• E2?"SILAGE OF FODDER. 93 



struction, and is essentially as good a one as can be built. 

 If a farmer has stone handy he can bnild one of solid 

 masonry, but it would not keep out the frost or air better 

 than one of \vood. One end of a bay in the barn can be 

 used, by observing the same precautions to have it air- 

 tight."' 



The experience of Mr. John Gould, of Aurora, Ohio, a 

 most intelligent, practical and well-known dairyman, is 

 given as follows : 



*' The corn plant is the great ensilage forage, as it is 

 of sure growth, and in all seasons, wet or dry, can be de- 

 pended upon for a fair product, and in average years will 

 give more than twice as many tons per acre as any other 

 crop that can be matched against it. Another point in 

 progress is in recognizing the fact that the corn plant 

 grows to develop an ear of gram, and if it is deprived of 

 this function by overcrowding, it has no aim in life, and 

 refuses to gather up rich stores of sugar, starch, and 

 other elements out of which to perfect the ear. So we 

 can safely put the difference in feeding value between a 

 dwarfed, crowded stalk of corn with no ear, or no at- 

 tempt to produce one, at about one-third that of another, 

 that had more room, and has brought its ear to the 

 ' roasting ' stage. Instead of sowing broadcast two and 

 three bushels of corn (168 lbs.), one-half bushel (28 lbs.) 

 will be ample if drilled in rows three and a half feet 

 apart. The result will be that the weight of fodder and 

 ears will exceed that of a field sown with from 112 to 

 168 lbs., and possess fully three times its feeding value. 

 Maturity is another essential in good ensilage. The half- 

 grown crop is little better than a mass of cellular tissue, 

 filled with water; but the mature crop has brought the 

 food elements forward to perfection. So we find that 

 the time of greatest food value is when the crop has 

 begun to glaze, as it then has the sugar element present 

 in abundance to aid in its preservation. If properly put 



