The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-06-24
ADVISE AGAINST BUILDING EXPENSIVE
sILOS

ADVISE AGAINST BUILDING EXPENSIVE
sILOs,
except upon fancy farms and where the
owner has sufficient capital to indulge his
fancy. The ensilage in the 81 200 silo was
no better than that in the other silos that
cost less than one-third that amount. An
expensive silo, like an expensive barn, adds
to the beauty and value of the farm, but
if good epsilage is all that is desired a
cheap silo will answer equally as well.
DAILY RATION FOR COW
of 1000 pounds weight is about 60 pounds
of cured ensilage, and larger COWS will eat
as much as rs to so pounds per day. Calves
and yearlings will require from Is to Is
pounds par day. For cows in milk and
s'young things that require extra good
treatment, we supplement the ensilage ra-
tion with liberal supply of wheat bran.
cottonseed meal and ground oats, and
steers that are intended for the butcher
should have as much corn and cottonseed
meal as they will eat with the ensilage
condition on ensilage alone, if given as
much as they will eat. And right here is
where so many feeders make mistake.
No animal is worth feeding that will not
pay for dt 1T can eat, and the man. that
staryes his cattle for the sake of economy
is not only cheating himself, but it is a
question whether he should not be in the
peniteDtiary instead of trying to raise
4 cattle.
In my opinion a full ration of ensilage
will keep cattle in much thriftier con-
dition than the ordinary dry fodder, sup
plemented by a grain ration. Last win
ter we had 100 dry cows, that had gotten
quite thin by nursing their calves through
the protracted drouth of last fall These
cows were wintered upon ensilage without
a handful of grain, hay or anything else,
and when they were turned to grass this
spring their coats and general thrifty ap-
.pearance were that of cattle that had been
on grass for month or more.
TWENTY TONS OF CORNFoDDER
can be grown upon an acre of good land
with ordinary good cultivation, and with
high manuring and extra cultivation this
quantity can be doubled. But counting
20 tons per acre and tons for wintering a
COW, it would only take the fodder from
Is acres to winter 100 cows.
Now every farmer knows that it will re-
quire the hay from 100 to $50 acres Of good
land to winter 100 cows, and they will not
be in good condition in the spring, I'M
less the hay is supplemented by grain
ration. But supposing that the hay from
one acre and quarter of good land will be
sufficient to keep COW over winter, the
farmer who could Craze 100 COWS would
require 125 acres OF meadow to furnish his
winter supply of food. Now he can plant
25 acres of his meadow in ensllage corn
and raise
MORE FOOD THAN He WILL NEED
| to carry his COWS through the winter and
they will keep in better condition on the
ensilage than On hay. This would save
him 100 acres of his meadow, from which
if he cuts one and a half tons Of hay per
acre and sells the hay at $40 per ton. he
will realize 81, 500. A very handsome
showing in favor of the silo, and yet it is
| not overdraWn.
| 1t he did not wish to impoverish his
farm by selling off his hay he could large
ly increase the number OF his COWS.
Experiments in some of the New Eng
land States have shown tbat.cattle will do
ualI On opciInra fho ontiro voar ond T
have no doubt that if the y were allowed
as much rs they would eat. they would do
far better than they generally do on the
overstocked and burnt up pastures of the
average farmer. By the above estimate,
60 acres of land would keep 100 cows in
the cost of raising ton Of ensilage and
putting it into the siIo to be
| LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR.
This would place the cost of years ra
tion of ensilage for cow at S12, and the
cost of wintering at SIS per head.
Mr.. W. "A. Stuart, the great steer grazier
and feeder of Southwest Virginia, built
his first silo last fall and wintered 100
steers upon ensi.age. In conversation
/ with, the writer a few day ago, he stated
4 that of the 5000 cattle upon his farms
those fed upon ensilage were
VERY MUCH THE FATTEsT,
and that thea had made at least 100 pounds
more gain during the aeiater than any other
cattle upon the farm that aoere fed upon dry
feed and the same quantity Of grain. Esti
mating this extra grain at five cents per
pound on 100 steers it shows profit of
$500 over dry feed in the condition of the
cattle alone, and to say nothing of the
saving in land; and much more than paid
the cost of his silo the first winter.
From our own experience and that of
many other practical farmers and stock
raisers, sum up the following
CONCLUSIONS:
1st. That ensilage is an economical
! stock food, and that no stockraiser in
| Virginia can afford to be without silo of
sufficient capacity to winter his entire
stock of cattle
End That it will keep cattle in a
healthier and thriftier condition than any
other forage, and is especially valuable for
mich cows in that it
| INCREASES BOTH QUANTITY AND QUAIL
TY OF THE MILK,
and that it is as far superior to dry food,
as is canned fruit to ordinary dried fruit.
3rd. That Indian corn will yield more
ensilage per acre than anything else, and
that one acre of good land planted in en-
silage corn, will ordinarily winter four
COWS.
4th That the corn should be planted
as early in the spring as convenient, in
drills three feet apart and thinned out, so
as not to leave mere than one stalk to
every six inches of space in the rows and
should be cultivated just as any other corn
crop.
5th. That it should be cut when at its
fullest development, when the ears are
fully formed, and just as they begin to
glaze over and get too hard for roasting
ears, and before the lower blades begin to
die and dry up.
9th. To get it to the silo with all possible