SILO MADE AVAILABLE. 201 



Mr. Hadwen. I only rise to put in a little evidence in 

 this case, not growing out of my own experience, but from 

 my observation and reading, and my talks with gentlemen 

 who have tried the silos. 



It was my good fortune to meet, in September, a gentle- 

 man, who, I might say, stands in the front rank in the silo 

 business ; that is, Mr. Mills of New Jersey. He has had six 

 j^ears' experience, and his accounts almost staggered me. I 

 had been on the fence in relation to the silo question, gath- 

 ering what information I could from all sources ; and I have 

 to confess that the preponderance of evidence is in favor of 

 the silo. Mr. Mills informed me that in the year 1880 he 

 fed the product of thirteen acres of land to one hundred and 

 twenty cattle (one hundred being milch cows, and twelve 

 horses) for a period of seven months. I questioned him 

 further in relation to his milk, which he sent to the New- 

 York market. He informed me that the quality of his milk 

 was improved, and that he obtained a greater price for his 

 milk than was paid for any other milk which went into that 

 market. He now has six silos, and I questioned him some- 

 what in relation to the construction of these silos. He in- 

 formed me that a great deal more expense had been put into 

 the silo than was necessary. He said, as Dr. Faxon told us, 

 that the great object was to get pressure upon the top to 

 press out the air from the fodder. He said, furthermore, 

 that a silo should be filled in two clays ; that, if it could not 

 be filled in two days, a partition should be made in it, and a 

 portion filled ; but the work should be completed in two 

 days, and the pressure applied immediately. He applied the 

 pressure in sections. His silos are forty feet long, thirteen 

 feet wide, and twenty feet deep. The fodder is piled fifteen 

 feet high above the silo, so that when it is pressed down the 

 silo will be even full. He informed me that he put on this 

 pressure in sections of plauk, each four feet in width; and, 

 when he used the ensilage, he removed the plank, and cut 

 down perpendicularly one section of four feet. He also 

 stated that he weighted these planks with grain : five tons 

 of grain in bags was put on each section of four feet ; and 

 when the grain was removed it was ground, and fed with the 

 ensilage, I stated to him my mode of feeding cows, that I 

 had practised for a good many years, and he replied to me 



