226 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



this is equivalent to keeping a 1,000-pound cow on a full 

 ration of clover and corn 308 days from the product of one 

 acre. This would be the full milking season of ten months, 

 and ought to produce an average of 6,000 pounds of milk. 

 In this case the acre produces everything the cow consumes, 

 and this is certainly a cheap production of milk. 



The same proportional ration may be combined of alsike 

 clover, orchard grass, Hungarian grass, or winter vetch 

 and corn, when these shall all be put in the silo. Fodder 

 rye and clover, 50 pounds of each, will furnish a complete 

 ration. One hundred and twenty-five pounds of peas and 

 oats ensilaged together, will give a complete ration. So, 

 likewise, will 100 pounds of timothy and Hungarian grass, 

 or 125 pounds of sorghum and orchard grass. The reader 

 will see that an almost endless combination may be made 

 from this table, giving the requisite ingredients for a com- 

 plete ration. 



If, then, it is conceded, and the proofs are beyond dis- 

 pute, that these green foods may be preserved in silo in a 

 fit condition for the production of milk, meat and wool, 

 the farmer may feed stock without the use of grain, and 

 thus make his farm self-supporting. In this way the sys- 

 tem of ensilage may enable the stock farmer to continue 

 succulent food to his animals throughout the year. 



ENSILAGE CROPS. 



The same crops are as appropriate for ensilage as for 

 soiling. But as the crops raised for the silo should be suf- 

 ficient for the purpose intended, and cannot be assisted by 

 partial pasture, great care should be given to their cultiva- 

 tion, and a sufficient amount of land devoted to them to 

 produce the amount required. A rational calculation for 

 this purpose should be made, based upon 45 Ibs. as the 

 weight of each cubic foot which the silo contains. This 

 will render it easy to estimate the number of tons of green 



