Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, January 1, 1916, Page 18

g Ensilage, canned cow-fodder; canned while the fodder is fresh and sweet with all its natural Juices in it. ) It bears about the same relation to hay or stover in the mow nlfir'blunndflnltflouwl.nflfllofdfl.dl’m Now, aried apples are not to be sneezed at. They were re- garded by our grand-dads as very much worth while. They are better than no apples when it comes ple-baking time. But cer- tainly they lack the freshness and the juiciness and the flavor and the aroma—in other words the succulence of fresh fruit. Likewise dried hay and corn-stalks are worth saving. A many million cattle have lived through the winters on and have given miilk and produced butter. But one needs to recall the scent of the fresh mown hay flelds, the air heavy with the odors wasting into it from the drying grass, understand that something which is in the fresh forage, and ssomething not mere: water, is lost from it in the process of Moreover, every dairvman, whether he have a hundred milkers pr just one runt of a Jersey for family supply, knows what a nce there is between the quantity and quality of June milk nd January milk. The one is made from fresh forage; the her from dried fodder. It ism't the weather nor the smell of ‘%he wild flowers that gives June butter its precedence in the parket. It is just the difference in feed. If one could give his hilkers the same feed in January which they have plentifully in they’d make pretty much the same sort of butter, regard- of weather and temperature. THE DEMAND FOR SILOS ON THE INCREASE. '\ This is exactly what the silo filled with fresh silage seeks to @tcomplish. It doesn’t quite do so much. There is some loss in ity -no.matter how carefully the silage may be ensiloed. But re is vastly less loss than comes from dessication in the open ir and under hot July suns. No one pretends that even canned strawberries are every whit as good as fresh ones right off the But they are better than dried apples, all the same. The best silage isn't quite as ‘succulent nor quite as digestible nor quite as well-flavored as the fresh forage out of which it is made. But it has more of all these qualities than it would have if it were dried for the mow or stack. Therefore it is becoming if it has not already become the main stay of many of the largest and most successful dairies in the land. One could hardly climb a hill of any height anywhere in New England or New York and look over the surrounding country ‘without seeing in plain sight the conical roofs of anywhere from two to a dozen silos. Strange to say, the usually progressive west was slowest to take to the innovation. Twenty yvears ago, a silo west of the Alleganies was a curiosity. But things are different, now. Re- cently in a Wisconsin farm paper I saw the statement that in a certain county which had but three silos in use five years ago, about ninety were now filled and more than thirty more were planned for next season. They are coming to be almost as char- acteristic a feature of prairie landscapes as of New England hillsides. As is usual in other things, moreover, the western farmer, who jumps with both feet when he jumps at all, is al- ready ahead of the eastern average in the size and importance of his silos. There are farms in the Corn Belt where already the silo capacity is said to be greater in cubic feet than their total barn capacity. And yet, in neither east nor west has the silage tide reached anywhere near its flood. Very rarely has one, once tried, been given up, while the demand for new ones keeps busy more than a dozen companies engaged in furnishing ‘material and erecting them. For every dairyman who discards his silo a hundred others erect new ones. B OBJECTIONS RAISED TO SILAGE. AT ___Of course there are some objections to: the use of silage. Nothing- wholly and absolutely good has yet been discovered in farming. One argument which has been used against'the silo is 1ts original cost. JIn the early days, when silos were mostly built of brick or stone, this was a more serioud matter than at present. The modern silo is usually constructed of staves—sometimes, when exceptional strength and endurance are desired, of rein- forced concrete. It is quite possible to get a fairly-good idea of the cost of such structures. The average cost of 25 stave silos, constructed in different parts of the country in the past few years, each of 100 tons capacity or less, was $118.40. The average cost of 71 concrete silos of similar capacity, was $220.47. Any farmer can figure for himself whether he could build a barn big enough to store a hundred tons of dry fodder for any such amount. Another objection which has been raised is that corn, which is the crop generally raised to furnish silage, contains too small a° progortion of protein for a well-balanced ration. This is un- doubtedly true. But the deficiency, such as it is, can easily be compensated for in the dry forage and grain which should al- ‘ways be fed with any ration. If clover or alfalfa are grown they will pretty nearly even things up. Indeed, some have believed it possible to make a balanced ration by mixing clover, alfalfa or cowpeas with the corn when filling the silo. This, however, is discouraged by the experienced. They find that the legumes are liable to rot unless a good deal of extra care is taken to pack the silage of, which they are a part. And, as some dry forage should always be fed, it has been found better to dry such ma- \ terials rather than convert them