1884.] QUESTION BOX. 165 



am feeding from it now. There is no odor from the ensilage 

 that is objectionable. .My stock are eating well, and are 

 doing well upon it. I think I could convince any one of that 

 fact if they should see them. 



Mr. Chamberlain. This question of ensilage is a very 

 important one. There are gentlemen all over this State who 

 have invested large sums in building silos and in growing 

 material to put in them. I am not an advocate of ensilage ; 

 I cannot speak from experience ; I believe, however, that it is 

 easily demonstrable that it is not the best way of producing 

 animal food. I think it can be shown by figures (which do 

 not lie, it is said) that the same amount of material for food 

 may be obtained by allowing this corn to mature. Ordinarily, 

 especially for a crop of corn for ensilage, the land is prepared 

 as well as is necessary for a matured crop of corn, and I think 

 I could demonstrate at any time, with a little time to pre- 

 pare figures, that it is not a profitable investment ; and yet 

 there are gentlemen here who would disagree with me entirely. 

 I wish that this question of ensilage might have a fair dis- 

 cussion in this convention.. Facts are facts, with regard to 

 ensilage as with regard to everything else. Men have carried 

 their stock througli the winter season with apparent success 

 upon ensilage, and notwithstanding the extravagant state- 

 ments that have been made by some pioneers in this sort ol 

 work, I believe there is something in it. Other men's opinions 

 are better on the subject than mine. If they will give their 

 experience, I, for one, should very much like to listen to them. 



Mr. Augur. I have had no experience whatever with 

 ensilage, but very recently I heard Dr. A. M. Shew, of the 

 Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane, make this state- 

 ment in regard to their siloa and the way in which they filled 

 them. If I mistake not, they 'put in some twelve or fourteen 

 hundred tons — for their silos are very large, and they have a 

 large stock of cattle. He said they had two steam-engines 

 running at the same time cutting the corn. It was filled in 

 very rapidly, and the silo was closed and weighted very per- 

 fectly, so that when the ensilage was cut there was no dis- 



