See next answer.]

XVIII. Q. What is the condition of ensilage when opened?

A. In nearly all cases the loss by decay was very slight, and confined to

well covered

the top and sides where there was more or less exposure to air.

XIX. Q. What deterioration, if any, after opening?

A. Generally the ensilage has kept perfectly for several months, showing

no deterioration while any remained in the silo, excepting where exposed for a

considerable time. It is better to uncover the whole silo, or compartment of a

silo, at once, and thus ex]30se a new surface each day, than to cut down sections.

XX. Q. What value has ensilage for milch cows?

A. Ensilage has been fed to milch cows more generally than to any other

There can be little

class of stock, and no unfavorable results are reported.

doubt that its greatest value will always be found in this connection. Several

readers consider it equal in value to one-third of its weight of the best hay, and

some rate it higher.

Q. What effect has ensilage on dairy products?

A. There is a marked increase in quantity and improvement in quality of

milk and butter after changing from dry feed to ensilage, corresponding to a

similar change to fresh pasture.

A few seeming exceptions are noted, which

will probably find explanation in defects easily remedied, rather than such as

XXI.

are inherent.

Q. What value has ensilage on other stock?

A. Ensilage has been fed to all classes of farm stock, including swine and

Exceptions are noted in the

poultry, with results almost uniformly favorable.

statements of Messrs. Coe Bros, and C. B. Henderson, where it appears that

It should be borne in mind in tliis connection

horses were injuriously affected.

that ensilage is simply forage preserved in a silo, and may vary as much in

quality as hay. The ensilage that is best for a milch cow may be injurious to

a horse, and that on which a horse would thrive might render a poor return in

XXII.

the milk-pail.

Q. What quantity is consumed per head, daily ?

A. Cows giving milk are commonly fed 50 to 60 lbs., with some dry fodder

XXIII.

and grain.

—

alone or with other food?

Q. What is the method of feeding

A. Experiments have been made in feeding ensilage exclusively, and results

have varied with the quality of ensilage and the stock fed. It is certain that

ensilage of corn cut while in blossom, or earlier, is not alone sufficient for milch

cows. It is best to feed hay once a day, and some grain or other rich food,

unless the latter is supplied in the ensilage, as it is when corn has reached or

XXIV.

passed the roasting-ear stage before cutting.

Ensilage, as it is commonly under-

stood, is a substitute only for hay and coarse fodder generally, and does not

take the place of grain.

XXV. Q. What is the condition of stock fed on ensilagC:, both as to gain

or loss, of weight aud health.

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

719

A. The condition of stocli fed on ensilage, both as to health and gain in

weight has been uniformly favorable.

Q. What is the profitableness of ensilage, all things considered?

A. There is hardly a doubt expressed on the profitableness of ensilage

certainly not a dissenting opinion.

Remarks. What more could be asked as to whether the silo, and consequently ensilage, was profitable, or not, when out of all these many inquiries

of those who have fairly tested the matter, in eighteen different states and Canada, not one gives an unfavorable opinion.

It is remarkable indeed, and

should give encouragement to those who have not already tested it, to begin at

once, with an expectation of final success.

After having prepared the above,

on the subject qf silos, ensilage, etc., I saw the following items upon these subjects as they see them in England, and as a few practice them in America, and

XXVI.

—

few points in them of a more practical character, showing an

making it easier of digestion by ensilage, and also

giving more particularly the manner of building silos, etc., I will give them a

as there are a

increase of nutrition, and

place, as follows:

Ensilage (in England) Claimed to Increase the Nutritive

CJiemist and Druggist (English) in the

Powers of Green Forage.— The

winter of 1884, referring to previous notices of the subject of ensilage, says:

" Since then two most encouraging statements have been published with regard

to its value.

Professor Thorne Rogers reports that ensilage increases the nutri-

tive powers of

green forage; that the process obviates wCvSte, saves time and

increases the productive "powers of the

gestible,

soil.

The forage is made more diThe silos

and the farmer is enabled to get a double yearly crop.

should not be too shallow; not less than 20 to 25 feet deep.