into silage. ‘At one time it was belleved that silage-fattened cattle shrunk more than others in shipping to market. This idea has been proved without basis. A like impression among some that prime carcasses cannot be made from silage is quite as untrue. The evidence gathered from thousands of cases goes to show that . “there is no appreciable difference in the percentage of marketa- ble beef that steers will dress out which have been finished on a silage ration and a dry ration. The meat seems equally bright and the fat as well intermixed with the lean.” Another objection which was raised at one time lay in the belief that silage-fed cattle had to be protected from the cold more than those given dry fodder and grains. Experience indi- cates that there isn’t much basis for this. All cattle do better ‘with some protection from cold winter winds and rains and with & dry place to lle down. But artificially warmed barns are no _more necessary to silage-fed stock than to any other. In fact, the evidence goes to show that fat cattle make larger and cheaper gatns in open sheds than when confined in close barns. At one time, the argument against the silo, when it was held by many to be just one more “new-fangled” idea, was in what might be called the “pickles” stage. .“I don’t want my cows to eat plckles,” was the slogan. There is no gainsaying that much of the early silage made turned out more or less sour. This was due rather to inexperience in building and filling the silos than to the process itself. Now that we know how to make a silo air-tight and how to cut the silage so it will pack itself into an impervious mass, there is little talk of “sour pickles.” While generally there is a slight odor from it when freshly thrown out, this odor is not apt to be offensive either to man or beast. Indeed, anyone who has seen a long row of stanchioned heads thrust forward and heard the impatient mooing which broke out like a chorus the moment the animals smelt the silage being taken out for them, would' well be warranted in assuming that both odor .and taste were attractive to them. W&m idea held at one time that silage “tainted” the milk is fast being discarded. There are still those who advise that it be fed only after mil . in order to avoid any such danger. But others feed it, the e as they would hay or grain, and preferably so. the cows may eat while being milked. One of my nelghbors who keeps about thirty head of stock tells me it is his invariable practice to give a feeding of silage the first thing in the morning, which is eaten while milking is going on. Then, when it is cleaned up, the racks are filled with dried hay, of Wwhich the cattle are given all they will eat. At night, the rest of the day's silage ration is given the same way, with some dry grain. This practice doesn’t seem to injure the flavor of his . Anyway, it doesn’t provent his getting a fancy price for it in the exacting market of the vicinity. i One objection to silage has some basis. That is, that its ‘use-obliges the dairyman to supply more bedding than otherwise. there is seldom any waste to it, being usually eaten up ab- ¢ clean, there is no coarse residue scattered back to serve bedding. Unquestionably this causes rather more work. But . feel that forage is really worth more to feed n to make manure of, and that the extra good the animals T obtain from the extra bedding more than.pay for the ARQUMENTS IN FAVOR OF ITS USE. .~ Now, having thus run over some of the objections which have at various times been made against the use of sllage, let us see ‘what are some of the arguments for it. Here are ten points, con- densed into single parasraphs by Bxpert Woodward of the Dalry “ division of the U. S, Department of Agriculture: 1. Silage is the best and cheapest form in which a succulent feed can be provided for winter use, £ “2. An acre of corn cau be placed In the silo at a cost not exceeding that of shocking, husking, grinding, and shredding. “3. Crops can be put into the silo du: ‘weather that could not be utilized in making hay or curing er; in some loeali- ties this is an important consideration. “4. A given amount of corn in the form of silage will produce more milk than the same amount when shocked and dried. “5. There is less waste in feeding silage than in feeding fodder. Good silage properly fed is all consumed. “g, Silage is very palatable. 2 “7. Silage, like other succulent feeds, has a beneficial effect upon the digestive organs. “8. More stock can be kept on a given area of land when silage is the basis of the ration. “9. On account of the smaller cost for labor, silage can be used for supplementing pastures more economically than can soiling crops, unless only a small amount of supplementary feed is required. ? “10. Converting the corn crop into silage clears the land and leaves it ready for another crop sooner than if the corn is shocked and husked.” 