The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1888-03-20
FROM A CONVERT TO ENslLAGE
A Barn silo, Cut Stalks and Good Feed.

ton to ensllage IN your columns, 1
will state some points which seem to
me to be of value, and which have
come to me in my three years expert
ence with the silo. [ was not at all
favorably impressed with the ensilage
idea when it was first introduced into
this country; like many others, 1 was
disguised by the extravagant claims
for the new system. At length l be-
came an unwilling convert by seeing
how we'll live stock thrived which was
fed upon corn ensilage /; by the great
amount offeed which could be obtained
from an acre under proper care and
cultivation, the little cost at which cat
tie could be kept and fed, and by the
increased numbers which could be
we'll kept upon u old farms, and
hence the great increase in manure
which could not fail to increase the
productive capacity and profit of our
farms. 1t took me some time to locate
my silo, but at length | decided to place
it in my stock barn, and 10 it is so
near the right thing in the right place
that it is a wonder we had any doubt
or hesitation as to the location. The
silo is constructed of wood, n thick
ness of matched boards nailed on 4 by
6 timbers, which are placed l6 inches
apart from centre to centre. One
thickness of boards has been found to
answer just as we'll as two, and will
be found to last longer, as it will dry
1911 1-o -bo~ Tho oorfnnfC 70
removed. The dimensions of my silo
are % by u feet inside and 20 feet
deep, s feet Of which are below the
floor, and it is considered to have a
capacity of 800 tons. At first it
was divided into three compartments;
we filed it in this way for two seasons,
but the past year we removed the par
t%itions, making only one silo, which
we like much better. 1t is easier to
fill, and can be tramped much more
effectually. as there is less wall to pack
against, and the air "a be excluded
much better. We could also make use
of animals to do the tramping, which
was found to be a great advantage.
We used horses and found it a great
improvement and less expense than to
do it with men, by rigging an inclined
platform and keeping one corner a lit
tie lower, we could use the horses un-
til the silo was nearly full. The con
tents settled but very little after it was
weighed. | believe treading and
heavy weighing to be the secret Of
good ensilage. In feeding we un-
cover one-third O. the surface and cut
down with a common hay knife; the
edges exposed are not much damaged,
as it is so solid, and the loss is much
less than the inconvenience of the par
titions. We have never had as good
ensilage before
Experience has taught me that one
must know when, where, how, and
what to plant, in order to obtain the
most satisfactory results. ANY land
suitable for corn will produce good
crops Of ensilage corn, and the same
careful preparation and manuring will
be nessary in each case to produce the
best results. We have used six cords
of yard manure, put on with a Kemp
spreader, narrowed in, and 800 lbs. of
fertilizer in drills, put in with the seed
at time of planting. Although many
believe that corn put in at any time
before the 10th of June will answer, it
is well to put it in earlier, or some as
soon as field corn is planted, so that
the crop may be out of the way of
early frost, and the work of cutting
and putting in the silo may be done
earlier and not interior with the latter
fall work. The corn should not be
planted too thick, as the sunlight is of
great benefit in making good, rich
feed; grown thick, SO that it is shaded,
it is not nearly as valuable for ensi-
lage purposes, We used fourteen
quarts to the acre the past season (put
in with a corn planter with fertilizer
attachmentl and had better results
than those who used more seed. The
season was very wet, and those who
seeded heavily found the corn did not
stand up, falling down early, and
much of it became damaged and unfit
for use, beside being much more work
to cut and gather up.
At first we nse Blunt's Prolific,
which made a very heavy growth.
Last year we used the Leaning corn,
which is earlier and develops ears, and
though not making quite as heavy
growth, is considered by many much
more desirable for ensilage purpose.
The heaviest growth we made last
year was 80 tons per cent, actual
weight, and the amount of ears devo1-
oned made ii. the heaviest cron of CORN