Ensilage

“ Silo filling may go on for two or three weeks, or until the pits are filled, when they should be covered after standing a day or two to allow the last layer to heat. For covering material there may be placed over the ensilage building paper upon which may be placed sand, earth, chaff, cut straw, marsh hay, long straw, sawdust, or almost any material which will help keep out the air. If one wishes the pits may be left uncovered, in which case something like a foot of the ensilage will decay and form a covering and protection for that beneath. ”

“ Fortunately we do not have to be very particular in our practice to obtain a very good quality of ensilage. I would advise, therefore, that a person allow the temperature to run from 120 to 140 when the thermometer is buried a foot deep in the fodder; but when these conditions are not obtained, no matter whether the degree be lower or higher, to go right on without feeling anxious in the matter. If the contents of the silo do not heat at all, or if the temperature gets up to 160 deg., the cattle will still eat the ensilage without complaint and relish it better than average dry fodder. ”

“ When the influence of these varying conditions, which include the peculiarities of the crop, as well as the method of filling the silo, is so well understood that ensilage of a uniform and desired quality can be produced with certainty, the most important objections that are now made to it will be obviated, and it will readily take its place on the farm as a staple article of cattle-food. ”

“ This can only be done by killing the bacteria of fermentation in the earliest stages of their activity, which would result in the production of ensilage free from acidity, and closely resembling, in quality, the green fodder from which it is made. If the bacteria can be killed, when the silo is covered and weighted, the inclosed mass of ensilage will be practically preserved under the same conditions as fruits, or vegetables, or meats, are preserved when canned. ”

“ It would be more desirable, usually, to make the first cutting from alfalfa into ensilage than later cuttings, because of the showery character of the weather at that season, but the strong objection stands in the way of doing so, that no carbonaceous food, as corn, sorghum or soy beans, is ready for going into the silo then as they are later, with a view of aiding in the better preservation of the ensilage and of making a better balanced ration. Good alfalfa silage is more easily [Pg 170] made when the alfalfa has been run through a cutting-box than when in the uncut forms. ”

“ The experiment will be watched with extreme interest by all agriculturists.
Mr Wood’s lecture to the Institute of Agriculture on the subject of Ensilage gave some valuable particulars of experiments he had made with the object of ascertaining which are the crops that can be most profitably cultivated for that method of preservation. He first of all took the value of ensilage at twenty-six shillings and eightpence, or about one-third the value of hay. An acre of heavy meadow-grass produced twelve tons of compressed food ”

“ All that I have read and seen in connection with the recent ensilage experiments on cattle-fodder indicates that it is a process of slow vegetable cookery, a digesting or maceration of fibrous vegetables in their own juices which loosens the fiber, renders it softer and more digestible, and not only does this, but, to some extent, converts it into dextrin and sugar. ”

“ We may, however, express a hope that hop-growers will not act on Mr. Hopkins’ suggestion, and only grow hops for the sake of the bine—English hops are too good for that. We have spoken of hop-bine ensilage as a discovery, but French farmers have for years mixed green hop-leaves with their cows’ food, under the belief, rightly or wrongly we know not, that it increases the flow of milk. Possibly in the far past hops were cultivated as fodder, and even used as ensilage. ”

“ I hereby recommend those gentlemen who have ensilage-pits and are sufficiently enterprising to try bold experiments, to water the fodder, as it is being packed down, with dilute hydrochloric acid or acetic acid, which, if I am not deluded by plausible theory, will materially increase the sugar-forming action of the ensilage. The acid, if not over-supplied, will find ammonia and other bases with which to neutralise itself. ”

“ All of course showed a great advance; but those fed on ensilage totalled up to a figure which was forty-nine pounds better than the total exhibited by those fed in the more orthodox style.
As we have on a previous occasion hinted, the principle of ensilage has, after a manner, been applied for some years to fruit by the jam-makers. In years of plenty, fruit is reduced to pulp, and can in this state, if the air is carefully excluded, be made to keep well until a time of scarcity occurs. Large quantities of apricot pulp finds its way to this country from France, and realises a good price. ”

“ Although some farmers make ensilage, yet, in a climate like that of New Zealand, there is not much advantage in doing so; the risk of spoiling the crop is as great as in making hay of it, and machines or a silo are, of course, very expensive. ”

“ There is now little doubt as to the value of ensilage as a food for cattle, for there is abundant testimony from various parts of the country,{125} where the experiment has been tried of building silos, that beasts thrive upon the compressed fodder that had been stored therein. ”

“ Soiling furnished by grains, grasses, and clovers are usually fed in the stables or feed yards, and corn and sorghum are usually strewn over the pastures, as much as is needed from day to day.
Where much soiling food is wanted from year to year, it would seem safe to say that it can be most cheaply supplied in the form of silage. Even when grass is abundant, cows will eat with avidity more or less of ensilage well made. They should not be fed in winter more than 25 pounds per animal per day, but the quantity needed is determined largely by the condition of the pastures. ”

“ THE preservation of green fodder in the form of ensilage is now attracting so large a share of the attention of practical farmers, that a brief sketch of the history of the process, and an outline of the known facts in regard to fermentation, must be of interest to the general reader, as well as the student who wishes to trace the laws of evolution in the development of improved methods in agriculture. ”

“ The great losses arising from spoilt hay crops served to stimulate experimental inquiry into the method of preserving green fodder known as ensilage, with the result that the system eventually became successfully incorporated in the ordinary routine of agricultural practice. A contemporaneous effort in the direction of drying hay by artificial means led to nothing of practical importance. ”

