Hillsboro recorder., 1888-02-23
Improvements in Agriculture.


e. improvements in Agriculture.
The most useful improvement of the
asn @f past year is certainly the adaptation Of
~ the silo for the curing of sweet ensiage.
*4a6 When it is known that in the State OF
Wisconsin alone more than 1000 silos
.-@ 54& have been built and brought into use the
@s past year fair idea Of the value and
@s = importance of the discovery howto avoid
-. II the acid fermentation of ensilage becomes
a 4 HI al apparent. Formerly ensilage was sour
and had an acid, alcoholic odor and flavor
and its opponents never tired of making
sarcastic illusions to it as sauerkraut and
sour mash. No doubt the sour food was
objectionable, and had a bad effect upon
the milk and butter made frcnl cows fed
t nponi The condcnsers of milk found
vi s& It's effect very pernicious and refused to
accept milk from daries where il was
used BY mere accident it was discovered
that, when the cut fodder waslnft loosely
-A3 ~ the slo to ferment and acquiX Il heat
~ OF l40s to 1902, and was then mbtected
~mn& cg* from the air by air-tight covering and
light pressure, it remained sweet and no
% tA 81 vinous or acetc fermentation occurred in
- III It, This fact was quickly turned to ac-
count and its importance realized and a.
HfH was made known at the farmers meet.
w&9a II aings and through agricultural journals,
the new process became popular, and il
so is probable that at least 10 600 silos were
ii h constructed on the improved principle
4 &@5 within year. - d.
aHa s@ Ensiage is unquestionablya most con-
nSt yenient and economical practice and in
taking the place OF dry curing of corn
fodder it adds largely to the feeding
I'D - value Of this our most productive crop.
A W Hence this Improvement. which will
#' * have an important bearing upon the
@ @@~@S prosperity and profit of agriculture is
Ia " worthy OF note as being an incident Of
-~@ the past years progress Of considerable
importance.
..-.,~....sg Very satisfactory progress has been
"A ~ - made m our knowledge and practice in
eug rese# feeding and In growing crops The
aas WORK done in the various experiment
z.s ~s~# stations has been productive of much
. ID .# valuable experience and information.
while the experience Of farmers pained
s-ss the past year through the unexampIed
-. dry season has afforded new and most
- emphatic proof Of the usefulness of
drainage The work Of experiment
~ stations has shown the great value OF
these Institutions while the advantages
.sn. 81 the farmers institutes have been most
conspcuously exhibited The expert
sas,~r enc OF the past year will beyond doubt
lead TO the permanency Of these meet.
ings and . large increase in their num-
49, bcr.. N
.N@4 Draining wet land has been 80 long es,
tHblished a. standard farm practice that
1t might seem no further experience could
add % its value. But the most serious
drouehs over alavge part Of the Central
TM#k# States has proved is usefulness even in a
Dry season. The most emphatic reports
81 i nave peel made OF the safety or the crops
' grown upon drained land while those
a*N# 8 upon land not drained were wholly
e parehed aud destroyed. Sometimes facts
&&A@ ~ are too much for theory, and even for
scieatiie reasoning. And ii seems As
though il this instance logic and theory
#a s# have been setaside by the cold bare facts
The greenest and most prolific fields
aaaa a have been those having tiled unlerdrains
thus showing that the porosity Of the
@s ! drained soil has absorbed moisture from
the subsoil, and the porous soil has been
less heated and has held ts moisture
longer than the undrained land. This
fact y Of sufficient importance 10 be men.
- tionedas one II the notable lessons Of
the past rear. m ss~EEss# IL
~ ' ID looking back over the past few years
xA. VIC End some most noteworthy improve
ments n record, which on the Whole have
-az-@@ greatly changed the condition or agricul.
&7* = tuFe for tie better. The binding hAr-
yester, the silo. the drain-dgginT ma
chimes, the concentrated fertilizers the
#T1 increased means OF transportation By rail
and BY sea. the increase of the best-bred
live stock oil these have greatly re.
duced the cost Of producing crops and
dairy and meat products and although
the market values have been reduced vet
wrtr satisfactory balance In favor OF the
farmer has been lsft.--Np Yert 7Ymes