[This, the author

—

if this amount

room is necessary, for the amount of stock kept, then the deeper the better,

perhaps.] Had silos been common in England, millions of pounds worth of

fodder would have been saved last summer. This is not the time, remarks the

thinks, should depend wholly upon the

amount to be put up

of

professor, when British agriculture can afford to neglect economies, whether

[If English agriculture can't afford to neglect economies, can

Mr. F. Sutton confirms this view by comparing the relative

large or small.

American?]

value

of

hay and ensilage from a poor quality of

grass.

The hay was

coarse and poor, destitute of sweet taste and odor, and contained a trace of

ready-made sugar. Distilled with water, no essential oils were yielded, nor

was there any flavor, save that of decaying grass. The specimens obtained by

ensilage were highly odorous from the essential oils, and had a \'inous fragrance,

accompanied by a slight acidity. No ready-made sugar could be detected. It

That which

is argued, then, that a manifest improvement liad been effected.

was tasteless had been rendered appetizing and succulent (full of juice). A

much larger proportion of soluble albuminoids (like albumen white of eggs),

soluble extractive matter, and digestible fiber was found in the dry ensilage as

compared with dry hay, leading to the inference that a partial digestion had

taken place in the silo.

It seems a qne«tion which fnirly invites dismssion, as

to whether ensilage could not be employed advantageously in the storage 01

—

DB CHASWS RECIPES.

720

medicinal plants.

The question has already been advanced; recent experiments

might claim further attention to the subject."

Remarks. It is not expected that farmers will feel any particular interest

—

in the last clause, as to ensilage benefiting medicinal plants, but the other parts

are so much to the point, as to the value of ensilage for feeding stock, I deemed

the item well worth a place in this connection.

Silos and Ensilage—What They Are, How It is Done, and

What They Think of It in Vermont.— T. H. Hoskins, M. D., reports

the following in one of the agricultural papers as to the value of ensilage, and

Under

also the most substantial and a cheaper way of carrying out the work.

date of February 13, 1881, writing from his home, Newport, Vt., he says.

"Gen. Thomas, of Montpelier, Gen. Grout, of Barton, and Capt Morton,

of Essex, are the only persons in Vermont, within

my knowledge, who have

made public the results of their experiments with the new method of preservlag forage in the moist state by strong compression in air-tight pits. All three

report entire success, and express enthusiastic confidence in the future of this

new departure in farming.

" Wfiat Ensilage and Silos Are, and Hoio to Make and Feed Them.

I.

Silo ' is French for

'

'

pit,'

and

'

—

ensilage ' the French equivalent of the English

word pitting.' It is applied in this case to the pitting of green forage in such

manner that it shall be preserved, by the exclusion, more or less perfect, of the

This is effected by lining the bottom and sides

air from the contents of the pit.

'

of the pit with concrete or masonry (brick or stone), the surfaces of which are

The lines and right angles of such a pit

must be straight and true, so that no hinderance shall be offered to the settling

of its contents under the pressure which is applied to them after filling. So

plastered with water-lime cement.

green maize, taken about the time when the grain is in the milk,' has

been used for ensilage almost exclusively; but all green forage may be equally

well preserved in the same way. The preparation of ensilage is simply the cutting of the forage, by a suitable machine driven by horse or steam power, into

'

far,

These are dropped into the

and rapidly levelled and trod down by men or horses. This levelling

and treading should be as exact and thorough as possible. To facilitate the former, horizontal lines about a foot apart may be drawn around on the walls of

The treading must be especially well done at the corners, and some

the silo.

silos are built with curved in place of square corners, to facilitate this work.

small bits, not exceeding half an inch in length.

pit or silo,

II.

