8 August, 1907.] Silos and Silage. 505 



nourishment be produced by the ripe crop? If so I should like to know if we 

 get the advantage of that. As I find the manure full of grains not digested, 

 would it be better to cut it a little younger? I see no occasion for waste around 

 the sides presuming they are air-tight. 



I noticed in reading about silo filling, tliat it was done in a few days. The 

 impression gained thereby was that if too long a time were taken over it, the 

 stuff would spoil. I think I am the longest; from start to finish it took three 

 weeks. Being shorthanded through illness, I lost over a week, three days being the 

 longest period of not cutting. But I find no trace of any ditlerence in suage, 

 as I have passed the place where stoppage occurred. I started to feed as soon 

 as silo was finished, so did not cover or have any waste on top. Lucerne hay 

 and maize ensilage make an ideal feed for dairy cows. I have cows milking 

 up to 16 and i8 quarts a day with no other feed. The silo I look upon the 

 same for preserving green feed as the hay stack for dry, and it would be just 

 as reasonable to leave our hay exposed to the weather and cut it when wanted as to 

 leave the maize growing until required. 



I think I mentioned before that it cost me 2s. a ton to fill the silo. I thought 

 some might think it was a misrepresentation on mv part. The facts are as follow : 

 The distance to haul was about 200 yards, and the crop was heavy, standing from 



9 to 10 feet, some 12 feet. (These are some of the advantages of irrigation 

 and small areas.) One person cut and placed in heaps of about 5 cwt. each, 

 whilst another carted. We use a trolly bed, rS inches off the ground, so one 

 person can [)ut on the whole load (10 cwt.) without any help. At the chaffculter 

 I have a table 8 feet by 6 feet, level with the feed-box. On this the carter 

 places the whole load at once, with the butts towards me, so that I can cut up 

 the whole 10 cwt. without moving from my place. They were able to keep 

 me well supplied and it worked very well ; I did not have one stoppage for 

 want of feed. The horses work by themselves. ^\s I am close by, any attention 

 they want, I am able to see to at once. As we cut i ton an hour, three persons 

 employed at 6s. a day, or 8d. an hour, makes the 2S. per ton. The actual 

 cash cost to me comes out at 6d. per ton. One boy receives £1 a week and 

 keep, and the other los. Many farmers having sons are quite able to do the 

 same, so there is no' occasion to fear that the expense of filling a silo with chaffed 

 maize is too expensive. Wheii mentioning the 6d. per ton, no allowance is made 

 for my own services. I think your Department has done a good work in bringing 

 the matter well before the farmers, and with the experiences collected and ])ub- 

 lished, will be quite sufficient to dispel any doubt which any one may have 

 in regard to the advantage of having a silo. 



Mr. W. J. Chinn, Rural View, Clvdebank, writes: — 



As a fodder I must say that I like ensilage very well, but at the same lime 

 there is far too much waste with the mouldy j)atches. In my silo there is always 

 a waste of about 3 to 4 inches all round the sides, really rotten wet stuff. The 

 mouldy patches I work in with the good, so that it is not altogether waste. At 

 the present time I am feeding on ensilage made of oats with a little hay chaff 

 mixed with it. I give each cow one milk-dishful night and morning with about 

 r pint of bran mixed with each feed; 28 cows fed thus give from 44 to 48 

 gallons of milk daily. 



Mr. John F. Fortune, Yunclool, says: — 



I have not yet started feeding ensilage, but shall do so about the middle 

 of this month. I had the following in for green feed : — Japanese millet, 4 ; Amber 

 cane, 17; Planter's Friend, 9; Teosinte, 10; Cow peas, 15; and pumjikins, 2 

 acres; total, 57 acres. As the cows will go direct from grazing on cow peas 

 to ensilage I cannot anticipate an increase in yields, rather the reverse, I fancy, 

 as for the last three years, cow peas have proved the best milk and butter-fat 

 producers of all the green fodders, but the silage will doubtless maintain the 

 supply for a prolonged period. 



Mr. Fortune is about to erect another silo as he finds is indispensable 

 for the profitable working of his herd. 



Mr. James Bennett, Warracknabeal, writes: — 



We opened our silo on the first of March and have found it in a very satis- 

 factory state. There are about 4 inches of waste under the sand and a little 

 around the edge of the iron for about a foot down. I am feeding to dry catde 



