Ensilage up to Date.

Western Star, Issue 2216, 24 June 1898, Page 3

Ensilage up to Date.

From the Agricultural Gazette of N.S. J V. By J. L. Thompson, Travelling Agricultural Inspector. - Economical Silage Stack. (Continued from last issue.) < Some held that it was cheaper to purchase newly-calved cows for the winter, and in the spring sell them as stores, but this soon exploded, for when the industry was first started, the difference in price between the newly-calved cow and the store was not so great as in after times, for the former rose in value, and the latter fell oft. 1 Then came the question, ‘ what feed to use to keep up the supply, and what will the cost be?’ For a time the principal artificial food was bran, but the farmer soon found that the cows 1 ate their heads off,’ and also his summer profit, and this brings us to the subject under notice, for since the starting of butter factories, the same difficulty crops up as in the supply of milk to Sydney from the country, viz., the variations of the supply between the plentiful time and the mouths when the grasses are naturally resting. ‘ For the regularity of supply to the factories means an even supply of butter to the consumer, and, therefore, a uniform price, without the fluctuations which tend so much to disorganise the market. These fluctuations are not made in the interest of the dairy farmer, but for the benefit and profit of speculators, bo they agents or not, who have purchased and stored in cool chambers, and therefore must raise the price to save loss.

* Some wiseacre will at once exclaim, ‘ take the necessary feed out of the land, and give it to your cows, by cultivating green feeds.’ But here comes another difficulty: In the cold districts green stuff drawn and thrown out is hardly worth the candle, for experience has proved that by so doing, even if the conscience of the farmer is eased the feeding is of little value to his cows, either as a heart-producer or milk-maker, and the percentage of waste is very great. The reason of the failure of this slipshod and wasteful mode of feeding is not far to seek, and simply arises from the fact that in the majority of milking-sheds there is no convenient manger in which to place the feed. All who have tried it will own that, if you have enough bails and mangers cows milk better when fed at milking, for the simple reason that each and every cow gets her fair ration, and the weak have not to go to the wall, which means that, they stand aside until a few bullies walk over the stuff, and having eaten what they like, and spoiled the rest, allow the others to get what they can. ‘ Before a farmer can expect to do any good for himself, he must erect a convenient number of bails, arranging them in such a manner as to save labour in feeding, and obtain for Ins employees (whether his own kith and kin or hired helps) shelter and convenience. The building of such a shed should be done by the landlord if on leased land, charging the tenant a fair percentage on outlay, which no tenant would certainly not object to. < The old-fashioned idea, that bails must be (i feet wide and 8 or nine feet long, is a wrong one, for practice has proved that a bail 5 feet wide and 7 feet long is more convenient, even for handling young heifers, than the other—the roof extending at the back, say, 4 feet for shelter in wet weather for those who do the leg-roping and carrying the milk ; a manger 2 feet wide, and a covered way in front of mangers 9 feet wide by 9 foot high, to allow a tip-dray to be drawn through and deposit the green stuff, which then can be easily fed to the cows as they are milked. Of course, another set of bails erected in the same way could be had on the other side of covered way, and for largo herds this would be a great convenience. < The cheapest and lightest way of enclosing the ends and top side is by nailing on 3xl battens at about 2 feet 0 inches or 3 feet apart horizontally, and nailing sawn or split palings on to the battens. The palings will last a lifetime, as proved by .the length of time good paling fencing lasts in all parts of the colony, ‘ Supposing it is agreed that it is economical to feed in such a shed at milking times, let us now take up the subject of what is best to feed to cows.

• Green feed, such as barley and tares, oats or rye, will appear at first to be the cheapest stuff to give ; but experience has shown the great amount of loss and labour connected with the daily cutting and carting, especially when the weather is wet, and the ground saturated. For men have to go out and cut and handle the crop, not weather permitting, but whether they like it or not, which not only makes them discontented, but also poaches the laud, and knocks the horses about very much. In some seasons, also, it is likely that a crop sown in February gets a cheek from want of rain or early frosts, and the farmer is left to face the winter under the old and expensive method of spending all he can make in buying bran and chaff.

