DAIRYING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1536, 7 August 1901, Page 54

DAIRYING.

ENSILAGE FOR DAIRYING PURPOSES

The following paper was read by Mr J, A. Kinsella, Daii-y Commissioner, at the Palmerston North Dairy Conference : The problem of making ensilage from different fodder crops and the construc_ tion of silos has been carefully' studied for the past twelve years by the best scientific men we have on such subjects, in many parts of the world. From my own experience with com or maize ensilage, and the knowledge which has been gained by scientists during the past two or three years through their personal inspection of upwards of 250 silos of different construction, also the conclusions arrived at by such institutions as the Wisconsin Agricultural Experimental Station, I will endeavour to lay before you a few practical facts with reference to the making and preserving of first-class ensilage. It is a fact that there is a great deal yet to be learnt on this subject, but, notwith.. standing this, with the amount of experimental study which has been given to the subject, we should now be in a position or at least should possess a sufficient knowledge upon which to base the opinion that properly cured silage

is the cheapest and best autumn and. winter feed that can be used as a substitute for hay or other dry-cured feed. It has also been proved that where mixed farming is carried on extensively that ensilage can be fed in summer time with as equally good results, and that it can he grown a great deal cheaper than soiling crops to be cut green for summer feeding of cattle. With the steady increase of winter dairying it is important that an abundant supply of fodder of some sort should be provided for use in the autumn, winter and spring. During the past year I have talked to many far- ! xners on the question of making ensilage from fodder crops, and have had many ’ inquiries on the same lines, hence my reason for dealing briefly with the subject from personal experience in other countries combined with local observa- j tion during the last two years. In most countries where winter feed- j ing is carried on extensively maize (Indian corn) is the crop chiefly grown for , making ensilage. Maize, besides 3d eld.- j ing large quantities per 'acre, is a very wholesome food for cattle, and is also j a good milk-producing feed owing to the ! large amount of sugar and starch it contains- It follows that such a fodder, ■ giving a large tonnage of succulent food, must be an economical feed for cattle. While it is true that in some parts of “New Zealand maize is not a reliable crop, there are many of our best dairy- , lag districts where it can be grown suc_ ? oessfully and cheaply. This applies practically to all parts of the Auckland province, while I have found very good crops of maize in the Wellington and Manawatn districts. Maize planted on high, warm land last season was suffi- ! ciently matured for making ensilage without being injured by frost. In Southland maize, no doubt, has practicallv been a failure, but it should be realised that it is successfully grown in colder countries cn practically the same kind of soil and with shorter seasons. To accomplish this it is necessary to, have both under drainage and. proper surface drainage, also right methods of cultivation. Assuming, however, that maize is a failure in the South, there are other ensilage crops which can be > grown there with success, such as tares, ' rape, oats, barley, clover, sunflowers, I %orse beans, soja beans, etc., all of which make excellent ea-.. silage. Thousand-headed kale also makes good silage, and is an excellent feed for milch cows during the ; autumn. A quantity of this kale was j grown at the Momahald State Experi- j mental Station this season. I saw this ( crop on 2nd May, and judged that it j .would cut from 15 to 20 tons per acre- j Two large plants were weighed, and! coaled one 10 and the other 111 b. To- ’ gether they would have made a fair feed for a cow. Kale, after the nature of ' tho cabbage, will resist hard frost, and ! should thus suit the Southern districts, 1 where the frosts come on earlier than i in the North. Kale is usually planted j in drills 2§ft. apart, and not closer than . nine inches in’the drill, so as to allow plenty of room for spreading out. If planted too. close, like corn, they will smother and never grow large. ; Coming back to. the« question of corn for ensilage, mention that while engaged with the Allan Grove Cheese Combination in Canada I was connected with the cutting and housing of thousands of tons of maize each autumn. Mr D. M. MacPherson, the head t.f the combination, who also owns the Allan Grove Farm, is possibly the largest grower of the great - sun plant on the Continent of America. It may be interesting to maize growers in this colony that as muen as 60 tons per acre was sometimes cut from & large field, stthough 33 to 40 tons is considered an excellent average crop. It may be

black loam and heavy blue clay soil. It was, of course, in an excellent state of cultivation, besides being well drained, all of which had taken some time to perfect. In preparing the land for maize it is important to carry out surface tion before planting, at two intervals of, say, eight days apart. The first cultivation will give the weeds a start, and the second one will destroy them just before the seed is put in. The land should receive a good coat of manure, bone-dust, or some artificial phosphates near the surface. When this cannot be done, good results may be obtained by ploughing under thick grass sod or clover, and tilling well before planting. The variety of maize to plant can, best be ascertained by trying two or three kinds to start with. In this way one soon finds the variety best adapted to his particular soil. Possibly the biggest crops are grown from the large Southern States varieties, and Stowell’s Evergreen, Horse Tooth or Mammoth Sweet give very large yields. Some of the harder varieties do better on cold soils, where the seasons are short. The variety which will yield the largest crop per acre, and reach the glazing period before the autumn frosts come on, is the best to select. Th© glazing stage is just when the maize is right for boiling for table purposes, before the kernels get hard. The seed should always be tested to ascertain its vitality before selection for planting. This can be done in a hothouse, or even large flower-pots indoors in the spring.

