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any good thing we can do for them which we have not yet 



done, and, especially, whether there is anything we can get 



them to do for us which they have not yet done. In plain 



English let us inquire whether we can get any more money out 



of them by giving them a new form of food called "ensilage." 



I have been requested by some of the gentlemen who were 



instrumental in getting up this meeting, to say something here 



about silos and ensilage as matters of new interest to farmers in 



this vicinity, especially to such as are chiefly engaged in dairy 



farming. The only reason why this request could have come 



to me is that ensilage has been used on my farm for the last 



three seasons, and ihat I may be the nearest resident to Aurora . 



having a silo on his farm. I do not know of another nearer than 



Mr. Gurler, of DeKalb, and the Messrs. Oatman, of Dundee. i 



Dr. Pratt, of Elgin, has for several years stored uncut green ' 



corn stalks in a pit excavated in the ground, but this method is ? 



now regarded as antiquated and would not be "good form" for.* 



a progressive farmer to imitate. At first a majority of the so- ', 



called scientific agricultural writers were opposed to the ensilage, , 



while practical farmers who tried it approved and advocated it. \ 



■ 

 The " book men " and chemists have mostly come round to the 



same view by this time. 



. The term " ensilage " is a general one, meaning any green 1 

 forage plant for cattle which has been stored in a silo to preserve i 

 it in a green state as when freshly cut in the field. Thus it may 

 be of corn, rye, field oats, meadow grass, sorghum, cow pea- 

 vines, or other fodder-plant, but in the northern part of the 

 United States it commonly signifies green corn stalks cut into 

 short lengths, i. e. from one-half inch to two inches long. The 

 "ensilage" is preserved in what is called a " Silo." Both terms 

 are of French origin. 



When it is first suggested to the dairy farmer that it may be 

 expedient for him to adopt ensilage feeding, he naturally inquires 

 whether he can get more profit out of the same acreage of land 

 sown to fodder-corn by putting his crop into ensilage rather than 

 into shocks and feeding it as dry fodder. This problem has 