‘ Now cornea the suggestion that it is better to sow maize in October (preferably in drills) to cut in March, when the days are long and warm, and make into silage, and by this means the farmer will have his winter feed in the best possible form, and as near his milking bails as ho chooses to make his stack. . , , • By sowing rather thickly, in drills about 3 feet 0 inches apart, the ground between the rows can be stirred and kept free from weeds. _By this means the crop grows very quickly, and the quality is improved through the free circulation of light and air amongst it. A man can scarify from 3 to 4 acres per day according to the length of the rows, and oven in a growing season like this, three scarifyings are all that are required. On ordinary good land a crop of 15 to 20 tons to the acre can bo secured, especially if a light dusting of artificial manure be put under the seed to give the corn a start, thereby enabling the roots to take possession of the grouud° at once. Another advantage of drilling is that the crop can be cut more easily than if the com was sown broadcast, for one man with a cane knife can cut and lay in bundles at least 10 tons a day. The corn should be laid in heaps, with the tops all one way, so that in loading the drays (which must be done by hand) the stuff is packed in armsfull, taken to the stack and tipped out, and it is then in the best form for putting on the stack, as will be explained further on. A corn recommended for ensilage is Hogan spindle (largo), as it grows high and not too stout in the stalk if sown evenly in the rows. ‘ Now let us suggest the mode of stacking and pressing. There are numerous methods of pressure, notably by strong wire ropes placed over the stack at intervals of 3 feet, and also by weighting with stones, &c., giving a continuous pressure. Although the latter is theoretically the best, the difficulty of making the sides and ends as solid as the middle of the stack is against this mode, for when the edges sink the loose stones, &c are liable to slip off. The form of stack foundation, &c., now recommended is, as will be seen, both cheap and reliable, and can be constructed by any ordinary bush hand, of course excepting the wire ropes. «For a stack of 70 tons, take seven logs,

16 feet long by 9 or 10 inches diameter at smaller end. At 9 inches from each end sawin about 3 inches, and adze off the shoulder. Place these logs upon a level place near the bail, at 3 feet apart, centre to centre, adzed face down. Fill up to level of tops and make solid. Two strong pieces, rails or scantling, should bo laid across the three end logs at each corner, 3 feet apart, to prevent the outside logs lifting when the pressure is put on. From a box, ironbark, or other tough sapling, say C inches through, cut 12 rollers 3 feet long, adzing the ends down to circle marked by compass. Bore with I|auger two holes through each end, the outside ones to clear bottom logs, when placed under ends, the others at right angles to the first, but clear of the first set of holes—au auger hole in each roller to carry end of wire rope to grip on roller. At one corner of stack erect a sapling (say) 20 foot out of the ground, to which connect a gaff 10 feet long, with iron jaw to fit round mast, as shown in sketch —so allowing the stuff to he hoisted on to stack from one end and one side if necessary, ‘At foot of mast construct a winch as shown, fixing block below the drum, so as to have the strain downwards when hoisting. Obtain one iron jaw, on the principle of those used by contractors to lift heavy stones, with each arm divided below the connecting bolt into two teeth, a foot apart at the points. Affix a block at end and one at foot of gaff, and one below drum of windlass—run a strong rope through these blocks, connect with windlass, and fasten the lifting jaw on to the other end, ‘ For distributing the pressure evenly on the stuff after stacking, get six dead logs 16

