112 



to it a little boiling water. The next morning the feed will be 

 steaming and the way stock goes for this warm food is a caution 

 — in fact, I myself, prefer hot pancakes, coffee and meat to a cold 

 breakfast of the same, even if scientists say there are more 

 "solids" in the cold than in the warm victuals. 



Corn is undoubtedly the best crop for the silo, as it makes 

 fine ensilage, and more can be raised on an acre than of any 

 other crop, 25 tons being not an unusual yield. Burrell & 

 Whitman say they have raised 80 tons of corn to the acre, in 

 the Mohawk valley. This sounds a little "fishy," we admit, but 

 stalks from Kansas were exhibited at the Centennial that meas- 

 used 30 feet in length, and we all have seen and raised stalks 

 that were from 12 to 15 feet high; it would not take many hills 

 of this kind of corn to make a ton. If we raise 15 tons on an 

 acre, we have enough to keep a cow and her calf all the year 

 round. Clover makes a very good ensilage and is a grand fer- 

 tilizer. From 10 to 12 tons can be raised from an acre, at the 

 same time greatly improving our land that has been worn out 

 by excessive wheat growing. It is also very convenient to have 

 silo of clover ensilage to supplement our pastures during the 

 drouth of summer, and happy are those who had such silos the 

 past season. Rye is extensively used in the east, as a crop of 

 corn and rye may be taken from the land the same season, but 

 those who have been farming in this way, now say by plowing rye 

 under in the spring, more feed can be raised from the corn follow- 

 ing than from the two crops. Sorghum is a great foliage plant and 

 we think could be siloed profitably, but have never tried it. For 

 young stock a mixture of other feed is unnecessary, but for 

 dairy cows a little bran and corn meal may be profitably fed, 

 also a light feed of hay or fodder. Dry feed may not increase 

 the flow of milk, but it is relished by the cows and makes more 

 cream — a matter of importance to butter-makers and those sell- 

 ing cream. 



There are many objections offered to this system of feeding, 

 some of which we deem important to notice: 



First— Silos Cost Too Much. Dr. Pratt, of Elgin, 111., says: 