3 Some form of succulent feed has always been held essential to winter dairying. Years ago I have known farmers to raise acres of carrots. or beets solely in order to have something fresh and juicy to “bait” the cows with and give them an appetite for their dry hay or stalks. In those days every farmer planted pumpkins with his corn to provide “messes” in the late fall and early winter. He also generally sowed turnips among the corn or potatoes, quite as often for the behoof of the cows as the sheep. Nor is there any doubt that these additions to the barn bill of fare were a great help. But in those davs wages were comparatively low. As they run at present, the mere labor cost of raising enough roots for a sizable dairy would more than use all the possible profits from it. And, even at the best, roots can never make anything more than a small part of any ration, while silage, which is quite as succulent and vastly more nutritious, can be used for the larger part of the feed. + As to the cost of siloing an acre of corn it always will and always must differ very widely with differing conditions. Prob- ably Expert Woodward is right in saying that, as a general rule, it won’t cost any more-to silo it than it would to shock, husk and stack it, and grind the grain and shred the stalks. Shredding, however, is not very widely done in New England. One of my dairying neighbors with a hundred-ton silo tells me he finds it costs him just about three times as much to silo an acre of corn as it does to dry and mow away an acre of grass. Per contra, he gets about twelve tons of silage off the same acre that would yield him a ton and a half of dried hay. He used to feed an average of twenty-five pounds of hay per day per cow. That is, his ton and a half of hay would last ten cows twelve days. Now he feeds forty pounds of silage per day per cow, That is, his twelve tons of silage keep ten cows sixty days. While the acre, silaged, costs him about three times as much, it gives him five times as mwuch feed, and this of a better quality. Taking the years together and his stock as they run, he finds, as a matter of practical experience, that he can keep just about three times as many head on the same acreage, with his silo, as he used to keep without it. Where he used to keep ten, he now keeps thirty, and finds that the thirty do better through the winter than the ten ever did; give more milk in proportion, make more butter, and come out in spring, in better condition. This is a pretty vigorous confirmation from a practical dairy- man's experience, of Expert Woodward's point No. 8, that “more stock can be kept on a given area .of land when silage is the basis of the ration.” THE ORIGINAL SILO. It is a curious illustration of the unexpected ways in which things develop to note that the original silo was just a hole-in- the-ground. From time immemorial farmers have sought means to carry crops into the winter which, but for some sort of pro- tection, would decay and tecome worthless before they could be used. In this country, out-door pits or trenches for the storing of potatoes and other roots, cabbages, etc., have always been in more or less general use. In Europe, where stern necessity has always compelled from farmers greater attention to small econo- mies than with us, not only have such things as roots and cab- bages been preserved in pits, but apple pomace, srape leaves, turnip and beet tops and beet pulp from sugar factories used to be pitted when fresh and thus made to help out the winter rations of dry feed. In a work on agriculture, printed in this country so recently as 1882, I find full and detailed directions how to con- struect, fiill and protect such earth pits. These pits, which were probably used more widely in France than anywhere else, were there c¢alled “silos.” The word “ensilage” is also French and means simply to pack into a silo. In fact, the birth and early progress of our modern system of silage we owe to French farmers, more especially to one French farmer, M. Auguste Goffart of Burtin, near Versallles. " He, like other French farmers, was in the habit of using pits to preserve such crops as beets, artichokes, potatoes and turnips. In 1850 he began experimenting by ensilaging some wheat. Two years later he built four small underground silos of masonry trying in them cornstalks and straw as well as the other things. By their help he was enabled at least once to carry his full stock through a winter after the hay crop had failed entirely. But it wasn't till 1873 that he really began to get the idea of the modern silo. That season he had a simply enormous crop of corn and ‘was so sore put to it for means of saving and utilizing his sur- plus that he determined to take a big chance. Se he built him a triple silo, consisting of three chambers, each elliptical in form, and about forty feet long by twelve wide. They were sunk six and a half feet into the ground and carried ten feet above it; built of brick, waterproofed with Portland cement and roofed. In these, for the first time in the world's history, several hundred tons of fresh, green-cut cornstalks were fairly well preserved from October till the following March. b Three years later M. Goffart was given by the French govern- ment the decoration of the Legion of Honor. = THE MODERN SILO. . It still, howéver, required many years of experimentation and a good many failures before the silo reached such a degree of ! kept well-tramped down, especially keep even better than when welghts were used. crop was often, either by chance or on purpose, out somewhat before being cut up and put in the silo. modern practice now prefers to have the stalks soon as cut from the field—certainly within twenty-four of cutting. This usually obviates the use of water quently had to be applied under the old method of partial in large quantities. If, however, some necessity compels the of partly dried stalks, it is still considered absolutely essential to add water as they are put in the silo. Experienced silage feeders say that there is much more danger, in such a case, of using too little than too much water. If an excess is hosed on that excess will find its way out before doing