feet long by 8 inches diameter, and bore a 1-inch auger-hole through each end about 15 feet apart; twelve wire-ropes (gal.) the height your stack will be, allowing for one turn round end of top log. The top logs are placed directly over the centre of the rollers between the foundation logs, and the tightening is by means of levers as shown on the plate. The pressure is secured by means of pieces (about 18 inches long) of gas-piping which pass through the rollers and catch in a small sapling which is fixed under the bottom logs. Now, for a fair estimate of the cost of this seemingly complicated arrangement. It wall cost about 412 13s. to get, dress logs, and erect mast and windlass, and cut rollers and boro them. Three single blocks (say) 155.; jaw for mast and one for lifting, 155,; rope, hemp, 10s.; wire ropes (1J inch circumference), 412 10s.; two iron bars, 9 foot x IJ-, £1 55.; making a total of £7 15s. for a plant that will last for, say, seven years, although the only portion requiring renewing at all will be the timber and hemp-rope.' 1 The coal per ton of the silage is rather more difficult to get at, but, taking a fair crop of corn to cut 20 tons per acre, it will not cost more than Gs. Gd. per ton when ready to feed to the cows’ Ploughing and harrowing one acre twice, say, 30s. ; scarifying three times, 9s. ; drilling and harrowing in, 4a. ; seed (I bushel), ss. ; cutting, 12a.; carting, 36a. ; stacking, 30a. Total, 1265. Thus making the 20 ions cost £G Ga., or say, Ga. Gd. per ton. This estimate is a high one, for it allows three men for carting and loading two drays (tip) i.e., two always loading and one driving- it allows for two men and a boy at the stack, and gives two days to put together 20 tons, which is less than could be done were the stuff grown close to the stack, for this estimate is based on work done with drawing nearly half a mile. ‘ The corn being cut with a cane-knife is all laid one way in heaps convenient to the cutter, allowing width enough between the rows of heaps for the carts to pass, the body of the dray ia filled with the butts of the stuff up to front board. When level with the side rails the bundles are placed crosswise, tops and bottoms alternately, and, by thus loading, as much as 1A tons can be put upon a small sized dray. This is taken to the stack and tipped, and comes out as placed in without being tangled and twisted together. Each armful can bo easily separated and the jaws of the iron lifter placed round it. When hoisted on the stack it is carefully placed, always keeping the outsides of the stack higher than the middle, because the latter is more solid from the treading than the former. When the stack has been raised 8 or 10 feet, the logs should bo placed on the top, and a constant pressure given for, say, throe days, to consolidate the mass and prevent the temperature from rising too much. A simple way of getting at the temperature ia to lay a |-inch gaspipe slightly inclined, reaching about half-way across the stack, and build it in with the corn. By connecting a thermometer (graduated to read up to a temperature of, say, 200 degrees) to a piece of wire it can be pushed down the pipe, the end of which is then corked up, and after a few seconds the thermometer may be taken out and read. With corn it will reach sometimes 150 degrees, but ordinarily about 140 degrees is the limit. ‘An advantage gained ,by having the pressure square on the top is iftat when stacking is again commenced you have a square foundation, and not rounded as when ropes over the top have been used.

‘The sides and ends should be kept plump and cut neatly with a hay-knife. It is a very good plan to put up permanent posts at the four corners, the mast being one, ‘ When the whole of the stuff is stacked, it is advisable to place a piece of scantling or sapling along the edge at each

end, and short pieces from underneath the first and last top logs on to it, thus securing an even pressure along those edges. The end logs do not press as close to the outside as is necessary- in fact, some trouble taken to place pieces with their ends under each log at intervals would bo well repaid by distributing the pressure evenly over the whole surface, and they can be taken out as each section nearly up to a top log is cut out for feeding. The covering can be done as approved by the owner, but sheets of roofing iron forming a simple slanting roof with a fall of about a foot, will answer the purpose, and the sheets of iron can bo removed as required.’ It is satisfactory to be able to add that when the stack described was cut, Mr. Throsby was much pleased with the result. There was not more than 3 inches of waste on top, and about G inches on the sides. The silage was in excellent, juicy condition, and much relished by the cows. Johnson’s Ensilage Press. To Mr. C. G. Johnson belongs the credit of having popularised and advocated more than anybody else the making of silage in stacks. The latest improvement of the ‘Johnson’ press, and also the simplest and moat durable, is what is called the ‘ ratchet drum ’ press.

The apparatus consists of two or more pairs of drums, each drum being provided with two rows of rack teeth, being exactly opposite to each other, on either side of the stack, bolted to the frame ; of single wire ropes, attached to both of each pair of drums, and passing over the top of the stack ; and of a lever fitted with two pawls for engaging with the rack teeth on the drums, for the purpose of tightening the ropes, each set of teeth being also provided with pawls, so that the drum is held in the position it has reached until the next stroke of the lever and pawl brings it round to another tooth. The framing above referred to consists of as many timbers as there are pairs of drums, let into the ground, so that the upper sides are flush or level with the surface, 3 feet apart, centre to centre, and long enough to project 2 feet beyond each side of the stack. At each end of the timbers, and on the top of them, a plank 12 inches broad by 3 inches thick is laid, and on the top of this plank the drums are placed. A bolt passes through the timber, the plank, and the bottoms of the frame of each drum, and is fastened on the top with a nut. The timbers are then let into the ground, so that the bottom of the plank rests on the ground. Across the timbers, and close to the sides of the stack, some rough pieces of wood should be laid, to prevent the logs from pulling up into the stack, and the spaces between these rough pieces should bo well filled in and made solid with earth, so as to leave a level bottom, as any air spaces cause mould, and should be avoided. This done, the base is ready to receive the fodder, which is heaped up perpendicularly, the wire ropes are fasten6d to the drums, passed over the stack, and pressure is applied, the pressure being exercised at the side as well as at the top, leaving the latter rounded. The slack is thus thatched over the wire rope, and has the appearance of an ordinary hayrick.

