FlLLll 



VG THE SILO, 25 



The corn-fodder can be cut in the field with corn- 

 knives cheaper than by the mowing-machine. The men 

 as they cut it lay it in bunches ; for it is much easier for 

 the drivers to load it when laid in bunches, than to 

 gather it up after the mowing-machine. The extra cost 

 in cutting is more than made up by the expedition in 

 loading and hauling. 



I think the cost of Ensilaging 300 to 400 tons, when 

 we have the right kind of a cutter (Baldwin's Ameri- 

 can fodder-cutter all sizes, adapted to large as well as 

 small farmers, substantially built and at reasonable prices, 

 is the best one I have seen : they are manufactured 

 for, and are for sale by, Joseph Breck & Sons, the old 

 and reliable seedsmen and dealers in all kinds of agri- 

 cultural implements, Boston, Mass. : I have bought seeds 

 and tools of them for many years, and have always found 

 them reliable and trustworthy), will not exceed 40 cents 

 per ton. This is less than it would cost to go to the 

 field, and cut and haul it into the barn ; and, after it is in 

 the barn, the labor of feeding the whole fodder is much 

 more than to fill a basket in the Silo and give it to each 

 animal. Therefore it is cheaper to cut up the whole 

 crop at one time, put it in the Silos, and feed it from 

 them to the stock even in summer, than to go to the field 

 for it as it is wanted. 



Now, when it is considered that the corn-plant is at its 

 best but a few days ; that it can all be put into Silos 

 when in the best condition ; and that, notwithstanding 

 great care in successive plantings, if used directly from 

 the fields, much has to be fed either in an immature 

 state, or when too hard for the cattle to masticate the 

 stalks, it will be seen that the saving, however consid- 

 erable in planting as well as harvesting the whole crop 

 at one time, is but a trifle compared to the gain in nutri- 



