1891.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 109 



Dr. Twitchell. I wish the governor would ask me an 

 easier question, because I am unable to give an answer that 

 I think will be satisfactory. I do know this, however, — 

 that, where men of intelligence have made ensilage a part of 

 a fixed ration, they have found it valuable ; but the trouble 

 with too many of the farmers is that they have an idea that 

 the more a creature will eat the more she ought to do ; and 

 so they feed (some of them, not all) five, six and eight times 

 a day. They put ensilage in on top of all that the creature 

 can take care of, and then wonder why it hurts her. 



Mr. Edson. Is not the cheapness of hay in Maine one 

 cause of giving up ensilage ? Our hay being worth about 

 twenty dollars a ton, ensilage is very profitable ; bat, if we 

 could get hay for ten dollars a ton, perhaps it would not be 

 so profitable. 



Dr. Twitchell. Of course it would not be so profitable ; 

 but my theory is that ensilage is profitable for a man to feed, 

 even though his hay is worth only ten dollars a ton. It is a 

 profitable crop to grow to make up the ration which shall 

 preserve the health of the animal (you know how clearly 

 that was brought out last night by the speaker, Governor 

 Hoard) ; and, unless we are looking always for the best 

 health and condition of the animal, we cannot get the best 

 results. So I say I believe ensilage comes in as a valuable 

 fodder, because it enables us to make a ration according: to 

 the needs of the creature. I give that as theory, not 

 practice, but I believe I could demonstrate it in practice. 



Mr. Stone of Westborougk. Is not one reason why 

 the feeding of ensilage has been given up because it affects 

 the quality of the butter? I suppose they make butter 

 chiefly in Maine. 



Dr. Twitchell. I have never heard that urered against 

 it, unless it has been fed in enormous quantities. 



Governor Hoard. I want to add a word here. I do not 

 think that the economy of ensilage has anything to do with 

 the price of hay. In Wisconsin, where I live, the finest 

 timothy hay and clover can be bought the present year for 

 from six to eight dollars a ton. In one town adjoining my 

 own there are now sixty silos owned by sixty large dairymen, 

 with herds of cows ranging from sixty to eighty apiece. 