any ‘while there is no way of correcting the error, later, if too little has been put on. / 4 e ; ] 5 88 The idea, developed from the facts of long and gemeral ex- perience, is that the nearer the silage can be preserved in its natural green and sucqulent condition, the better forage it will prove. The juices 'which are in the stalks and leaves when freshly cut are to be saved, if possible, as well as the filore and solid matter. Of course, if anything has occurred to dry out some of these natural juices, another liquid must be substituted, i. e. water. But, at the best, water is only a makeshift and never can quite také the place of the plant's natural sap. SILAGE MATERIALS. After long tests in many countrigs by thousands of experi- menters, ou# native Indian corn is agreed by all to make the best material for silage. Other plants and even some refuse matters may, however, be used and often turn out well. Sorghum is an excellent silage-maker. Its feeding value is about identical with that of corn silage, while its adherents claim that, if harvested when the seed has become hard, it will make a less acid and more palatable fodder than corn. Wherever the seasons are apt to be over-dry for corn, growing sorghum, by reason of its drought-re- sistant habit, is much relied upon. Ciover, also, makes a very valuable silage, especially high in protein content. When intended for such use it should be cut after some of the first heads are dead but while the mass is mostly in full bloom. As it does not pack so well as corn the need of chopping into short lengths and of persistent tramping down is even more imperative. Moreover clover, like all the other legumes such as alfalfa, cowpeas, soy beans, etc., gives to the silage a really objectionable odor, likely to taint the milk unless great care is used. Its lightness and “fluffiness” also make it essential that it should be used only in deep silos. It is not apt to keep in shallow ones. y Such other leguminous crops as have beex mentioned can also be siloed, using the same precautions as with clover and bearing in mind that they are subject to the same objections. _ 3 In some sections of the country, the millets and vetches have been demonstrated to make good ensilage. In others such ma- terials as corn-husks, pea-vines from the canning factories, beet- pulp from the beet-sugar works, have been used with more or less success. But, as has been d, the best all-round crop for the larger part of this country, is common corn. As to just what varieties are most advisable, there is more room for ‘debate. The depart- ment experts recommend the growing of whatever variety does best in any given locality—whatever would naturally be chosen for it on account of its ripening season and its grain-producing ability. Reason for this is found in the fact that the grain is the most valuable part of the plant. Analyses of the digestible matter in corn, for example, show that 63 per cent. of the di- gestible matter in average corn is found in the grain and only 37 per cent. in the stover. Therefore the experts also advise that corn should be cut for silage just at the same time as it would be harvested in the usual way, i. e. when the grain has ripened ‘and the lower leaves turned brown. This advice is again based on analyses of the contents of corn plants at various stages of growth. The New York Experiment station has tested this matter out very fully. As a result it reports that an acre of corn weigh- ing 18,045 pounds at the time of tasseling, yielded 16,426 pounds of water and 1,619 pounds of dry matter, i. e. food. Ten days later, when it had silked, an acre yielded 25745 pounds, all tald, of which 22,666 were water and 3,078 dry matter, i. e. food. Twelve days later yet, when the ears were “in the milk,” an acre yielded 32,600 pounds, all told, of which 27,957 were water and 4,643 dry matter, i. e. food. Two weeks later, when the grain had begun to glaze, an acre yielded 32,205 pounds of total weigh of which 25,093 were water and 7,202 dry matter, 1. e. food. Sif- teen days latter, which brought the date to September 23, when the ears were fully ripe and fit for harvesting as grain, the total yield of an acre was 28,460 pounds of which 20,542 were water and 7,918 dry matter, i e. food. In these cases it was perfectly clear that there was a steady gain in the amounting of food which the acre produced up to the time of ripening the ears. There ‘was a loss of water between the dates when the kernels were in milk and when they were ripened of more than 7,000 pounds, but a gain of over 3,300 pounds in the actual food content. And it is usually, cheaper to get water from the pump or the brook than to raise it, even in the form of eornstalks! But some dairymen do not find that these elaborately planned and carried out analysis absolutely agree with the facts of daily feeding experience. In the localities with which I am best ac- quainted the seasons are so short that only an early-ripening and therefore rather dwarf corn, with comparatively small stalk- age, can be trusted to ripen ears. On the other hand some of the i i g 1 1 £ {l%? :; i li F ! B 8 - m il % £ H of his own practical trials. , chemical analysis arting-point from which to conduct and on which to base individual experiments. : Therefore the following table from Henry's “Feeds and " s well worth preserving and using. It shows the digestible nutrients found by analysis in a hundred pounds of various kinds of suceu- —Digestible dry matter— Totaldry = Protein . Carbohy- matter. drates. Fat. Pounds. = Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 20.7 1.0 122 0.4 26.4 14 14.2 a 20.6 E] 116 3 Sorghum silage ....... i~ 239 3 135 2 Uucured red clover ... 