Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-08-25
gricdltural lore

ditions, are so varied about different
places as to make it impossible to tell
just how many hands can be profitably
employed If your silo is 20 feet Oh
more in diameter put two OF your
trustiest men in the silo to see that
the corn is evenly and well spread
and tdmped. General tamping of the
whole surface is important, but much
the larger amount of labor should be
expended around the sides, as the
friction against the'walls prevents its
setting.
If corn gets little dry or has been
frosted, as was the case this year, use
water. In filling l used twenty-five
pals of water at noon and twenty five
at night. When l had finished l put
ION six or eight barrels. Three or
four inches on top is all the ensilage
that spoiled. One of the greatest Of
jections offered to the silo is the worh
of filing. This is often more I'm
aginary than real, and may be done
largely by help about the farm.
think slow filling preferable to too
much haste, but the silo, as a rule,
should not stand longer than two days
between successive filings.
Hauling shocked corn from the field
in winter is not a desirable job, and
the unavoidable waste is too great
If it is to be shredded and fed in that
form 1t might as well be cut a little
earlier and put IN the silo, where it is
practically all saved. We like the
common variety of corn, though B.
&c w. ensilage has proved quite salts.
factory. Whether planted in the regu,
lar way or TO be cultivated only one
way, it is best TO plant thicker than
for ear corn.
AS to the value of ensilage as a FEED
for dairy cows or young stock, it is,
in my opinion, hard TO overestimate
it. For the economical production of
milk there is nothing it's equal. The
silo is, we believe, the best safeguard
against summer drought. II is diff.
cult to have a soiling crop ready to
feed when pasture fails, as this varies
from year to year. H. B. Gurler, who
milks $50 cows, always saves one OF
his silos and has it ready to open up
at any time. Last year we put a good
deal of corn in our silo that would
have been of little value for other pur-
poses on account of dry weather. This
year a silo was a good thing on ac-
count of early frost. 1 have tried
beets and mangel, but much prefer en-
silage.
| am often asked how many acres
of corn is required to fill my silo of
$50 tons. In an average year thirty
acres will do this. consider this
equal to IT'S tons of mixed clover and
timothy hay. would like to ask how
many acres of land are required to
produce this amount of hay an average
year. | have never used ensilage for
beef making other chan to feed it to
old or barren cows. 1t has, with me,
proved an excellent feed for this pur-
pose. The Illinois experiment station
is now conducting an experiment with
two lots of steers that will be of
great value. The following data are
taken from its bulletin:
Fifty steers were taken in 1901 at
S months old and divided into two
lots. The corn from $50 acres of LAND
was put into a siio, while the corn
from a like acreage was cut and
shocked. One lot was fed ensilage
with two pounds of oats and four
pounds mixed clover and timothy hay;
the other lot shock corn with like
amount OF hay and oats Pigs were
put with each lot. The results shown
on May 5, 190s-the number OF
pounds of meat (beef and pork per
acre-are as follows: Where .ensilage
and oats and hay were fed, 1855
pounds of meat were produced per
acre. Where shock corn, oats, and
hay were fed, 1871 pounds of meat
were produced per acre.
As the amount of hay and oats fed
to the two lots was practically the
same, it is reasonable to suppose that
this difference of 47.45 pounds of meat
produced per acre was due TO the
different form in which the corn plant
was fed. This showing would Indicate
that it is possible to make 47.45
pounds more of meat from an acre or
corn put in silo than fed out of the
shock. In case of the silags fed
steers $3.50 per cent. of the meat
produced was beef and 2.31 per cent.
pork. In the shock corn fed steers
1922 per cent of the meat produced
was beef and 1887 per cent. pork.
This would show that in case of hog
cholera on the farm beef may be
produced by the use of silage with but
a small loss and that is the use of
shock corn the hog is most i'm
portant factor, and that a loss or
nearly 16 per cent. of the meat pro-
1uced would accure from its elimina-
ton. We understand that the ex-
pertinent with these steers will be
until both lots are finished
Tor market. The result will be await
ed with a good deal of interest and
should be of great value
In conclusion, l will say that have |
found my silo one of the best in !
veStmentS on my farm and fhinl- /