"How to Build a Substantial Silo and to Pill Furtlier Described.— In

constructing the pits (making the silos) there is opportunity for the display of

ingenuity and calculation, and upon the degree in which these enter into the

Gen. Thomas enclosed his silo

with a heavy stone wall laid in cement, at a cost which he did not like to state,

but which he afterwards thought entirely unnecessary. Its size was 40 by 15

work the cost in a general measure depends.

and 15 feet deep. The corn from 5 acres did not nearly fill it. He used a

Baldwin cutter, propelled by horse-power, cutting a two-horse load every eight

minutes. The whole cost of getting the ensilage from the field into the pit was

less than the cost of cutting and stocking the same even in the field would have

feet,

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

721

The work was completed in October. The ensilage was covered closely

with planks, and heavily weighted with stone. When opened in December the

preservation was found to be perfect, and the ensilage was greedily eaten by all

kinds of stock. To his cows he feeds a ration of 50 lbs. of ensilage daily.

"With this, and a moderate ration of cotton-seed meal, as good and as much butbeen.

ter is made as on the best pasturage.

Referring to the construction of the silo.

Gen. Thomas said it could be equally as well lined with brick or concrete as

with stone, and much cheaper, one brick in thickness being sufficient when

earth or sand was firmly rammed in behind the walls.

[The author would say

never less than an 8-inch wall.] The main point was to have the walls perfectly

true and smooth, and the corners square, so as not in any way to interfere with

The variety of the corn planted

the settling of the contents under pressure.

was the common Southern horse-tooth, which he thought the best. His crop

was 20 tons to the acre, but he thought this might be doubled by high manur-

ing.

He estimated the feeding value of ensilage equal to twice the weight of

average hay."

—

Two Oliewper Methods of Building Silos. The doctor goes on to say:

III.

Captain Morton's silo was much more cheaply made. He dug a trench IS

He walled this with stone,

feet wide and 60 feet long, and only 3 feet deep.

making the wall 9 feet high, and banking it up on the outside to within 3 feet

of the top. It was pointed with mortar and cemented with water-lime on the

**

inside, the whole cost being $100.

This silo was divided by a cross wall in the

middle, and only J^ was used, in which the corn from 2 acres was placed,

being cut in J^ inch lengths, firmly trodden down, covered with boards and

heavily weighted. The preservation was excellent, and all kinds of stock eat

it freely.

The whole cost of getting the fodder into the silo was under $10.

He is now feeding it in combination with fine-cut hay and meal to 27 head of

stock, young and old, including 7 cows in milk.

is

The daily feed for the whole

made by mixing 250 lbs. of the ensilage, 180 lbs of cut hay, and 75 lbs. each

of corn-meal and wheat bran, the whole well shoveled together, and fed to each

animal in proportion to its size.

They are all thriving, and his butter sells for

His ensilage (which was exhibited at the meeting he addressed)

was slightly acid, but he said that with a perfectly tight silo and sufficient pres.

This was also

sure, he thought it could be preserved almost perfectly sweet.

35 cents a lb.

Gen. Thomas' opinion.

Captain Morton agreed with Gen. Thomas in preferHe planted in drills 2 feet apart, using 1 bushel

ring southern com for ensilage.

of seed to the acre, and tilling entirely by machinery.

Gen. Grout built his silos with concrete walls, loose stones being puddled

The fodder was

in with mortar, and the inside coated with water-lime cement.

badly frosted when ensilaged, but kept perfectly. He used 300 lbs of stone to

the sqaare foot of surface to compress the ensilage, and would never use less.

He is feeding it to 72 head of cattle, and 100 sheep. The daily cattle ration is

30 lbs. of ensilage in the morning, and a mixture composed of 15 lbs. of finelycut and moistened straw, upon which 2 lbs. of shorts are sprinkled; which is

fed in two feeds, noon and night. All the stock are gaining on this feed. The

sheep were fed almost exclusively on ensilage, and had much improved on it.

46

DR. CHASE'S BECIPES.

722

The entire cost of the crop in the silo was slightly less than $3 a ton, which

Gen. Grout believes can be considerably reduced. Like the other gentlemen

named, he thinks the feeding value of corn ensilage equal to twice its weight of

average hay. I fear this will prove an over-estimate.

" We, in Vermont, are gratified to find that there is not going to be so much

difficulty from the freezing of ensilage as we feared.

When the whole of the

silo is below the surface no frost enters.