The time to plant maize is just as soon as the ground is dry and warm, but late enough to escape the spring night frosts. The importance of getting ! the maize in early so as to give it as , long a season to grow as possible should not be overlooked. If maize is planted late and receives little or no cultivation it seldom comes to maturity or amounts to much before the autumn frosts come , on. Beans and sunflowers are not so j liable to be injured by frost. SunI flowers should, however, be in as j early as possible so as to allow plenty of time to ripen. The maize may be • planted in drills or rows 32 to 36 inches j apart, and 2£ to three inches deep. If planted too close the maize will be smothered, and never grow large or mature well. With good sound seed 251 b. is about right for an acre, although j less may be used. The young maize should be harrowed with a light harrow j when about three inches high, this being ; found to be'necessary, especially where 1 the ground becomes baked or hard. The J maize should be kept free from weeds and cultivated often. j The time to cut maize for ensilage .s when the leaves lowest down on the ; stalks begin to discolour, and when the kernels ar e full-grown just before they begin to harden or get ripe. At this stage the maize is at its greatest feeding value for ensilage. It is always better to cut the maize a little on the ; early side than to risk injury by frost, I which destroys the feeding value to a great extent. When cut the corn should be allowed to wilt a little before being housed, but not long enough to allow it to lose , too much moisture. When i the maize is allowed to wilt for :-ay one and a half days the resulting ensilage will have a much nicer odour. Many machines have been devised for cutting maize, but where labour is fairly cheap probably the most economical way is to cut by hand. When carted in, the maize should be passed through an ensilage cutter and cut into lengths of three. ! quarters of an inch. It can be elevated by means of an elevator driven from the cutter or by blower attachment. Care should be exercised to have the cut corn spread evenly as it is put in the silo. Neglect of this point will result in most of the hard pieces of the stalks and ears rolling down to the sides and corners, and consequently not such uniform maturing. The maize shotfld be well tramped when going in, particularly round the sides and in the corners. If the whole mass is not made compact and thus exposed to the air, it is sure to become mouldy and spoil. It is also best not to expose too great a surface when feeding the ensilage during the winter. To avoifl this a small portion may be cut square down with a hay knife and covered over with straw, which will miniimse the loss. Where, again, a large v lierd is fed from the silo each day only uncover a portion and then replace the straw covering. When ensilage is made from such fodder crops as green hay, rye, oats, barley, clover, tares, rape, kale, etc., these should, as with maize, be cut with a cut_ ter and put in the bottom of the silo, the maize crop being then placed on top. • If this is not done it is important to weight the finer fodders very heavily by artificial pressure to prevqnt the entrance of air, which will cause mould to set in and destroy the ensilage. All the crops named above should be cut on the green side to ensure good results. Weeds and thistles are sometimes recoin, mended for making ensilage, but I consider it bad policy to in any way recoin, mend 6uch crops, -which, besides being a sure indication of bad farming, are universally regarded as unprofitable. As mentioned above, -when the ensilage is going in it should be well tramped. When, completed the top should be lev*?J-

nine inches of cut straw should he put on top to prevent the air getting in. The question of stack ensilage was dealt with in the report of Mr Gillanders, overseer of the Momahaki Experimental Station, for the year 1899, from which the following is extracted for general m_ formation: “There being a superabundance of frass all over the country last season, took the opportunity of shuttihg up a recently-acquired paddock, which previously had been rather badly fanned,, and was very bad with thistles. The paddock comprised about 15 acres, and was fed down to the Bth December. On the 10th January we commenced cutting and carting into a stack. The fodder consisted of Italian rye, cowgrass, Timothy, and thistles, altogether about 100 tons of green fodder. The cutting, as already mentioned, was done by reaper and binder; the sheaves tied, to facilitate handling in loading drays and building the stack. The stack was built in a sideling, the ground exca- ; vated at the high side to lessen the distance in pitching the sheaves from j drays to stack. When finished the j stack measured 30ft. by loft, by 14ft. j high. A Ijin. iron pipe was built into j the stack horizontally, and the tern- j perature taken at regular intervals ; th e ] highest temperature being 160 deg. at the top of the stack, and 125 de- .at the bottom, thus making both sour and sweet ensilage in the one stack. . The . pressure was done by logs of timber ■ placed horizontally on the top-. The total cost of cutting and stacking amounted to £9 8s 6d, or equal to Is lOd per ton. “The stack was opened on 27th May, and fed to fattening cattle, each bul- j lock getting a daily ration of 3olb. to 401 b. From the first the cattle took to j it greedily, the sweet ensilage being j devoured with by far the greatest relish ; j another point very noticeable being the ' preference given to the parts composed principally of co-w-grass and red clover j against that containing ordinary gras6. | The thistles were evenly distributed j throughout the stack. At date of opening the stack had sunk to a height of 7ft. 6in., the total solid matter amounting to about 2600 cubic feet, the average ’ weight per cubic foot being 461 b., giving , a total of about 54 tons of silage from the 100 tons of green, matter/’

