The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-03-04
AGRICULTURAL.
Should Vermont Farmers Build Silos 2
BY j. W. NEWTON.

1t depends on two or three things.
If farmer has no land on which to
grow corn, he does not need q silo. If
he is making plenty of money going on
in the old way, it is of little use to adopt
new ways. If, however, a Vermont
farmer has land which grows good
corn, and is not making money enough,
he had better study up the matter of
building silo. 1t is certain that
great many farmers in this state think
the silo is good paying investment
Every year scores and probably hun
dreds of new silos are built. In some
neighborhoods nearly every farmer has
one. There are changing methods of
silo-building and handling corn for the
silo. Last season much was said about
letting the corn partially cure before
drawing it to the barn. This makes it
lighter to handle, and removes a stand
ing, though not very strong argument
against the silo. 1t is certain that corn
can be put into the silo after ii has be-
come quite dry, and will keep well, if it
is sprinkled. But 1 think too much
water can be put on. Some say only
pailful to the load. The construction
of the silo has something to do with the
amount of water put on around the
sides. 1t has been stated that if silo
is double-boarded and then painted on
the inside, some moisture will get
through into the lining and not be able
to get out. The slo will then soon de-
cay. But if only one thickness of
matched boarding 10 used, put together
when thoroughly seasoned with paint
in every groove, then thoroughly
painted on the inside, the boards will |
keep sound, as all the moisture can
quickly dry out from the outside. The
painted walls will not absorb moisture
from the corn, 80 the corn around the
edges will need no extra amount of |
water. The boards will not swell and
shrink and make trouble. But they
must be free from knot-holes and
cracks.
The silo goes with winter dairying,
but silage is a good feed for all stock. |
Made from mature corn or corn in the |
boiling stage, it can be fed TO horses
with safety. This has been fully
proved, both by farmers and expert
ment stations. Twenty pounds of nice
sweet silage per Gay will make a valu-
able part of a horses feed. Silsge and |
clover hay make good food for horses.
There is man in Pennsylvania who
feeds his cows six months of the year
on nothing but wheat bran and silage.
He feeds them all the silage they will
eat, and gives a quart of bran for each
quart of milk given by the cows.
Calves are very fond of silage, and it
has been fed with success to sheep and
to hogs. Land which will produce only
one ton of hay can be made without
any great expense to produce twelve to
fifteen tons of eilage, equivalent to four
Or five tons of hay. The silo enables
farmer to secure his corn crop at the
best time and in the best shape. He
may leave it until frost comes without
fear of its being much harmed In
deed, the general opinion of farmers
who have fed frosted and not frosted
corn is that frosted corn is just as good
in all respects. OF course it should not
stand out in the frost and rain until
November; but it makes farmer far
more Independent to have silo.
Now is the time to plan for building,
and to get out the lumber for one.
Most Vermont farmers can build silo
with small expense, as they have
enough lumber on their farms. The
silo can be made in bay in the barn.
1t should be 80 built that the frost can
not freeze the silage to the walls, as
this will cause loss. But the loss is
not great if the silo is covered with
straw. One other point about silage is
its value for summer feed when the
pastures get short. Those who have
tried this speak in unqualified praise of
the plan