100 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



wheat bran, what ensilage they will eat in four rations, be- 

 sides an occasional hay ration to give greater variety. 



Dr. Sturtevant. Approximately, how many pounds of 

 ensilage ? 



Mr. HuRD. Sixty for the heartiest cows, from that down 

 to less than forty. 



Dr. Sturtevant. Including this extra feed ? 



Mr. HuRD, Yes, sir, that is the average ration. Now, in 

 summing up this talk what have we ? low cost ; health of the 

 animal, and consequently its thrift ; increased growth and 

 products. There is a great gain in young stock, for they can 

 be kept growing twelve months in a year, instead of six or 

 seven. Ordinarily, the young stock come out in the spring a 

 great deal thinner in flesh and but little larger than they go 

 in, in the fall. There is with ensilage no necessity of check- 

 ing the growth at all through the winter. Then ensilage 

 enables you to have plenty of feed the entire year ; lessening 

 the injurious effects of drought. 



Mr. Sedgwick. You mean by that, in connection with a 

 ration of grain ? 



Mr. HuRD. Yes, sir, if I was feeding young stock on hay, I 

 should give them wheat bran, and consider it more economical. 



Then again, ensilage increased the quantity of butter and 

 milk, while it increased the quality of both. Thus, (and this 

 you will see is a good deal like a dog chasing his own tail,) 

 the more ensilage you have, the more stock you can keep ; 

 the more stock you can keep, the larger your manure pile ; 

 the larger your manure pile, the more land you can cultivate ; 

 the more land you can cultivate, the more ensilage you can 

 raise ; and so on, right around in a circle. Two winters ago 

 I kept twelve head and two horses, and bought hay. This 

 year I have got thirty-five animals on the farm, and in a few 

 days I shall have thirty-six. I shall not buy three tons more 

 hay than I bought two winters ago, all the result of eight 

 acres of ensilage. Gentlemen, is there any gain in this ? I 

 built a barn recently to hold fifty head. My neighbors said I 

 was crazy when they knew I was going into ensilage and barn 