CONCERNING THE BULL

The selection of a "bull is perhaps tho greatest problem the careful breeder is called upon to solve. Much, we might say everything, depends upon his choice in this, and the man who expects success as a breeder cannot look upon the selection as a light matter. The character'of the animal and the potency of his blood all must be taken into consideration- A bull may be a good individual, but is he, to use the Scotch phrase, "wellcomef” Were his sire, his grandsire, and his great grr.ndsire, his dam, his granddam, and his great granddam good ones? Were they of one type, and is he of the ‘same type—the type that we wish to produce? We are tauglit that "like produces like or the likeness of some ancestor;'"’ and we sometimes think that the last clause of the sentence should have been jdaeed first, for it is so common to see animals that little resemble either their sire or dam; and if the rule be correct "they must be the likeness of something that has appeared in their pedigree further back.

We cannot expect the bull, however good he may be individually, to make a prepot. onl sire unless his ancestors for several generations have been right. Fortunate we are if we secure a bull “that fills the bill; ** and when we have him, we should give him the best opportunity possible, for m uch of our success will-depend upon how we care for and handle him. Give the ■ buil a paddock, with a strong but open fence about it/ so that he can see some--1 Mag tliatis going on about him. anH hnilH

open, so that he may go in and ont at will, j HdVe'another door to the stall, which shall be the only J opening from outside the paddock. Break the bull thoroughly whil® he is young. When required for service, ; lead him out to the cow until he learns to serve at the end of the strap, and he will , ! soon take up with the programme and perj mit himself to be led back to hisVjuarters and quiet down. j The bull should not be looked upon as an | enemy, to be saluted with harsh words and j the pitchfork when you go near him. His i disposition towards you will be just what 1 you yourself make it. He will remember your kindness and also an injury, •‘and will watch for a chance to get even with you. j The easy feeding J animal has a quiet disposition, therefore do not begrudge the bull the food necessary tS keep him in good i thrifty 'condition. Skin and bones cannot < beget the best cattle. Nor should he be kept too fat, lest he become a shy breed- , ©r. The bull, if he has been properly bred and reared, has thick natural iiesn, the : flesh habit having been bred into him through many years of careful effort, and hi» natural flesh should be allowed to stay : with /him from the time he is a calf till you are through with him. Managed on. these lines, and barring accidents, the bull ; will be useful to a good age. FEEDING SKIM-MILK TO CALVE I The Nebraska Experiment Station has recently issued a J bulletin, which gives the jdetails of an experiment in raising calves. In the experiment comparisons are made between raising calves on separator milk, and allowing them to run with their dams. I To start this experiment, western grade Hereford and Shorthorn cows were selected the aim being to secure individuals unil form in respect to date of calving, type, | and milking "tendency. The cows were divided into two lots, lot 1 being taken from their calves, while lot 2 were allowed to run with them. The animals in both lots were weighed once a week, and 'all rations careiully meaured and recorded. * The calves fed by hand made good gains during the first five months, but not equal to the lot running with the cowsWhen the two lots ‘were put on feed after the test there was not much difference iu the condition or form, but the 'sucking calves were smoother and better fleshed,. .after weaning tne aaau tea caives had the advantage, ueing accustomed to rations of ary forage ana grain. A.t tne end of the year tnere was practically no uinerence eitner in appearance or weight between the two lots. To nud the difference in the cost of raising tne two lots all food was cnarged to uocli cows and caives at market price. In this test it was found that a skim milk calf could be raised to six months ord. at a cost of about nine dollars for all fooa consumed. Labour was not taken into con..ideration, owing to the great difficulty of finding a fair basis. j. cows used in the experiment were more incaueu toward oeex man mux proauction, out still Uiey averageu of milk and 1381 b of butter fat during the uai.xing period. fL'nis amount of putter iao wouiu maxe Ib-iio oi Putter, wm.cn. wouid be the amount charged to each-suck-calf. „ko the quality of the two lots, at the age of louitteu ntoauis, it was impossiote to detect any amerence petween tne sucking and sxirn milk caives.

A correspondent, writing to the "Sydney Morning Jxeraid/' on tire pac it mg of cojloiuai produce, asserts that l\ew I6eaiand stored putter has been brought over to Sydney, changed out of i\ew Zealand boxes, and. put into boxes bearing well-known and best 1\ ew South W ales brands, and sent to inter state ports, -while a quantity of the same butter has been packed in tins and sent to foreign parts as finest quality NewSouth Wales. "If New Zealand butter (stored or fresh) comes in/' says the correspondent, "let it be sold for what it is. I believe the first boxes were made by Mr J. A. : Pond, Government Analyst, Auckland, New Zealand. They were coated inside with patent enamel, and cost something like 4s 6d each; and, as a cheaper package became necessary, plain boxes