The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-01-09
Glre Garmer.
Ensilage for the Dairy.

Mr.. John Gould, of Ohio, writes tn
Country Gentleman as follows respecting
the use of ensilage as cheap, but exceed
ingly valuable food for the production o
milk. The cheapness by which it was pu
into the silos is surprising, and indicates
that these Ohio dairymen are demonstrating
that ensilage cannot only be grown abun
dantly, but preserved so cheaply that the
rough fodder for cow need not exceed a
mere nominal cost for the winter months
The letter says:
II have been investigating to some ex-
tent the cost of filling the silos about here
and find that with different methods from
those originally practiced, the cost is sur
prisingly small. Near me are three silos
holding not far from 400 tons each, and
these are nov filled and weighted ready fol
winter. That of Mr.. Wing has $50 tons
pitted, at a cost of II cents per ton. Mr.
Blair, another neighbor, has 400 tons in the
pits, at cost of 13 cents. Mr. Emory is
counting on about Is cents and Mr.. Rice
with small silo, will probably get off with
an outlay of not far from 10 cents per ton
These figures do not include any compensa-
ton for the labor of the owner and his
teams, but exactly what it costs for hired
labor and breakage, the same rule the farmer
applies to cutting hay or grain, or other
farm work hold good
The idea of slowly filling the silo is the
explanation of the whole matter The
haste is avoided, and in its nlace-which
means great army of extra men and teams,
at price far above regular wages-one
gets along with the ordinary farm help, and
an extra man or two for three weeks, at
regular month wages. The employment
of an engine, which, if the farmer does not
own, and few do, is by slow filling unneces-
sary, and single tread horse power will
put its twenty tons of fodder into "chop'
quite as WELL Then if two teams are fur
nished, one for each man, and fifth horse
for the tread, the matter OF filing goes ex-
peditiously forward One of the teams can
early in the morning be put on the reaper,
and the days "cut'' is soon down, and the
drawing then commences. During the
week the horses are changed about, so that
each one has his turn upon the power.
By building the silo with three parti-
tions, the filling can be alterated to each
day, and by the third day the fodder in the
first pit will be up to nearly or quite 1859
and ready to receive its quota of fresh cut
fodder By this means, hurry and worry
are wholly avoided, sour ensilage has no
part or lot in the question, and as in the
case of Mr.. Wing, or Mr.. Blair, the en-
ployment of not to exceed S45 worth of
labor each, has put the feed for each sixty
head of cattle into the silos. If three tons
of ensilage are worth a ton of good hay,
then these men will feed coarse ration
this winter, costing them less than one cent,
not counting interest on land or owners
labor. The produce of each of these silos
grew upon about twelve acres of land, and
will each amply winter 65 COWS, aside from
the grain, and their equivalent in hay would
have required at least that on more than
200 acres of average Ohio meadow land.
As to the healthfulness of ensilage one has
only to look at the stock of Mr.. Rice, who
has fed it five winters, Mr.. Jos. Breck four,
and Mr.. Wing four, to decide that it is
good feed, as well as cheap, and as the last
two gentlemen are largely engaged in the
production of winter milk, their advocacy
of it, enlarging their boundaries, and in
crease of stock, tell better than any other
argument in its favor"