103 



Now you will no doubt conclude that the milk is 

 very thin. I was afraid, myself, that it would not test 

 as well as on the other feed, so I kept a close watch on 

 the test, and was agreeably surprised that it tested 

 even better, and, what was more, our butter-maker 

 asked how long I had been feeding ensilage, and I told 

 him. " Well," he said, " previous to that time I could 

 not get any flavor to the butter, but now it has a fine 

 flavor." I of course told him that it was the ensilage 

 that gave it the flavor. 



Beets are a good and healthy food for stock in win- 

 ter, but they do not take the place of hay. They are 

 excellent to feed if you are feeding heavy with shocked 

 corn or other rich food, they will counteract the 

 heating qualities of the corn ; but ensilage will do the 

 same, and largely take the place of hay, and, when 

 you take into consideration the quantity that can be 

 grown per acre, fifteen to forty tons — I will put it at 

 twenty, as I can grow that amount on every acre of my 

 farm — it does not pay to grow more hay than is neces- 

 sary for a rotation of crops. The best crop of hay will 

 rarely exceed three tons per acre, and the average crop 

 is one and a half tons or less. Now when you con- 

 sider the feeding value of each, one ton of hay to three 

 of ensilage, you will readily see the balance is largely 

 in favor of the ensilage ; besides, it is very difficult to 

 cure a heavy crop of hay unless the weather is very 

 favorable. 



There is another thing which ought to be taken into 

 account, and that is the amount of storage room re- 

 quired for each ; it will take five hundred cubic feet for 

 one ton of hay, and only one hundred and fifty for 

 three tons of ensilage; neither do you need an expensive 

 barn, but a good comfortable stable, as ensilage can not 



