A BOOM FOR FARMERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9075, 8 June 1888, Page 3

A BOOM FOR FARMERS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—By the silage system of making fodder, there is some hope that fern, which occupies such an extensive area of the lands of this country, may yet bo turned to useful account, and become a great boon to the settlers ; that, in fact, the herbage in time may be regarded as a blessing to be desired in the place of an evil to be got rid of. An article in the North British Agriculturist, of April 4, on Bracken Silage," contributed by Dr. Aitken, conveys the welcome intelligence that the common bracken, which covers so much of the land in the old country, has been found to make excellent silage, in nutritive value equal to clover hay, and superior to the hay made from hillside grasses. The following analysis of a sample of bracken ensilage will show the high per centage of nitrogenous matter and albumen contained in the fodder :— Moisture 73.60 Solids.. .. 26.41 100.00 Solids dried at 212dcg. F.:— Albumen _ 12.34 Non-albuminoid nitrogen + 6.25 .. .. 4.84 Carbohydrates, &c 45.62 Oil (ether extract) 4.20 Woody fibre ... .. 23.70 Ash .. .. .. ... .. .. 9.30 100.00 Dr. Aitken says —" Wo are not very much interested to know what is the feeding value of bracken in comparison with cultivated grasses or other fodder; the main thing we are interested in is the fact that there is to be found growing on our hillsides a plant hitherto regarded as a troublesome weed, or valued chiefly for bedding, which, when cut in a young state and stacked green, makes an appetising and nutritious fodder." Now when it is remembered what vast quantities of fern could be cut and collected together on both large and small farms, and how simple a matter the making of silage is, it must bo admitted what a boon fern may prove to those of our farmers who have the herbage growing luxuriantly on their estates, and who by so simple a process could turn it into a valuable fodder. It is said that sheep will eat the silage made from bracken quite greedily, and will thrive upon it, too, which is the main point. They would no doubt be equally fond of ensilage made from young fern, as would cattle also. And what, during the winter months, could be better than such fodder along with turnips, the mainstay of so many farmers, f though turnips are a very watery diet ? In fact, one authority states that a sheep feeding on turnips in the winter in the open field, consuming, say, 201b of roots a day, will receive in its food about 181b of water, of which 141b is beyond What is necessary for nutrition. This 141b of water has to be raised from near freezing point to the temperature of the animal's body, a rise of at least 60° Fahr., and to warm the water to this extent requires 6 per cent, of the total food to be consumed. Hence the importance of feeding hay as well as turnips to sheep and cattle. But in the absence of hay, what a good substitute is silage made from fern. Of course the fern would have to be cut by the horse mower when the herbage had attained a certain growth, after burning off say early in the spring. It is stated that the all-importanb essential in making bracken silage is that the plant must be

cub young good ~ while before it has attained its full growth—before the curl is off the leaf. If that is not done—if, for the sake of securing a greater weight of material, the cutting is delayed until the fronds have expandedthe opportunity of making silage is lost; the leaf has become hard and leathery, and contains so little sap that it will not heat in the stack. There must be a high temperature attained in the stack in order to produce good bracken silage. That is a matter that cannot be overdone, and the stuff must turn out of a black or dark-brown colour, resembling tobacco roll —compact and juicy. No special directions need be given as to the making of fern silage. This must be left to the intelligent farmer himself. Dr. Aitken says, in regard to silage made from bracken :—"The stacks will be on the hillside usually, and will be probably put on level ground, made by cutting into the hillside a little. This is a convenient arrangement, as it not only enables the stack to be raised easily, but permits of horses getting on it to tramp it down. It will be found convenient to use the earth dug out of the braeface for banking up the stack round the bottom ; and a3 to weighting material, it should not be put on until the sides of the stack have been cut and trimmed, and all loose stuff put on the top. It may be that special methods of weighting by mechanical means may find favour in some districts, but it should be borne in mind that all such mechanical appliances are not essential to the success of stack silage. Samples of the very best description have been made with no appliances whatever — nothing but earth and s,tones —and if the stack is placed as described above, with one side fatting into an excavation of the hill, the heaping of earth or stones upon the top can be done once for all with very little trouble."

It is to be hoped that some of our farmers who are blessed (not cursed) with abundance of fern, will give the silage a trial, and thus test whether or not this product can be so utilised as to prove a boon to the country, one of untold national importance. For if fern, thus preserved in a silo, turns out to be a desirable and nutritious fodder, it requires no great stretch of the imagination to conceive what a revolution this might make in the feeding of stock during those months when grasses of ordinary pasture are short and innutricious. lam, etc., William Morgan. Pukekolie East, June 4, ISSB.