HINTS ABOUT ENSILAGE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13843, 24 December 1908, Page 7

HINTS ABOUT ENSILAGE.

(By the Manager of Houmahaki Farm.) In the course of his annual report the manager of the Moumahaki State farm writes as follows on ensilage : — This is a system of conserving green food by the exclusion of air. It has only come into vogue in Great Britain since about the year 1882, being introduced from France by the celebrated agriculturist, M. Gorfart. The system is generally regarded as of American origin, but this is not so. It is of purely Eastern origin, and has been in practice in Egypt for thousands of years, principally in connection with the preserving of grain. The Germans and Spaniards are supposed to have been the first European natibns to introduce the custom of preserving green food in silos. In 1884, two years after its introduction to Great Britain, the Agricultural returns gave 610 silos as being in existence, and three years later the number had increased to 2694 silos. In Great Britain the ensilage is principally made in silos, whereas in this country the bulk is made in stacks. The reason for this is easily explained : all foods for stock are of considerably more value at Home than they are in this country, and they cannot afford to waste any food-commodity that n ill in any way be useful to tide over the long and severe winters, they have to endure. ' In making ensilage the farmer has wide choice of both materials and methods, and the question of stack versus silo ensilage is one that will have to be largely decided by the farmer himself. The cost of erecting silos in this country, where labour" is such an important item, would be considerable. The first thing that should be considered is what the farmer proposes to make his ensilage from. If crops such as maize, lucerne, millet, and clovers are to be grown, the proper course would be to set apart a plot of ground where these crops can be grown annually, and build a silo in a- convenient situation to meet the requirements. Unless the custom of growing the crops in the vicinity of the silo can be followed up, it would not bo advisable to build a silo, otherwise a great deal of haulage and handling would be necessitated, and these are' costly matters in connection with gro'en fodder. On the other hand; a stack can be erected anywhere, and this saves considerable time in handling ; and, s further, the ensilage can be fed to the stock possibly in the paddock where it was grown, which also saves time and labour. ■ The principal objection to stack ensilage is the amount of waste that cannot be prevented. This is no doubt considerable, whereas in a silo it is reduced to a minimum. To put the matter plainly, if special crops are to be sown for silage, then by all means build a proper silo. If, on the other hpnd, there is a superabundance of grass-, such as is generally the case on this coast during the early par,t of summer, it would in such circumstances be difficult to build a silo in a suitable position to deal with this surplus, and doubtless a stack would suit this purpose much better than a silo.

Then there is the question of sweet and sour ensilage. If the former is wanted it is much' easier to produce it in a stack, and the latter can be much easier produced in a silo. However, authorities claim that it is preferable to try to produce neither of the two and they advocate the production of ensilage at a temperature of 120deg. to 135deg. Fahr. It is somewhat difficult under ordinary circumstances to hit this desired object in the making _of stack ensilage, the temperature "'rising Higher so' that' sweet ensilage is produced, but in no case should the temperature rise above 150deg. Fahr. The temperature must be kept down by adding weight to the stack. There are various modes of applying pressure, but the ordinary form in this country is to use soil, stones, sand, or gravel. The other methods are more or less costly, and are not very generally applicable to the stack system. •The crops that cau be converted into ensilage are almost innumerable, but in this country the principal material is the- surplus* grassy which cannot be profitably used during the, summer season and would otherwise be wasted, which is a very great mistake, especially in seasons like the past.

A field of 18 known as No. 1 field was shut up early in December for cutting. This' being rather late in the- season, the crop was not a heavy one. The first half of the paddock was cut and carried to the stack on January 27 and 28. The stack was then allowed to settle until February 1, when the remainder of the field was cut and stacked. When finished, the stack measured 30ft by 15ft by 18ft high. Allowing 20 lb to a cubic fo<*t, this would give about 72 tons green grass from the IS acres, or an average of 4 tons per acre. The grass was cut with an ordinary mower, and principally swept into the stack with a Wallace hay-sweep. The elevating was done with a Manitoba hay-stacker. A groove was cut in the soil, and a rope put in the groove. The stacker was then emptied above the rope,- and the elevating was done by a horse. Part of the grass was taken in by means of a sledge, filling the grass on top of the slings, but the former method is decidedly the fastest mode of handling. The total* cost of handling, including erection of stacker and putting ■ soil on the top of the stack, was£ 9 14s 2d. or an average of 2s B§d per ton for handling (manual labour). This sum includes everything from the cutting to the finishing of the stack. The stack was weighed principally with soil; old railway-rails and logs of timber were also used. The total weight put on the stack was 20 tons; this would give a pressure of about 100 lb per square foot. On April 1 the stack had sunk to an average of 7ft 6in high. The solid contents of the stack would then have been 2730 cubic feet, and the weight per cubic foot 45 lb ; this would give a total of o4 tons ensilage. The ensilage is being fed to bullocks, which were weighed before being put on to it, their weights will be checked from time to time, and particulars published in duo course. HAY. A field of 13 acres sown down in grass i"n April", 1906, was shut up Joy hay in the beginning of Decemfier. The crop was cut on January 20. and after being allowed one clear day in the swath it was stacked. As with the ensilage, the stacking was done by the aid of the Manitoba hay-stacker, and the hay carried to the stack by the Wallace hay-sweep. The stack, when finished, measured 41ft by 18ft by Bft to the eaves, the perpendicular height of the roof being 10ft ; this would give about 8100 cubic feet of hay, or about 30 tons, equal to 2.3 tons per acre. The total cost of the manual labour, including cutting, stacking, and erecting stacker, etc:, was £7 4s 3d, equal to 4s 9Jd per ton of hay.