The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. 3. S. RATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., APRIL, 1882. 



Vol. XI7. No. 4. 



Editorial. 



ENSILAGE. 



•' Whatever is worth doing ;il all, is worth 

 doing well," and this rule aiiplies in a very 

 >|ii_'eial sense to the silo and ensilaj^e. It is 

 line, the Hubjeet niaj' have been overestinnit- 

 cil, or excessively lauded; and it may also 

 have been underesliuialed, and needlessly dis- 

 laraged; but these circumstances ougiit not to 

 niilitato against the subject as a fundamental 

 lirinciple that is capable of practical illustra- 

 tion. There is a vast dillerence between aaw- 

 kraul and ruttoi cahbufje, practically; although 

 theoretically, they may be synonymous. 

 Well-made and w'ell-preserved saur-kraut, is 

 healthful and nutritious, and millions in the 

 world subsist upon it during a great part oi 

 the year, and would experience a great de- 

 privation, if not a great distress, if Ihcy could 

 not obtain it. But rotten cabbage is un- 

 healthful, enervating, and the source of stom- 

 ach cramps, inflammation of the bowels, 

 diarrha-a, and possibly death. Doubtless, for 

 lack i)f skill, there is a vast deal of this spuri- 

 ous saur-kraut made and consumed. Now, 

 practically, ensilage is nothing more nor le.SE 

 than a sort of saur-kraut, made on a large 

 scale, as food for cattle. If skillfully mani- 

 pulated, and systematically preserved, cattle 

 will eagerly appropriate it, and thrive upon 

 it. The maker of good and nutritious saur- 

 kraut, is careful to exclude it from the corrod- 

 ing and corrupting action of the air, and in 

 proportion as he succeeds in this, in that de- 

 gree will he have good and healthful saur 

 kraut. The same rule obtains in ensilage. 

 The mere opinions of men, either ^j/'o or con 

 on this subject, must go for just what they are 

 worth, whatever may be their standard of in- 

 telligence; and even where ensilage has been 

 tried and succeeded, or failed, in its results, it 

 may not be sutlicient to establish the system 

 as a fixed fact in the domain of domestic 

 economy; much less when such failure is the 

 result of an insutticient or illy constructed .silo. 



It has been alleged that caltlc — or at least 

 some cattle — will not voluntarily appropriate 

 the contents of the silo, and thrive upon it, 

 unless it is mixed with other kinds of food, as 

 a sort of condiment; but, admitting this to be 

 the case, it does not 'settle the question.'' 

 No one eais his saur-kraut "naked," but on 

 the contrary, he always accompanies it with 

 pork, or bacon; but this does not prove that 

 saur-kraut is not nutritious. We presume 

 that the gastronomical faculty in all animated 

 natiue is subject to cultivaliou — indeed we see 

 it in many animals, (including even insects) as 

 well as in niiin. And esi)ecially in ensilage 

 has it been demonstrated during the pastyear, 

 that cattle, which at first rejected it, ulti- 

 mately became the most lond of it. This is 

 nothing new. 



Mr. .S. S. Spencer, whose model farm and 

 dairy is in near proximity to the western 

 suburbs ot the City of Lancaster, thoroughly 

 tested the silo last year, and ju every respect 



the results were satisfactory— indeed, more 

 than realizing all he anticipated. But his .silo 

 was ineclianically con.structed, and on philoso- 

 phical principles. His cattle consumed every 

 shred of its contents, and looked, and longed 

 for more; and this year his silo will be in- 

 creased, at least ten-fold. He considers that 

 there is no risk whatever in it, if the silo is 

 properly constructed and intelligently mani- 

 pulated. But this is not all: his cattle thrived 

 upon it, and produced more and better milk, 

 cream, and butter, than on any other kimi of 

 food. Had we heard or read such testimony 

 coming from an unknown source, in view of 

 the conflicting experiences and oiiinions pub- 

 lished on the subject, possibly we might have 

 received it with a huge margin of doubt; but 

 we have it from Mr. Spencer hiin.self, and we 

 know him to be an intelligent witness, and 

 one not likely to continue long in self-decep- 

 tion True, it might not just suit every man 

 to have a silo, nor might it in every case be 

 profitable. Perhaps to a man possessing only 

 a single cow it might not be as profitable as it 

 would be to the man who owns a dozen cows; 

 and yet if a ([uarter or a half barrel of saur- 

 kraut can be preserved in a. sound and healtiiy 

 condition, there seems to be no good reason 

 why the same quantity of ensilaged fodder 

 could not be equally as easily ke|)t. When 

 canned fruits and vegetables were lirst intro- 

 duced as an adjunct to domestic house- 

 keeping, innnense (luantities were utterly 

 spoiled and had to be thrown away every 

 year, because of the inexperience of tho.se 

 who manipulated it. But this is not the case 

 now; and hence, we find the shelves of every 

 grocery filled with a great variety of that 

 which in the beginning was deemed impracti- 

 cable to preserve. Experience will doubtless 

 work the same results in regard to ensilage 

 and the silo. 



