ENSILAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2676, 28 June 1905, Page 22

ENSILAGE.

(By Mr Mills, Cheltenham.)

As a dairying community we must aim at the preservation of green or succulent fodder for winter use. The beat substitute for natural pasture is ensilage— that is, almost any kind of vegetation preserved in its sjreen state by stacking, or by the silo. Even the commonest of weed*! may be utilised in this way ; but of course the better <he material used the better will be the ensilage. Ensilage has many advantages over hay, seme of which are these: — Alth.Gu.gb murch better when made when the sun ie shining, ensilage can be made under conditions which would render haymaking impracticable. It cannot be destroyed by fiiv. It can be made at a convenient season. A orop wbioh is overrun with weeds can bo profitably made into cnisilage. because the heating process fchrougn whicti it passes completely destroys the germinating properties of the seeds. Ensilage will produce a greater weight of fodder per acre than hay with the fame amount of labour, and can be fed to stock with the minimum amount of waste. There appears to be a growing interest in ensilage. I will try to givo you my opinion, as gained by experience, observation, and reading. I have ."successfully made ensilage fox a number of years both in the stack and in

Hie silo.

I have used oats, peas, beans,

li'u^oocJ, pfi-a«ss, clover, and maize. I prefer a mixture of clover and maizo. As I have boon asked to treat chiefly on maize, I will confine myself almost exclusively to that class of ensilage. r JL'bo paddock I ui-cd for maize in 1904-

contained almost every kind of soil to he

found in the Cb<?iltenham district : gravel, Band, swamp, loams, and sandy clay. After this crop came up, dry wrath ear set in and tho crop seemed to be a failure ; but as rain camo it grew at .1 great rate, ond yielded about 25 tons of green fodder per acre. The best corn sprew on the sandy clay. MaiiSe girows wt;ll on a good graes .sod well worked down. About the end of October is the best time for sowing, but I have grown excellent crops when sown in the middle of December. Last year my maize was sown in December, and owing to the drought was a failure. I have had some difficulty in getting good seed corn. I am not acquainted with many different kinds of corn, buif horse tooth and prairie queen have done woll with me.

The quantity of seed required peir acre is three-quarters of a bushel, but as my drill will crack some of the seed when set at that quantity, I have to sow nearly one bushel ppr acre. This makes the crop rather too thick. I use the ordinary grain drill, and remove eight coulters, thus leaving the drills 21in apart. I drill fairly deep, and finish with a light harrow. When the corn is about 3in high I harrow with a light tine barrow, keeping the horse between the drills. When about bin high cultivate with a horse boe. This is all the cultivation it should require.

The beet time for cutting is when the corn is well set and glazed in the cobs, and the lower leaves turn yellow. I find that a strong reap hook is the best thing for maize. I have used maize for stack ensilage and have put it in the silo, without chaffing with good results, using a horse-lift to hoist it into the silo, but I prefer to have it chaffeH three-quarters of an inch in length.

The mem required are : Three men in the. paddock, two driving the drays (boys will I do for drivers) ; two at tho chaff-cutter, and: one in the silo. The men in tlie paddock cut the corn laying it straight in convenient [ bundles, and load the drays. The men or boys on the drays keep the corn straight, thus making" th© handling at the chaffcutter eaiiy. When the crop is handy sledges may be.u&ed instead of drays; the loading is easier but the draught is greater. Being able to tip handy at tha chaff-cutter without disarranging is oa<e great advantage of using drays. For chaff-cutting I use a two-horse tread power and ensilage cutter with elevator, which carries the chaff over the top of the silo. This plant has done excellent work. It will rait one ton of maize into fin chaff in 15 minutes. I prefer to mix clover and maize, which improves the quality of tho ensilage. The man in the &ilo keeps tho surface level, tramping well round the "edges. If the corn is green and succulent it is beet , to let it wilt 'ii the sun for a day. j After the s;ilo has been filled to the height >f three or four foet, it is necessary to suspend operations until a temperature of Jl2sdeg Fahr. has been obtained. This, I think, is a very important point, for it is impossible to make good sweet ensilage | without plenty of heat at the bottom. j Too much heat cannot be obtained during ' continuciis filling. The «nsi!agie will take no harm if the operations are suspended for two or three days. I beilieve that more ensilage is spoiled by having too little heat at the bottom and too much at the top than from any other causa.

Finish of? the top with a covering of rough grass ox wet straw.

This rots and makes an air-tigiht covering. No pressure is required with chaffed maue. It is difficult to assess the cost of «nsilaare per ton where much of the work is done by my own family, whose time is partly occupied with other duties, and much, depends upon the quality of the crop. Maize will produce a great deal more loddcr per acre than any other crop I know of, and is, I consider, the best thin°for ensilage. °

Cows are exceptionally fond of ensilage and prefer it to all other foods I have used' even pood natural pasture. ' Professor F. W. Woll, writing to Hoard's Dairyman on ensilage, s ays : "There is no feed that can be fed more economically under our condition* and with better results a* regards the quality of the produce obtained.