184 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



DISCUSSION. 

 LED BY HENRY J. MARTIN, VERMONTVILLB. 



I built my silo in 1890. I was induced to do so from the fact that, after 

 due deliberation and correspondence, I was convinced that the greatest 

 amount of feeding value, or rather that the greatest amount of valuable 

 food, can be obtained for any kind of stock through the silo, and my own 

 experience bears that out. In the first place, it has been emphasized 

 that the corn should be matured. That has been demonstrated a great 

 many times. Take the corn through this section, and in the central part 

 of the lower peninsula, the white or yellow Dent com, with large ears, is 

 the kind I have found successful. These ordinary kinds, well cared for, 

 insure us from seven to ten tons of corn in a silo, from one acre. My 

 limited experience, and the universal statement of those who have com- 

 pared results, is that two and a half or three tons of this silage that is 

 mature will weigh from 4,500 to 5,000 pounds, and that three tons of that 

 is equal to a ton of hay. The hay crop in our part of Michigan is very 

 poor. In our county, our average crop is less than two tons to the acre. 

 You take a steer and feed him fifty pounds a day, and five tons of silage 

 will carry him through. You feed hay to the Shorthorn steers, and at the 

 price Mr. Ball claimed to get, he would eat his head of with dry hay, but 

 on silage the expense is light. 



In regard to feeding it to horses. I have fed it more to horses than 

 any other stock, though I have fed it to sheep, etc. I have not found it 

 a success to feed to colts, however, until they get one year old. After 

 that you can feed them twenty-five pounds a day, but you must give them 

 dry food with it, hay and grain. I have carried through colts, from one 

 to five years old. on twenty-five pounds of ensilage, and some hay and 

 grain, better, and with Jialf tJie expense of some of my neighbors who used 

 just hay and grain. One neighbor of mine built a silo for a valuable herd 

 of Percheron colts. He set his corn thick together, cut it before it eared 

 out, and fed them that and nothing else, and the whole herd nearly died ; 

 but take corn that is matured and well put up, and use it with dry 

 food, and I have had grand success. 



A voice: A great objection with many gentlemen in building a silo is 

 that there is quite an outlay. 



Mr. Martin: Yes, one expense is the cutter, but I had confidence 

 enough in it to buy my own machinery. There is one thing in regard to 

 a silo that I have never dared talk about very much, when the question 

 has been raised. There are two things that have called my attention to 

 it. Our friends, Mr. Ball and Mr. Ppaulding, had a lively talk through 

 the Michigan Farmer, as to the relative merits of using the silo and cut- 

 ting up the corn in the ordinary way. Such a discussion is interesting, 

 and I haven't dared say much about Mr. Ball's position. This last fall, 

 I didn't fill my silo, the stalks were put up in the ordinary way; I have 

 had grand good success in feeding those stalks, but I prefer the silo from 

 the fact that you can take care of it all at once, it is all put away with 

 one movement. Of course there is some waste, and no additional feed- 

 ing value — you don't put in one pound more of nutriment than nature 

 put there, and as I say there is a little bit of loss — yet all things consid- 



