over $50
tons and consequently had to be supple
mented with corn that had not been
planted for the purpose. The corn was
cut up with ordinary corn knives ard
thrown in heaps convenient for handling
and was Immediately loaded on wagons
and conveyed to the silo where, by means
Of No. II Little Giant Ross Gutter, y
driven by an horsepower engine. it was
cut into half inch lengths and firmly pack
ed into the sllo. The packing was done
by two men, boy and a mule. The men
spreading the fodder evenly over the silo
| and the boy riding the mule SO as to tramp
| all parts as near alike as possible. The
| mule was taken into the sllo at the bot
tom, before the door was closed and could
not be taken out until the silo was full
when he was led out at the top.
1t took five days to fill both rooms OF
the silo and now nothing remained to be
done except to
PUT ON THE COVER AND WEIGHTS.
The cover is composed simply of two
! co urses of inch boards, cut so as to fit the
, silo crosswise and not SO tight as to pre-
: vent them from sinking easily, and pu
on SO that the boards IN the top course
/ will break the cracks in the bottom
course. For weighing we used about Isl
pounds of large stone per square foot
placed uniformly over the entire surface
Of the cover. The work was finished DC
tober 18th.
It was left untouched until the 18th o