The slight fermentation which goes

on in the mass keeps the temperature well above freezing. This fermentation

is very slight, and when the face of the mass is cut down in feeding that which

remains undisturbed is unaffected; but that which is cut out, if left exposed to

the air in a place where the temperature is not very low, will ferment so as to

be decidedly warm in 12 hours. In this condition it is greedily eaten by the

stock.

It has then a slightly alcoholic odor, and a more or less acid taste. The

better the preservation the less there will be of the latter."

Remarks.

—This item was so distinct and covered so much of importance

for one to know who

is

contemplating a beginning with ensilage, I could not

satisfy myself without giving it.

The next and last item is upon the question

of feeding ensilage to daily cows and fattening steers, very plain and distinct,

and of much importance to those who have no experience in its use for these

purposes.

Ensilage for Dairy Cows and Fattening Steers, How to

Feed. — The following is from a correspondent of the Country Gentleman, who

says: " Such grave uncertainties seem to pervade the minds of many farmers as

to the use of ensilage as food

for milch

cows such doubts as to a possible

;

peculiar taste of the milk, cream, or butter made from this food, that with your

permission I will give my experience of last season, hoping it may lead some

doubters to the right track. Last year I built a silo of 200 tons capacity, wholly

of stone and Rosendale cement, with a frame and roof for cover.

It is a good

one (I believe in no other), no water can get in, no sap from the corn can get

out, as so many complain of when their silos are not half built, or made from

stale cement or any poor material.

On account of the long-extended drouth in

this part of New Jersey, I was able to scrape together of good, bad and indif-

ferent, half-dried, wilted,

after cured.

grown and half-grown corn, some 30 tons of ensilage

This, however, was enough to satisfy my mind on this subject, if

there ever had been any doubts.

I used it as food for cows 110 days continuWithin a week from the time we began feeding

hay, and thougli with an addition of grain, the cows lost at least 25 per cent, of

milk, the cream did not make as much butter, and the butter was not of as good

color or flavor.

During the time of feeding ensilage we were unable to discover any other than the most satisfactory taste to milk, cream, or butter. The

cows were in the most perfect state of health, and kept in fine condition.

Fattening Steers.

I fed for 90 days 8 western steers, which averaged a gain

of over IJ^ lbs. per day.

The ration for cows and oxen was 22 lbs. of ensilage

morning and night, and 15 lbs. of cut cornstalks at noon. The cows had 3 qts.

of cornmeal and 3 qts. of wheat bran per day, and the steers had 4 qts. of cornmeal for 45 days and 6 qts. for the last 45 days. Our success with the steers

ously, until all was fed out.

—

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

astonished my neighbors, who feed in the old way.

723

The butcher says the cattle

slaughtered well, and the meat was remarkably fine and gave every satisfaction.

The use of poor ensilage, made from corn half ripe or frost bitten, like mine

was, I have reason for believing, would not give such satisfactory results, as if

I had had more •perfect material.

I

am one who believes that to make good

ensilage the corn should be cut at the right time, cut the right length, put away

in a good silo and covered over nicely, and then well and thoroughly weighted

down. The seed planted should be the Southern gourdseed, drilled in rows 30

to 40 inches apart, and the ground cultivated the same as any corn.

The ensilto

of an inch long. It is important to have a good,

age should be cut

water-tight silo and heavy weighting 300 to 350 lbs. to the square foot of surface.

I believe in giving the animals all they will eat up clean, be it more or

less.

Contentment means fat in the bovine tribe, as well as riches in the human.

Bemarks. The author agrees with this man in New Jersey, that "what is

worth doing is worth doing well," if you can; if you have not the means to

build the best silo, build a small one till you can do better, but don't fail to try

it according to your means and ability, by which you will get more means.

That is the object of the author in writing this book. What it may pay me is

nothing as to what it will pay others, if they heed its teachings. I would never

have written it for Wi^.t it will pay me, but the belief in what good it will do

others has made it a delight, and the labor endurable.

