at Home and Abroad. 
205^ 
that whole fodder diminishes nearly a half; when ciiopped, the reduction is 
only a quarter. For fodder chopped by an engine, the cost for manual labour 
alone is 20 francs per hectare (6s. 4.d. per acre) ; for whole fodder the net cost 
is 7 francs per hectare (2s. 2id. per acre). In both cases mowing and cartage 
must be added to the above cost. 
The fodder is cat down vertically 1 or 2 metres in breadth, according to the 
needs of the farm, and is done similarly to the method employed for hay in a 
stack. Firstly, a great saving of manual labour has been effected in avoiding 
the haymaking, and thus making oneself independent of inclement weather, 
and being able to gather in the crops even on a rainy day. It has been recog- 
nised that this fermentation renders the fodder thus preserved more assimilable 
than it would otherwise be. It has been proved that when giving the cattle, 
on the one hand, pitted fodder, and, on the other, that dried according to the 
ordinary method, they have all preferred the former. Never has a case of in- 
digestion caused by thisfood been -known; anditiseven thought that it excites 
the animals' appetites. This fodder can be preserved easily from one year to 
another, and some has been kept two years without deterioration. The 
fodder, although separated from the mass, can be consumed 6 or 8 days after, 
without being spoilt. Silage is spoilt from two causes : (1) the fault of 
pitting, by which air is introduced into the mass of the fodder ; (2) holes, 
allowing water to get into the silo. For the feeding of the cattle on the farm 
of Bois Guillaume au BouUeaume, the chopped fodder from the silo is brought 
to the farm and mixed with thin straw, chopped straw and mangolds for the 
cows, and with beetroot pulp for the oxen. It is the same for sheep and. 
other animals for fattening. As a general rule, there should be one-third dry 
food in the mash of the adult animals. In my mashes about 20 kilos 
(45 lbs.) of pitted fodder are placed per head of full-grown cattle. — S'^p- 
tember 22nd. 
P.S. — The following are the details of the rations of the several kinds of 
stock as given during the winter 1883-84 : — 
Ist. For Cows : — 22 lbs. of pitted fodder mixed with other^foods, 
making a total of 132 lbs. 
2nd. For Heifers who remain at grass all the winter : — About 33 lbs. 
of pitted fodder mixed with oat-straw. 
3rd. For Horses : — 13 lbs. of pitted fodder mixed with other foods. 
4th. For feeding-beasts (Oxen and Cows) : — 26 lbs. of pitted 
fodder mixed with other foods. 
5th. For Sheep; — about 2 lbs. of pitted fodder added to the re- 
mainder of their food. 
In reply to a special question as to the influence of silage on 
the breeding powers of cattle and sheep, M. de Chezelles's 
" regisseur " replied as follows : — 
Since our cattle have been fed on pitted fodder, we ^have experienced none 
of the evils of which you speak. Each year I breed heifers which get on very 
well ; in fact I have never had a single mishap. All our cows are in excellent 
condition. Gestation is quite normal and abortion very rare. I am happy to 
I'urnish you with these details, as they are the exact truth. I have proved it 
also with my sheep, which are all going on extremely well. This would not, 
however, have been the case if these beasts had been fed exclusively on beet- 
root pulp. M. le Vicomte de Chezelles has tried it, but the result has not 
been successful. Up to the present, the pitted fodder has yielded very satis- 
factory results, though, as you are aware, it is never given by itself to the 
cattle.; 
VOL. XX. — S. S. 
P 
