A Treatise On Ensilage

Author : J. B. Brown
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331953357
Total Pages : 22 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (533 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book A Treatise on Ensilage (Classic Reprint) written by J. B. Brown and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from A Treatise on Ensilage Rye and oats and wheat in many seasons are more valuable to a dairy farmer in the ensilaged state than in the grain. Six or seven acres of the heaviest can be put into a silo, 20 12 16 feet, containing about 100 tons. These crops as well as clover can be removed in time to plant maize. We find that 910 lbs of ensilaged maize is equal in nutriment to a barrel of corn meal. Southern Cow Pea makes a very nutritious fodder, of which cattle and horses are very fond. Horses will work well upon it when ensilaged, without any grain. It grows luxuriantly, and by the system of ensilage it becomes for all parts of the country a valuable product, which it is not practicable to cure in any other way. Southern planters say "that with ensilage they can produce cotton at 4 cts. lb. less cost than ever before, because it has cost more to keep a mule than a negro in these sections where grass does not grow." If this is so, the saving by ensilage in making 6,000,000 bales of cotton would be more than one hundred millions of dollars. The necessity of buying the seed from the South will of course benefit that section to that extent also; like clover, it is a great land improver, and a very cheap and profitable crop for fattening hogs. This pea, which is really a bean or lentil, is of value for shading out weeds. It is an excellent crop to plow under, as well as to feed green and for ensilage. Planted between rows of potatoes, it prevents the growth of weeds, and will cover the whole field with a crop of vines, shading the potatoes from sun-burn. It can then be mowed off and ensilaged, or fed green, or it can be pulled up, and the cattle will eat it roots and all. The seed matured makes a highly nutritious soup. There are different varieties, black, clay, white and black-eyed. I mention it here, as it is entirely unknown to many farmers, and I would advise them to investigate it. I shall probably publish a circular on the subject of Crops for Ensilage. Mr. Morris and Mr. Potter state that with ensilaged clover, and brewers grains, their cattle are kept in much better condition than with hay and same quantity of grains - and by careful experiments, they find that the yield of milk and butter is greater, and the butter is improved in flavor and color, than when fed in the dry state. The great saving by this system is in being able to allow the maize or other crop to reach its full maturity for this purpose; also in barn room and insurance. "Mr. Mills states that $500 tons of ensilaged-maize the past year cost him$500, that it has taken the place of $300 tons of hay that would have cost him or been worth$7, 500, and that his 120 head of cattle are in better condition than they would have been with the hay." Perhaps the best and most disinterested testimony as to the value of this system is the report of Prof. Cook, of New Jersey Agricultural Experiment station; he says: "It is claimed for ensilage that it makes winter butter equal to June butter, a claim willingly admitted, it being to our knowledge of unusually fine flavor and color. Milch cows can be safely fed large quantities of this fodder, which is a perfect substitute for hay. If it is of first class quality, eighty pounds per day will furnish an animal with the full amount of carbohydrates." The corn-plant is in perfect condition only a few days to each crop, and it is exceedingly important to cut it at precisely the right stage of growth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com"