lo Jan., 1910.] 



Winter Crops for the Silo. 



57 



October they are ready for filling into 

 the silo. Green crops weigh at 

 least three times as much as the 

 summer crop when dried in the form 

 of hay. A three ton crop of hay 

 would represent fully ten tons of 

 silage to the acre. 



The results obtained by Mr. G. 

 Hope on his dairy farm at Caulfield 

 serve to illustrate what can be dontr- 

 on ordinary sandy land with a 

 moderate amount of artificial 

 manures to the acre. Three acres 

 of land, I an acre of which was 

 planted to oats, and 2| acres to 

 mixed fodder, produced over 60 tons 

 of silage. This extraordinary yield 

 was due to the uniformly heavy crop 

 over the whole of the area. Twenty 

 tons to the acre from crop 6 feet 

 high represents an average of 9 lbs. 

 to the square yard, or a sheaf from 

 the binder every two square yards. 

 Many heavy patches may be found 

 vielding at the above rate, but it is 

 unusual to find the average hold 

 good for several acres. 



Photographs Nos. 3 and 4 .repre- 

 sent the crop of oats grown at Mr. 

 Hope's. The land was ploughed 

 9 inches deep, harrowed three times 

 and worked to a fine tilth. It was 

 manured with \\ cwt. blood manure 

 per acre, and sown on 12th March 

 with Abundance oats, at the rate of 

 2| bushels per acre. This crop was 

 harvested for the silo on 3rd Novem- 

 ber, '09, and i^eturned 25^ tons of 

 green fodder to the acre. 



Prior to sowing the crop illustrated 

 on page 54 (No. i) the land was 

 ploughed, at intervals, three times, 

 viz. : — 3 inches deep, 6 inches deep, 

 and 9 inches deep respectively. On 

 the 2 1 St April it was sown with, the 

 following mixture : — Black oats, i 

 bushel ; barley, i bushel ; rye, 

 \ bushel ; and tares, \ bushel per 

 acre. Manure (mixed) at the rate 

 of 3 cwt. per acre was applied. The 

 crop was harvested on 8th Novem- 

 ber for the silo, and yielded 17 tons 

 of green fodder to the acre. 



-55/, «i * *- 