APRIL MEETING. 



For aught that we know, and for aught that 

 the Daily and Weekly papers knew — at least, 

 for aught tiat they uttered in their columns, 

 there was no meeting of the AgriciiUurul and 

 nijrticulturul Society, on the first ^Monday (:5d 

 day) in April. True, there is a law of the So- 

 ciety, that when New Year's day. First of 

 Ajiril, Fourth of July, and any other public 

 holiday, occurs on the first Monday in the 

 month, then the stated meeting of that month 

 shall be held on the second Monday in that 

 month, and it shall be so stated, or proclaimed, 

 at the preceding meeting; and, the object of 

 said proclamation was for the purpose of 

 making a record of it in the proceedings of 

 the Society, and published with the other pro- 

 ceedings, in order to enable the members to 

 act intelligently on the subject. But, no 

 such statement or proclamation was made at 

 the meeting held in March last, unless it was 

 ^^supj:ir(ss(d" by the Reporters, or omitted in 

 the proceedings. 



This may have been neglect, forgetfulness, 

 or inadvertence— we do iiot think it was the 



result of indifference— but, under any circum- 

 stances, it was contrary to that good order 

 which should di.stinguisli such a society, or 

 any living .society. 



When it is necessary to omit, or dispense 

 with a meeting in any society, and especially 

 in one which is a "body politic in law," a 

 record should be made of such omission or 

 dispensation, to complete the chain of its ex- 

 istence; otherwise, it will only add to tlie apa- 

 thy, indifference, or lukewarmness, into which 

 societies are liable to lapse, when no attention 

 is paid to their organic laws. 



Attending the stated meetings of the socie- 

 ty, and an active iiarticipation in its proceed- 

 ings, are twin relatives to contributing to the 

 literary columns of its representative journal; 

 neither of which should be neglected or ig- 

 nored. There are societies and journals in 

 this country which have been in existence for 

 more than half a century, and it is doubtful 

 whether any one who had ever been connected 

 with them, had ever been socially, morally, or 

 intellectually injured by such connections. 

 They may have had onerous duties imposed 

 upon them, or may even have sustained pecu- 

 niary loss, but they have been compen.sated 

 by a conciousness of having done .something— 

 or having endeavored to do something— for the 

 benefit of mankind. 



Man, in his normal condition,isessentiaIIy a 

 gregarious— or; perhaps more properly— a so- 

 cial creature, and when any number of men are 

 banded together under organic laws, for the 

 advancement of legitimate objects hv legiti- 

 mate means, they will only be ultimating ou 

 earth those (lualities which will lit them for a 

 more useful hereafter: for, it seems totally at 

 variance with all Ave know of the word and 

 the works of God, that that rest which all seem 

 to covet in the hereafter, is a state of inactiv- 

 ity, or .slothful indolence. When a man pre- 

 fers haliitual solitude— all other things being 

 equal— depend upon it, there is something de- 

 ranged in his mental or moral organization. 

 He can work out his moral salvation more 

 cfl'ectually through .social intercour.se, than he 

 can through .solitary seclusion. Those who 

 are incapacitated for social intercourse, through 

 physical or mental infirmaties, arc more to be 

 commiserated, than enters into the imagina- 

 tion of the general run of men. Therefore, 

 all institutions founded upon principles of 

 e(iuity and usefulness, should keep their 

 organization intact. 



Another great hindrance to the progress 

 and the thrift of societies is, that so few enter 

 their inner temples; the larger number are 

 content to hang on the " ragged edges" of 

 their outer borders. They take a merely 

 temporary and irresponsible view of them in- 

 stead of regarding them as permanent fixtures. 

 A half-willed membership can only make a 

 half-hearted organiziition, whatever the ob- 

 jecc of the .so.ciety muy be. " Whatever is 

 worth doing at all, is worth doing well," ap- 

 plies as forcibly to social organization, as it 

 does to any other human vocation. Take 



