124 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



feet condition, and he said, c The cattle, horses, and every living 

 creature we have on the place seem to be crazy for it; they 

 seem to relish it the most of anything we have in the way of 

 feed. We are in for a clover silo, and we shall keep clover 

 silage.' He appeared to consider these clover silos about the 

 biggest they have on the place, and he is not a man given very 

 much to enthusiasm unless the facts and figures are along to 

 back up assertions." 



The President: "A year ago last fall, when the pastures 

 about Dundee were di y as a bone ? and the owners of the 

 creameries were very blue, I put the question to Mr. Oatman: 

 'Well, Oatman, how about silos now?' I thought I had got 

 him. He said: 'There is where we have got them, we sell 

 our hay to these fellows and we have got our silos, and we are 

 feeding out of them.' That was the latter part of July or early 

 in August, and he says : ' If it was not for this silo we would 

 not be making twenty cans of milk a day from our cows.' 

 There is where the silo business comes in. You can pack it 

 away and store it for a time of trouble. If it cannot be said it is 

 better than any other kind of feed, it is a very good substitute 

 in a time of trouble. These Oatman Bros, are the owners of 

 nine factories, I believe, and if there was anything about this 

 ensilage that was disastrous to milk, if it didn't make good but- 

 ter, you may be sure they would drop it. I have heard them 

 repeatedly say that they could make the best milk from ensi- 

 lage." 



Mr. Little : " Does he cut his clover the same as the corn 

 fodder?" 



The President: "I think he throws it in whole. At the 

 North Western Association at Beloit two years ago, there were 

 several gentlemen who said they had had very good results 

 from just throwing in the corn whole." 



Mr. Little : " Can you keep this silage for the next summer? " 



The President: " Yes, keep it for years." 



Mr. Sawyer: "I fed ensilage last February and March that 

 had been put up a year from the summer before, so it had been 



