The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-04-07

probably, is most economically. F.
Massey, an Southern Planter.
FOUR YEARS WITH ENSILAGE.-A MASSA-
CHUsETTS EXPERIENCE.
It goes without saying in this year of
1891-especially among the readers of
the Country GentLemGn-that there is
ensiIage and ensilage. The one is good
and wholesome-making good milk,
good cream and good butter. The
other is unfit for dairy use, and on the
same principle that clover hay OF tim
othy varies in quality, according to
the time or manner of its harvesting.
Glover, soaking through a week of rain
before it is housed, will give the dairy
feeder no more satisfaction than will
ensilage taken black and half decayed
from the silO to feed his COWS. l write,
not expecting to say anything new on
this subject or to call attention to I'm
noted points, but rather to emphasize
by giving a few facts drawn from nay
own experience with ensilage-what
has been so well said by many of your
contributors.
In the first place our silo (2~8x16x2s)
is made of stone laid in cement and is
perfectly air-tight. In the autumn of
1887 this silo was filled with southern
white corn fodder cut to three-quarter
inch lengths. It took ten days to fill
the silO. The ensilage was covered
with boards, and they with planks,
running crOss-wise, the whole weighted
with stones. This ensilage was put up
in fine dry weather and proved to be Of
first quality, allowing the COWS to be
the judges. They preferred it to u
best quality of hay, and they poured
out the milk to us in full quantity and
of a quality which showed no smell,
taste OF faint to indicate that anything
but the best feed was given them. Our
COWS were in perfect health during the
winter and came to grass in fine order.
Farmers generally, remember ths
date of that early killing frost in Sep
TENDER, 1888-smiting every tender,
living thing out of doors. With us
every leaf of corr hung in tatters la
two days after, and to crown the mis-
fortune of the frost it began to rain,
and it rained by the day and nearly
every day. Our silos, for we had two
this year, were filled as speedily as DOS
sible after the frost. Much of the fod-
der was carried and ensilOed during the
rains. On opening the silOs we found
the ensilage very sou and very dark,
nnI in Foot Dnn~I- 0-0 AIS-I &c IL
whole was carried into the cellar fer
manure.
The autumn of 1889 vas warm and
shiny-nO early frosts-and we began
work cutting as 500 as the corn tassels
turned brown, filling in each silO alter
nate days, and as we had a No. IS SD
yer & Deming cutter, we made very
rapid work filling, testing the utmost
capacity of five teams to keep the ma
chine supplied with fodder. We hada
large quantity of fodder left over after
filling our silOs, which we stacked I'm
the field. From this we drew to the
barn daily until into the winter, and
cut up with hay and steamed and fed
with grain to our cows. In conse-
quence, we opened but one of our silos
during the winter of 1889. This ensi-
lage was perfect-sweet and bright.
1u0 pEOOL OI Uu0 puQQ1ng Is In the
eating" they say. No man needed to
look but once to ascertain the view
the COWS took of this ensilage as a food
and a dainty. The second silo was
opened last autumn, and l could not
see that lying over summer had dete-
rlorated its quality, except, perhaps,
the top was a little more pronounced
in it's flavor.
Early in May, 1890, I drilled in 70
acres of northern yellow corn, drop
ping about six kernels to the foot; drills
81 feet apart. Began cutting for ensi-
lage after the corn commenced to glaze.
Every stalk had an ear, and some Of
them two ears, and the Nwhole-corn
and fodder-were cut and ensiloed. It
was all done in the incest of weather.
We are now feeding from this ensilage.
and it is first-class In quality. But 1
doubt the economy of cutting in the
ears of corn, for the reason that too
much of it is passed undigested. It
seems to need corr meal in the ration
to keep the COWS up to their maximum
of milk. Three acres of this corn was
left after filling the silo, which was
cut and stacked. 1t husked out $50
bushels of ears of sound corn. We are
now feeding ensilage twice a day, and
have not had a sick or ailing cow in
our barn this winter, nor n off her
feed. c.. E. II.