“ There are many conflicting statements in regard to the value of ensilage as a cattle-food, and it may be that the failure to realize the exaggerated claims that were made for it when, first introduced has resulted in a reaction which naturally leads to a low estimate of its value. It must, however, be admitted that a large proportion of the farmers who have used it are fully satisfied that it is a desirable and valuable form of cattle-food, and many would not limit its use to the winter months. ”

“ If we had let the corn stand a few days longer, it would not have been as good as it is now. We'll probably have the best ensilage that will be put up this year."
[Illustration: TRANSFERRING THE GREEN CORN CROP FROM FIELD TO SILO. NO
FARMER DOING WINTER FEEDING CAN AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT A PROFIT-MAKING
SILO]
"What rate do you think we should charge for the corn binder and ensilage cutter, Bob?" ”

“ They are then hard, woody, and acid, quite unfit for food, but by simply storing them for a month, or two, or three, they become lusciously soft and sweet, the woody fibers are converted into sugar, the acid neutralized, and all this by simply fulfilling the conditions of ensilage, viz., close packing of the fiber, exclusion of air by the thick rind of the fruit, plus the other condition which I have just suggested, viz., the diffusion of acid among the well-packed fibers of the ensilage material. ”

“ And it will always be found to work well if corn meal is fed with clover hay. Corn ensilage with clover hay will constitute a proper feed. To avoid waste, and secure the best results, we must learn to balance the nitrogenous and carbonaceous foods. Our greatest difficulty in feeding, as in manuring the soil, is to secure enough of the nitrogenous elements. These are what we have mainly to look out for, the carbonaceous foods usually being over abundant.
Not only must we proportion the elements of food properly, but we must prepare the food so that it will be in a proper condition. ”

“ There is no waste in the unused corn that remains ungathered on the stalks for it may be saved for seed another year or fed to the poultry, while the stalks, cut and cured, make excellent feed for cow, horse or rabbits. Cut while green and made into ensilage it is the best substitute for green feed in winter for any animal that eats green food. Much green feed for stock may be secured from the corn patch in summer by removing all the side shoots that do not bear ears and feeding them to the pigs or rabbits. ”

“ It means we can double our stock, which is rather like getting another farm for nothing, especially as the peas and oats we can grow for ensilage purposes give such enormous yields on this soil of ours. ”

“ The practice of weighting the silo is now largely abandoned, though I am not certain but what some heavy material along the edges and in the corners will aid in saving the ensilage at those points, since it is here that the contents do not settle so well as does the body of the material. For a few weeks after filling the sides and corners should be tramped down occasionally to aid them in settling. ”

“ When, with the growth of a district, those areas are drained and utilised as grain fields, the farmers have no difficulty in raising fine crops of timothy, western rye, millet, broom, and other grasses. Lucerne and the clovers also thrive well under proper treatment, while Indian corn grows to a height of from eight to ten feet, and, yielding about twenty tons to the acre, is excellent as green fodder or as ensilage. ”

“ It is well known that ordinary ensilage succeeds much better on a large than on a small scale, and I have no doubt that such will be the case with my diastase ensilage of oatmeal, pease-pudding, mashed roots, &c. ”

“ The largest silo noted in the returns is in the county of Argyll. We may gather from these figures that the principle of ensilage as adapted to British farming has now entirely passed the experimental stage. (This important subject is further noticed in one of our Occasional Notes. See p. 829.)
The novel proposal has lately been made by Mr W. O. Chambers, the Secretary of the National Fish-culture Association, that fishponds should be established on lands which are unavailable for ordinary crops, and that unprofitable agri-culture should give place to profitable aqua-culture. ”

“ The cord sliding through the pulleys produces so much compression that [Pg 263] the height of the stack diminishes by one-half. This pressure, which is about 200 lbs. to the square foot, so completely prevents the entrance of any air to the interior, that fermentation is produced in exactly the same way as when the hay is in a pit. The external surface is sacrificed, but by plunging the hand in the interior, we find that below the crust, which is only from six to eight inches in thickness, the quality of the ensilage is quite as good as that of the pits. ”

“ In connection with the reports of the analyses of fertilizers, a review of the fertilizer market is given, with notices of the prices of its principal staples; and an interesting observation is reported of the value of marine mud as a fertilizer. The reports on the analyses of ensilage go to confirm, generally, the representations previously made of the value of that preparation. Interesting information and suggestions are given in connection with the seed-tests, of which twenty-four were made, mostly on sweet-corn and onion seed. ”

“ It is intended that the ensilage carrier shall pass up through the window so that the ensilage will fall over the partition and can be deposited in either one of the two compartments by means of a slanting chute. If one does not wish to undergo the expense of the dormer window a scuttle in the roof is all that is necessary. ”

“ It appears when the stock consumes corn or cornstalks affected with smut or certain other fungi, or the cereals or grasses suffering from ergot or smut, but this is especially the case when there is also a privation of water, whereas, with an abundant water supply or a partial ration of roots, potatoes or ensilage the danger is greatly reduced. Sometimes a change from soft to very hard water appears to act as a cause but whether from a special astringent action or a disinclination to consume the usual amount has not been made clear. ”

“ It is certain that ensilage usually heats up easily and rapidly except in the corners and along the walls, where we find the temperature does not rise so rapidly nor to the same degree as it does in the body of the silo, and anything that will help us overcome this lack will improve its quality, and I deem Mr. ”

“ It is from these soluble substances that the plants derive the greater [Pg 71] portion of the saline ingredients contained in the ash they leave when burned.
Nor must the quantity thus obtained from a soil be considered too small to yield the whole supply which a crop requires. A single grain of saline matter in every pound of a soil a foot deep, is equal to 500 lbs. in an acre, which is more than is carried off from the soil in 10 rotations (40 years) , where only the wheat and barley are sent to market, and the straw and green crops are regularly returned to the land in the manure. ”