%

%

—

—

Ensilage Congress, Report of in 1886, Held in New York.—

We will say, in closing the ensilage question with the following report, that we

are indebted to a Frenchman by the name of August Goffart, for the discovery

of this plan of preserving fodder in its green state, some 20 years ago, which,

for

economy or saving

financially, for

the farming

community, probably,

has not its superiority in the whole century, or for the past 100 years; and it is

now admitted that he who does not make use of it, now, stands in his own light.

The following facts were stated by those members of the Congress or convention, who had given it a fair trial:

**

Alfred Reid, of Providence, gave the result of his experiments at feeding

He gave them three times a day all

He had put into his silos, corn, rye, grass, clover, Hungarian

grass and sorghum.

He gave the details of his expenditures on four acres of

ensilage to twenty-eight head of cattle.

they could eat.

The total cost in the field was $159.51 to raise 66 tons and 427 pounds

The cost of getting from the field to the silos was $69. 37 for

the 66 tons. The total cost of raising, carting and packing was $3.45 per ton.

corn.

of corn fodder.

"A Mr. Roberts, of Poughkeepsie, asserted that with ensilage he had kept

Probably this was

it he had kept but six.

under highly favorable circumstances, though fresh, green fodder undoubtedly

jaelds more than double the nourishment of dry.

Cattle eat ensilage food

ravenously, and it fattens, and increases the production of milk.

"Some silos, or pits, are built 50 by 20 feet in size and bricked up.

Others are made of boards, tongued and grooved and lined with tar paper.

When built in bams they are said to work excellently, as the frost is more ea*

twenty-six cows, where without

724

-D-R.

CHASE'S RECIPES.

fly kept off^although cattle eat ensilage

food

when frozen, though It Is les»

healthful.

" Mr. Percy, of Chatham, N". T., estimates the cost of a wooden pit lined

with the paper, 24 x 30 feet, at $125. Another member of the Congress made

the astonishing statement that with ensilage food he had kept a cow on two and

a half cents per day. Ensilage food requires much pressing to properly preserve it, sixty -two pounds to the square inch being deemed about the right

weight. A Pennsylvania farmer declared that with ensilage he had made butter at six cents per pound and sold it for fifty cents, asserting that old and tooth-

on it. Some dairymen mix it with meal.

"All present at the Congress gave testimony to its great value, in increasing the quality and quantity of milk, in creating flesh, keeping cattle in a

healthy condition, and in Its cheapness in comparison to dry fodder. Cheap

pits or silos were pronounced just as good as expensive ones, and having the

green fodder cut by means of a cutting machine, proved more efficacious than

placing the fodder uncut into the pits. Ensilage food is said to smell like New

England rum, and some joking rendered the Ensilage Congress lively, regarding the effect of fermented food In producing drunkenness among cattle."

less cows would thrive

SHZEEIP.

TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS IN SHEEP HUSBANDRY.— As

the raising of sheep has become so common on almost every farm, we have

thought we could not do better than to devote a few pages to this important subject.

First,

we will

give a paper read before the Farmers' Insti-

tute, at Hudson, Mich., Jan. 10, 1880, by Sidney Green, the well known farmer

of Pittsford, Hillsdale County, whose experience of 28 years will give valuable hints, to say the least, upon almost all the important points of sheep

husbandry, so that new beginners may avoid the mishaps which Mr. Green

and others have fallen into for the want of this very experience in their beginning.

He says:

Introduction.

I.

— "Ladies and gentlemen,

I

want to say right here

that what I have to say will be largely in the line of my experience, and the

way that I have managed my own flock of sheep during the past 28 years.

"A year ago last July, a friend of mine living in Missouri, wishing to

engage in the business of sheep raising on a large scale, and knowing that

I had been somewhat successful on the small scale in the same business,

wrote to me asking advice, and, in fact, asked of me just what this Institute now asks.

I complied with his request, and my whole essay was comprised of but one word, and that was "Care."

If every man, woman and

child that owns a sheep, or even ever expects to, will take that one word and

make it the key note of every move they make, guided by their best judgment and discretion, I will guarantee success in this important branch of

farming.