Johnson’s system of stack pressure cannot be excelled for effectiveness ; but the cost is rather beyond the means of ordinary farmers, and i qually satisfactory results have been obtained by less expensive appliances, some of which are described and illustrated in this article.

Crops for Silage. Any vegetation that stock will eat in its natural state will make good ensilage, and it will be much improved by the operation, especially for cattle. It is said that cattle assimilate ensilage better than they do any other food, and the reason for that is that the change effected in the silo is nearly or quite that which is brought about in the first stomach of the ruminant animal. I have found barley and tares sown immediately after the first rains very suitable and profitable for a first filling. These will be ready to put away in the silo (say) about the Ist of October, and the land can be at once ploughed and sown with maize, which will be fit for pitting about the end of February. I have obtained 50 tons of fodder in this way without irrigation, f.e., from the two crops. This is sufficient to keep a milch cow for twelve months. Indeed it has often been proved that by thoroughly cultivating and manuring the land ample food can be grown on an acre for a cow by adopting the silo system. Cockspurs, variegated, and Scotch thistles, if put away in a succulent condition, can be taken out six months after in prime condition, and stock will devour them ravenously. In short the silo has been styled ‘ the farmer’s save-all : —nothing can come amiss to it. Mangold or turnip tops, cabbage leaves, surplus fodder of any kind, can be silod and kept until periods of want. We have heard of stockholders in the interior losing in times of drought all their valuable stud bulls, rams, &c., for want of food. There is really no excuse for this state of affairs. Every few years we have seasons of plenty, when thousands of acres of the natural grasses can be mown and silod for use in the years of famine.

Maize Silage. What Professor Shelton says ; —Mam as a Silage Crop. —Any good variety of maize that fully matures will do for ensilage-making. We prefer using the larger and coarser growing sorts in a climate such as that of Queensland. These varieties give the largest amount of fodder, the largest amount of grain, and are no more difficult to cultivate than the small ‘ Ninety-day ’ varieties which yield so much less. Mistakes are often made, too, in planting corn too thickly for the silo. It is a common and widely-spread delusion in Queensland that corn designed for fodder purposes should be sown broadcast, in order, it is said, that it may grow tender and succulent, and thus be more palatable to stock. This idea is most fallacious. The corn crop, when crowded, as in broadcasting, fails to make its proper growth. It does not ear fully, and it is wanting In nutritious qualities, which can only be gained under conditions of growth which favour the' full development of each plant. Fodder corn ought always to be planted in drills—say, 3£ feet apart, individual plants standing in the row at intervals of 6 to 14 inches, according to the variety of corn cultivated. With the small varieties a somewhat more crowded condition in the drill or row is permissible ; but with the larger growing sorts commonly grown in Queensland it is well to give plenty of room in the rows. Silage corn may be planted by one of the maize drills, of which a number are on the market. Wanting these, the grain may be distributed by hand, in rows made with the plough or some other form of marker. After this the maize will require exactly the treatment that is given ordinary field - grown corn, grown as usual, for the seed alone. The ground must be kept very .clean with the cultivator, and in places where too thick it must be thinned out with a hoe. It need not be ‘hilled up,’ and where the ground is fairly clean there will not be much need for hand hoeing. The secret of success in corn-growing, everywhere, is to be able to keep the ground clean and mellow without having to resort much to the use of hand labour. Make Silage not a Complete Ration for Milk Production,

Professor Samuel Johnson’s opinion.— Ensilage is not unlike other animal foods in that it gives the best results when fed in combination with other foods. There are few farmers who have given careful attention to the results produced by different foods who have not learnt that there are few well-balanced fodders; or, in other words, those adapted to animals of all ages, and fed for different products. The problem for the farm to solve is this : Given straw, hay, corn-fodder, ensilage, corn and oats in the grain, and the commercial foods, like wheat, bran, and oil-meal-how can all of these be combined and utilised to produce, with the most profit, milk? The profitable solution for the dairy farmer depends upon his skill and discretion in combining, in the most judicious manner, these different fodders to secure the largest returns. Corn ensilage is lacking in a due proportion of nitrogenous elements essential to a wellbalanced food. Experience teaches that thin sowing, much grain, and harvesting when quite well matured, are essential to a good product. Still it must be remembered that even with these conditions, the corn plant, green or dry, stalk or grain, does not make a well-balanced

ration. Corn ensilage, therefore, should not be fed alone, but in combination with more nitrogenous foods, as wheat, bran, oats, oil-meal, or clover hay, to give satisfactory returns. Note.—ln our next will be continued “ Maize Silage not a Complete Ration, &c.