912 Agricultural Gaiettc of N.S.ir. [A oi?. 2, 1908. 



Tt has been said several farmei's mi<jfht require a machine at the same time. 

 Would that not l)e a stnmi^ incentive to purchase other machines of the same 

 class to meet the demand 1 Aj^aiii, it lias Ixhmi asked where is the capital to 

 come from 1 In answer I say, we found the capital to huild co-operative butter 

 and bacon factories, and we found tlie money to purchase fodder to keep our 

 cattle alive durin<,' the recent drouiijht. Sup[)Osiiii;- there were thirty silos 

 in the district, each 100 tons capacity, tliat woultl mean 3,000 tons of silage 

 conserved. This should show the valuable asset such a plant would be to 

 the district. During the late drought, chaff was selling from £6 to £8 per ton, 

 and the j)ricc of bran was also high. Now, if chatl' is wortli £(> jter ton, the 

 lowest value that could possil)ly be ])lace(l on silage would Ix' £"_' per tdii : 

 then 3,000 tons of silage would b(> worth £G,000 to the district. If such 

 a result could be brought about by the establishment of n co-operative silage 

 outfit, it is a very strong argument in favour of establishing, not one but many 

 in different localities. Tt has also been said if this scheme is a sjood one 

 why is it not taken up by private enterprise? ■ The slirewd businrss man is 

 not going to expend £350 in machinery, and wait for silos to be l)uilt. 

 Private contractors will probably come into the field when there area number 

 of silos, as travelling chaff-cutting plants and threshers do in the wheat- 

 growing districts. It is in the initial stages where co-operation is required. 



Editor's Note. 



While noting that there are 500,000 silos in America, Mr. (^hiirk asserted 

 that there is only one in the Illawarra. If this be correct, it is either a 

 serious reflection on the forethought of the dairy farmers of that district, or 

 a high testimony to the favourable and stable conditions of climate which 

 make dairy farming possible over a series of years without any pro\ision for 

 a time of scarcity. As it was mentioned that during the late dry spell, diaff 

 was selling at £6 to £8 per ton, lucerne hay the latter j)rice, ami luan at 

 Is. Sfl. per bushel, it would seem as if some of the dairy farmers on the South 

 Coast must have had good reason to inciuire into the value of silage and 

 the methods of conserving it in times of plenty. 



Mr. Quirk estimated that at these prices silage would be worth £l' per tt)n, 

 but whether its milk-producing value would be as high as that, is a question 

 which has not yet been settled by a series of satisfactory experiments ; but it 

 is a well established fact that good silage can be made at a pi'ice ranging 

 from 4s. 6d. to 12s. 6d. per ton according to circumstances, and that the 

 same fodder, if kept for a time of emergency, may have a value very much 

 exceeding its cost, and greater, under certain conditions, than even its milk- 

 producing value, reckoned either by its chemical composition or its results 

 with the bucket. 



The Junee P.A.I. Association have invited the co-operation of similar 

 Associations throughout the State in bringing before the Department of 

 Agriculture the necessity of appointing one or more capable men to investi- 

 gate economical methods of conserving silage, and recommend that such otticer 