II. Care What it Will Do. — "Care will make carcass; care will

make constitution, care will save fodder; care will ward off disease; care will

make fat, and fat will make wool and grease, and wool and grease will make

money, and that is what we are after. Yes, care will do one other thing,

care will make blood.

"Were it not for the promise I have already made that I would relate

—

my 28 years experience with sheep, what I have already said, carried out,

would accomplish a better purpose than anything I could add, and this paper

would be complete.

It is true that we are guided to some extent by the

experience of others.

m.

How

He Began.— "In the fall of 1852 I bought

When and

Oakland county, this State, 53 ewes of common stock for $1 per head,

and one ewe, said to have been a pure cross between the Spanish and French

Merino, for which I paid $25. I drove them to this county (Hillsdale) in the

in

winter of 1853.

735

I>R'

726

CHASE'S RECIPES.

Shearing—Average Weight of Fleece.

IV.

the lot averaged a little less than 4 lbs. per head.

— "The

first shearing

I raised 24 lambs the first

season; I had the good fortune to raise from my pure-blooded ewe an extra

buck lamb, which was the foundation for great improvement of my flock for

those days.

For the first few years the flock showed a greater improvement

per year than they have since they have been brought to a greater degree of

This, in fact,

perfection.

is

my experience with crossing full bloods with

improve really good sheep than it does

improve an inferior grade. The second shearing showed an improvement

of nearly IJ^ lb. per head. In the course of 5 or 6 years the average of the

flock, numbering from 80 to 100, was a trifle over 6 lbs. per head.

With

good luck in the selection of rams, in 10 years from the start, my flock averaged 7 lbs.

It requires greater skill to

natives.

to

Drawbacks in the Business. — " Sheep business, like any other

v.

The use of what I supposed to be a full-blooded

its drawbacks.

Spanish ram from Webster's flock of Vermont, set my flock backward on an

average for 3 years

This is the only real set-back that I

^^- P^r head.

business, has

%

I soon recovered that loss, and have made steady

So I estimate my average this coming spring at 9 lbs. per head,

ever have experienced.

gain since.

with the prospects of a little more.

VI. Increase of Wool per Head by Using Blooded Earns.—

"I have thus far shown simply the increase of wool per head during this time

with the use of what we might call blooded rams, with the single exception

of one blooded ewe. Here occurred an incident which was curious in its effects,

and in after years proved to be an adulteration of blood.

Danger of a Grade Buck upon a Blooded Ewe.—" My

VII.

eyes have been wide open ever since to prevent the repetition of the mishap.

The blooded ewe, which was pure gold in my eyes at the time, was, through

mated with a grade buck, and her second lamb was a nice grade;

but the curious part of the affair was that that high and pure blooded ewe

never afterwards raised a pure blooded lamb from mating with the purest blood

carelessness,

I could find.

reliable.

I

Her breeding qualities were destroyed and ,her progeny was not

kept the ewe till she died

Vm.

—15 years of age.

Buck, Selection of, Suitable for the Flock.— "In select-

ing a buck that is suitable for the flock lies the secret of success.

If a

man

has not the judgment for himself, he had better borrow it from some one

that has, until he

is

acquainted with the business sufficiently to prevent mis-

In choosing a ram for myself, I want a low, heavy

body, straight on the back, clear to the roots of the tail, broad and level

over the shoulders, deep and heavy in the brisket, thick neck with heavy

takes

gullet;

and

set-backs.

in short, constitution

attention.

I

is

the

first

want the wool of medium

thicker the better.

distributed evenly

strong point that will receive

length,

my

smooth on the surface, the

The staple rather stiff and stubbed, with plenty of oil

from the roots to the end. I like heavy folds, but do not

DOMESTIC ANIMALS.

727

want them to run over the back, nor do I like to see them too heavy over the

neck. Horns, if any, set well from the head, fore-top as long as the rest of the

fleece, down even with the eyes, then stop.

Smooth, clear pink face and nose,

short, thick velvety ears, wool full length, well down on the legs, and full heavy

The foregoing is something of my ideal of a ram.