The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-04-07
Forage Crops and the Silo.

pose is to call attention to u own
native forage plant, supreme above all
in almost every section of our
broad land, whose culture our farmers
understand, but the treatment of which,
after maturity, has been, as a rule, a
costly failure. | mean our native In
dian corn. l will not take time to
speak of how this invaluable cornfod-
der crop has been hogged down."
" bowed down." or rotted down in the
field, or how after being weatherbeaten
and all its Juicy substance evaporated,
or converted into indigestible woody
fiber, has been fed out in the open field
or barnyard, or stacked up to mould
and rot, or at most, cut up and stored
in the barn to burn out or further dry
out, and largely to be converted into
doubtful bedding. Such, in outline,
has been the treatment of our great
fodder crop, which, if it had had proper
treatment, would have been worth
much more than the same tonnage of
hay.
Farmers, in these strange times,
must economize in every particular, as
well as the steel manufacturers who
have learned to convert the "pig " as
it comes out of the blast furnace into
the 4" steel billet " at one and the same
process. Just as the cotton planter net
only converts the cotton fiber into
money, but all the former refuse seed
is made into GO, 200 900 gallons of oil,
worth many millions of dollars, but
even grinds the oil cake into cottonseed
meal for stock feed, and even sells the
seed hulls at a profit for fertilizers. In
like manner our northern farmers
must make more of their corn crop or
be left out of the procession"
This leads me to speak of the silo. l
| speak of what l know. Some years
ago l built a silo and filed it--one of
the first in northern Ohio. 1t did
fairly well, but we had much to learn.
The rats worked in from the bottom,
let in the air. Next season 1 put in a
cement bottom, painted the walls with
hot tar, let my corn get more mature,
and thus make better ensilage. Filled
silo and waited patiently for the cook
ing and curing. In December 1 opened
my pit and found the whole thing " fire
fanged." 1 mulched my strawberries
with it and wrote to Mr.. T. B. Terry,
asking if the whole thing was not a
humbug." If not, what was the mat
ter with "luck?" He wrote back he
could not tell, but "ensilage was a
known success" although he was not
posted in the practical processes OF its
production. l waited to find out what
was the matter. "All things" are
said "to came to those who watt" but
il did not come, so l returned to hay
and the cOrnstalk again.
By reason of continued drouth and
more destructive spring frosts, the hay
crop failed me. Then my mind re.
turned to my abandoned silo. Instead
of "waiting" l "got up and went
| went TO Canada on a Visit, but when
there and knowing something of their
success in dairying, 1 concluded to
visit some Of those who had silOs and
fed ensilage. / did so and was treated
royalty; shown all their conveniencet
and methods of dairying. 1 stated my
bad luck" with the silo. My silo was
built Just like his, 80 the silo could
not have been at fault. My corr had
matured Just as his had, so that wal al
right. What could be the matter? Hit
ensilage was inviting to his stock anC
made the commodious COW stables
odorous with its fragrance.
The manager asked me if 1 watereG
my ensilage as it was cut into the silo
l said 1 had never heard of such a thine
in "the States" eyes" he said
"water it, about a barrel to the ton
and tramp we'll" l thought maybe tina
might be all right in the Queens do
minions, but had my doubts about it il
I" the States. SO / made haste to visit
our agricultural station at Wooster
There I found them testing every breed
OF dairy stock with ensilage as one Of
the essential rations. 1 laid my bsi
luck before Professor Hickman. H,
asked me a few pointed questions
about the variety Of corn, maturity
ETC., and then asked" did you wet il
DOWN." 1 told him that was just wha
l had come there to learn about. II,
said, Yes, let the cor get quite ma
ture, the maturer the better, if not to-
ripe, then wet it down and tramp il
down." They had a spray from theil
waterworks and kept a light sprayer 60
ing all the time when they were fllinl
the silo, The water was necessary tt
the cooking of the mature ensilage. II
would not be necessary for immatur,
corn, which made much poorer ensilage
This was about a year ago. 1 cam,
home, reconstructed my abandoned
silo and planted my white cob B. & o
ensilage corn az early as l could get thu
ground prepared. Some of it grew 81
tall l could only reach the top of thu
stalk by the aid of a common pitchforl
at arms length, yielding from - to II
tons per acre. Think Of such a CRANE
forage crop, tropical in effect, sugar,
in the stalk, and such feed as it hal
madel The COWS get down upon thei
knees from one end of the stable to thu
other, to lick up the tempting morsels
1t was very heavily cared, as the season
was favorable to maturity of stalk ant
growth of ear. Hundreds of bushel
of corn were cut up with the fodder
now ''greep as grass" and the cow
give milk as if from on "green pas
lures" l write this in the interest o.
my friends, the Lady Jerseys.
Now a word about the silo. We hea,
much about the necessity of the round 81
10, requiring a carpenter or a cooper, ant
a blacksmith for it's erection. This i
entirely unnecessary. My silo is
- I..1t -. 80 80 A. lo.a -