674 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Nov., 1909. 



be constrained to purchase manufactured food-stuffs to make up for that 

 in which he is deficient. Should he be thus compelled to buy much of the 

 feed necessary to produce his winter milk his profits will be small indeed. 

 But if, on the other hand, he has a sufficiencv of home-grown fodder in 

 reserve, his milk will be most economicallv produced, and his profits pro- 

 portionately increased. The providing of a full supply of winter fodder 

 for the dairy herd has thus the dual result of insuring a good average 

 price for the whole of the milk produced, and at the same time increas- 

 ing the total yield at a minimum cost. Each cow may then become a 

 source of profit to her owner during fullv three-fourths of each year ; 

 instead of, as too often happens, being unremunerative for more than 

 half her life-time. 



The Dair\ Supervisors of the Department of Agriculture are con- 

 stantly placing before farmers the necessity of growing such quantities 

 of fodder for their stock as will allow of a surplus being stored as silage 

 for use as required. This advice is widely being acted upon. When the 

 Dairy Supervision Act came into force in the Lily dale Shire in 1906. 

 only seven dairy-farmers there had provided silage for their stock during 

 the previous winter. In the season just passed provision for the cows 

 by this method was made on 23 farms. On the seven farms 

 alluded to silage has been made annually for many years past. On two 

 other farms on which silage-making had some years previously been a 

 regular custom, this work had latterly been neglected, and the pits had 

 been allowed to get out of repair. However, fodder storage by means 

 of the silo has again been practised these last two seasons, and on some- 

 what improved lines. In addition to these, sixteen new silos have been 

 built, and on ten farms stack silage has been made. Last year, however, 

 there were five of these latter, on which, owing to the dry season, no more 

 maize was produced than the stock could use in the green state. These 

 and several others will try to improve on last season's work in the future. 

 Four of the new silos have not yet been used. 



Maize is the fodder most generally grown for silage-making through- 

 out the district ; but on some farms a portion of the oat crop is also har- 

 vested to the pit, and used before the maize crop is fit to cut. The pits 

 are again filled when the maize has matured. 



On the twenty-three farms alluded to as having made silage during the 

 past season there were 22 pits and eight stacks. Four of the farms 

 had two pits each in use ; and others used both pit and stack. All the 

 old-established pits are below ground level, and are rectangular in 

 shape. The newer ones are in most instances above ground ; but some 

 have also a few feet of their depth below the surface. The material 

 used in their construction is more generally either brick, or wood with 

 iron lining; but there are also those of concrete; of rough slab; of com- 

 bination of brick, wood, and iron ; and one earth pit with slabbed top. 

 Some of the stacks were in the open ; some had roofing over them ; and 

 others were inside walls of rough timber. On the whole the filling was 

 well done, only two pits and three stacks having any quantity of waste 

 material. In each of these instances, however, the total quantity dealt 

 with was not large; and in consequence much greater care was necessary 

 to have insured complete success. 



In all the pits the crop was chaffed before being filled in to the silo. 

 About 40 lbs. of this chaffed silage is The usual daily allowance for a cow ; 

 a varying quantity of .some more concentrated food such as bran, grain, oil- 

 cake, or the like being given with it in most cases. The stat^k silage being 



