Mower County transcript., 1896-08-19

THE QUALITY or. ENsILAGE.

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| THE QUALITY or ENsILAGE.
Conditions as Regards the Filling Of silos.
Good Cutter and Steady Power.
Whether made from fresh cut or wilt
ed fodder corn, the duality of the ensi-
lage will be good if the necessary condi-
tions as regards the building and filing
OF the silo have been observed. Very
watery fodder will give sour ensilage.
The more water in the fodder-that is,
the greener it is cut-the more acid will
be found in the ensilage. The common
practice among "ensiloers" of late years
has been to cut the fodder one day and
NIL it into the silo the next day or as
soon after as convenient. Many claim
that In this way we handle an unneces-
sary quantity of water in the fodder,
and that the better way is to leave the
corn shocked in the field for week or
ten days before filling the silo, so as to
allow the excess Of water to evaporate.
In connection with the foregoing, Prairie
Farmer says:
We shall probably in the future see
this latter method practiced more than
before, since with our present deep silo
there is generally enough pressure in
the silo to secure good ensilage. When
the weather is good, the corn will not
suffer much, but if the prospects are
there will be much rain it is better to
haul the fodder to the feed cutter right
away and fill it into the silo. But the
essential thing is to have q good cutter
and steady power:
The cutter should be placed close to
the sllo and the carrier adjusted SO as
to drop the cut corn near the middle Of
the si]o. The cutter should be a power.
full one. By trying to economize on O
cutter many farmers lose in q few days
enough money to purchase the cutter
they need. The cutter should have q ca
pacity OF three tons per hour at least.
For this two to four horses will be need
ed on q sweep power. A good two horse
tread is an excellent power, or q gaso.
line engine will be found just the thing.
Have everything about the cutter
snug and tight, so that the cut corn
will not fly all over and be wasted. The
carrier should be made of chain and
Stats, as the pieces of corn would wet a
rubber belt carrier and cause it to slip.
TO run rapidly and continuously and
to do it's work well, none but the best
machines will do. By using two or
moro wagons for hauling the fodder can
be passed from the wagon directly to
the cutter without unloading on the
ground. Arrange every detail about the
cutter SO as to economize all the time
and labor possible, for plenty of both
may be easily lost if the strictest atten-
tion is not given to details.
Harvesting Kafar Corn.
Professor Georgeson gives this advice
in farmers bulletin: The crop should
be cut and shocked as soon as the grain
is ripe. English sparrows will damage
it badly if they have the chance. Over
ripeness also causes the white Kaffir corn
to shell when handled. Unlike corn,
all varieties have the very desirable
quality of remaining green after the
grain natures until killed by frost. The
fodder is therefore still in excellent con-
dition when the grain ripens, and. when
cured, will make better feed than if the
plant had dried up, as the corn plant
does.
The crop can be harvested in several
ways At the Kansas station it is usu-
ally cut with sled cutter, which takes
two rows at time. The cutter is pulled
by one horse and requires two attend
ants-one to care for each row. The
crop is collected in armfuls as cut and
shocked. Any good corncutter will do
the work. It can, of course, also be cut
by hand if a machine is not available.
A light, short crop may even be cut
with self binder. Some growers use
header, collecting the beads only and
leaving the fodder to be eaten off by
stock. The header will cut off large
per cent of green leaves with the heads,
which renders the curing of the latter.
preparatory to the thrashing, more diff
cult In that case it is best to pile them
with layers of dry straw to prevent
heating.
Prunos In the pnclf3c North-a.t