CORRESPONDENCE OF W. C. STRONG. 103 



the probable result of putting down Hungarian in a silo without 

 cutting. It w r as the opinion of all, that, if carefully done, it would 

 keep. Wishing to avoid the expense of a cutter and steam-power, 

 I determined to venture a trial. 1 filled a silo, twenty feet by twenty 

 feet and ten feet deep, with perfectly clean Hungarian, when in just 

 the condition to cut for hay, spreading it evenly, and treading with 

 great care, filling about two feet in depth daily. When finished, it 

 was covered, and weighted after the most approved manner. The 

 result is, that I am now carting the contents of the silo to the manure- 

 heaps, to work in as compost. It is now plain to see, that, notwith- 

 standing the thorough treading and weighting, enough oxygen would 

 remain in the stems and small spaces to keep up the fermentation 

 until the ensilage was ruined. Of course, every one is now wise 

 enough to see that I ought to have known better than to make the 

 trial ; but I can comfort myself with the credit of a voluntary mar- 

 tyrdom for the public good. 



This first experiment was at my house-farm in Newton ; but I 

 also had a twelve-acre lot in Brighton sowed with this seed, and 

 designed for ha}*. Immediately after sowing, the weather was hot 

 and dry ; which checked the seed in starting, but developed a prodi- 

 gious crop of rag-weed (Ambrosia artemisice folia) . As a conse- 

 quence, the grass was largely choked out, the enormous growth being 

 at least sixty per cent of weeds. What to do with this burden, was 

 the question. Having a deeper-seated water-tank and also a good 

 engine, all at hand, I had only to buy a Baldwin cutter, and at little 

 expense I could determine what the new process would do for 

 weeds. Of course we cut them fine, and a man on horseback 

 packed them down solid. We averaged about two feet in depth per 

 da}', and somewhat over one hundred tons within the week of cut- 

 ting. The heat was so well driven out as the work proceeded, that 

 there was not much doubt that the stuff would keep. Its value was 

 another question, which could only be answered by trial. If you say 

 it is unreasonable to expect to take out any better than 3*011 put in, 

 I will simply give facts in reply. Having no cattle to feed, I sold 

 the ensilage to a milkman at six dollars per ton ; he doing the cart- 

 ing for a distance of four miles, and paying the weigh fees. As the 

 feed is dripping wet, it weighs well, and turns out to be worth a good 

 de:^l more than if it had been pure Hungarian and had been made 

 into hay. The very strange thing is this : that the cows are wild to 

 get the fodder, lick up the last vestige of it, give a good flow of 