29.2 2.9 13.6 T 28.0 15 9.2 -5 249 31 1.0 5 26.8 2.7 9.6 13 16.4 18 3 2 20.7 1.5 8.6 9 Pasture grass .... 20.0 2.5 101 5 Oats and peas (uncured) 208 18 10.2 4 9.1 1.0 55 2 135 13 9.8 1 Sugar-beet pulp (wet). 10.2 5 7 v From this table it will be seen that corn silage ranks even higher than green fooder corn in everyone of the three constit- uents of nutrition—protein—carbohydrates and fat. Doubtless this curious fact is due to the presence of more grain in the silage than is apt to be found in fodder corn—a ¢ usually sown thickly and cut before any ears have even formed.on it. It must not be assumed that siloing corn adds anything to its feeding value...Quite the opposite. There is always some loss in the process. Fermentation always takes place, the extent of it depending solely on the amount of air in-the silo. There will be fermentation just as long as there is any oxygen to feed it. Therefore, the deeper the silo and the greater the consequent pressure settling its contents together and squeezing the air out, the less will be the fermentation. Such tests as have been made indicate that in modern deep, well-filled silos, the loss due to fermentation and all other causes should not exceed ten per cent. This is vastly less than is lost by field curing of stoyer. “More food material can be saved by putting the corn crop into. the silo than by harvesting and storing it in any other way.” i The preceding table also ws cleayly why sil ot w—-—x@‘ ts feeds richer than it is in protein.” alone, W ride” a lassed e be supplemented by the ads ration. It is to be c 8 “roughage” and fed accordingly. . THE MAKING AND FEEDING OF SILAGE. I quote from Woodward on “The Making and Feeding of Silage:” “In feeding cattle it is quite important that the ration inciude some succulent material, such as fresh grass, root crops, er silage. A feed containing a Jarge amount of water in the form of natural plant juices is not only more easily digested but is also more palatable and, besides, serves the useful purpose of keeping the ‘whole system of the anima! in good condition. A silage-fed ani- mal ig rarely troubled with constipation or other digestive dis- turbances, the coat is noticeably sleek and soft, and the skin is soft and pliable. It is a well-known fact that a cow usually reaches her maximum production when she has access to a good pasture. The best and cheapest substitute for fresh pasture grass during the fall and winter is silage. “No rough feed is more palatable than good -corn silage. Sometimes, however, a cow will not eat silage readily until she has acquired a taste for it; this may require several days. But silage is not peculiar in this respect, for it has been observed that range horses or cattle shipped into the corn belt refuse corn the first time it is offered to them. The quality of palatability is of great importance, as it induces a large consumption and stimu- lates the secretion of digestive juices.” ‘When a dairyman makes up his mind to have a silo, he is confronted with the ‘question, What kind? There are brick silos and stone silos and stave silos and concrete silos and silos known as the Jowa and the modified Wisconsin types. Brick and stone silos are generally satisfactory, but in most cases they are so much more expensive than other forms that they need hardly be considered. The lowa silo is constructed of hollow tile blocks reinforced ‘with steel. The air spaces in the hollow tile-are believed to af- ford some protection against freezing. But this, alsc, is a some- what costly form. And the need of protection against freezing is not great. Silos in my neighborhood, even when of thinnest stave construction, seldom freeze, if roofed, except in the severest below-gzero weather, and then only around the outer edges. Ner does this sort of skin-freezing seem to injure the silage in the least. The modified Wisconsin silo-is built of strips horizentally nailed around the inside of a circle of upright studs. Owing to the difficuity of bending this sheathing a silo of this type must have rather large diameter. It is said that one less than 14 feet in dlameter is “very hard to build.” On the other hand it re- quires no hoops or lugs, is very substantial, is not liable to be blown down or to dry out, and can be more easily repaired if some boards rot out. The stave silo is the commonest of all forms, because it is cheap and can be set up with ease and speed. At the same time it has the shortest life and is “more liable to blow down, fall down or otherwise get out of repair than either of the other type of silos.” Its life is from five to fifteen years depending om the lumber, the care used in construction, the climate, etc. The concrete silo is permanent and stable, will neither blow down, burn down, rot out nor admit vermin. One will outlast its builder. Repairs are reduced to a negligible amount. The only cost is the first cost. This is greater, however, than any form of wood silo. In some cases where lumber is especially dear and materials for concrete are peculiarly cheap and easy to There are at least four essentials which must be looked after, ‘whatever form is chosen. N The walls must be made and kept air-tight. Otherwise fer- mentation will ccntinue to spoil the contents so long as’air can inside of the walls must be plumb and smooth so the down them as it settles and thus preveat mmu'{manh‘ofmm ey