April 5, 1883. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
289 
will therefore when preserved in the silo be available. The next 
item to be named is Rye, just as it is coming into ear ; in fact it 
may be followed by a crop of yellow Indian Corn or Maize of 
the coarse-stalked sorts. The Rye will be ready some time in 
May, quite soon enough to grow a full crop of Maize afterwards, 
for it is only required for cutting w T hile in full growth, and will 
produce, when well manured and grown thickly on the land by 
drilling and hoeing at 18 inches apart, a heavier weight than 
almost any other crop ; thus the land will yield two full crops of 
ensilage in the year. We wish, however, here to state that all 
crops should be cut into chaff as it is put into the silo, for it may 
then be trodden down quite close, so that when properly weighted 
at the finish the air may be entirely excluded, which is the first 
object to be attained. The cutting should be done by either 
steam or horse power to complete the work as soon as possible. 
The “chaff ” should be cut about 1 or inch in length and 
trodden down by a horse or working ox. All kinds of Clover, 
Rye Grass, Trifolium and aftermath, Vetches, Sainfoin, Peas, or 
Beans in bloom, or Lucerne and Green Rape—even corn, such 
as Oats or drege, or any corn crop intended for feeding cattle 
or horses on the farm, or crops too late to fully ripen, may be 
profitably utilised and made much more valuable than by any 
other plan. If the weather sprouts the corn in sheaf and it 
cannot be harvested in the ordinary way, it may be cut up and 
stored as ensilage although in damp condition. 
On this subject Mr. C. A. Kemble reported as follows in the 
Agricultural Gazette of March 26th last :—“ On September 9th, 
1882, I commenced cutting 25 acres of Black Tartarian Oats. 
Owing to the wet season which followed I was unable to harvest 
the crop in the usual way. I determined therefore, by way of 
experiment, to adopt and fill a silo, and fill it with Oat sheaf 
chaff. I sent my teams into the field on the 6th November, 
and on that date began to fill the pit, cutting the straw into chaff 
about 1 inch in length. The Oat sheaves were in a thoroughly 
sodden condition, and the corn in them had so generally 
‘ sprouted ’ that apparently all was worthless except as manure. 
We continued cutting and filling at intervals, and trod in the 
final ‘chop ’ on November 11th. Nine loads were cut up in this 
way, which I estimated at 13£ tons. While filling the pit I 
carefully mixed with this wet chaff 3 cwt. of salt and 100 lbs. 
of 1 Simpson’s Spice.’ Having filled the pit I had a layer of dry 
straw laid on the chaff, then boards fitted over the straw. Again 
over this I spread layers of sawdust and oak cavings, and placed 
several tons of freestone on thei^top. This pit was opened on 
March 14th in the presence of many leading agriculturist 1 ^ 
amongst whom we noticed Sir John Heron-Maxwell, Bart., oi 
Springkell, N.B., who, it may be remembered, brought this 
subject prominently before the meeting of the Royal Agricultural 
Society of England in December last. After the covering 
boards, &c., had been removed a very little of the preserved 
fodder was slightly fusty. Breaking further into the mass a 
fragrant odour soon pervaded the homestead in which the ex¬ 
periment was tested, for a hot cloud of vapour escaped from the 
ensilage, and reminded one by its smell of a newly heated hay¬ 
rick. An ordinary thermometer was plunged into the mass 
towards the centre, and registered 110°. Some of the ensilage 
was immediately carried to cattle and horses, and was readily 
eaten by them.” 
This case shows that in a northern climate in the worst of 
seasons a crop of Oats need not be entirely lost as food for the 
live stock. It appears from many experiments that the fodder 
to be stored for ensilage may not only be put into the silo with 
the morning dew on it, but that it may be sodden with rain, and 
yet not injure the value of the material when it comes out for 
feeding purposes when judiciously treated. But the home 
farmer must remember that so far as ensilage in this country has 
been attempted it has been under uncertain conditions of storing, 
and it is therefore better to proceed by way of experiment than 
to incur heavy cost, at any rate untii as practical farmers we 
may be more certain of results. 
In the samples of Trifolium ensilage we have seen there was a 
peculiar acidity in the odour, the colour being about nut-brown 
or that of hay moderately heated. From all that we have noticed 
as to the use of salt strewed over the ensilage during the filling of 
the pit, this had not injured it, and the cattle and dairy cows ate 
it readily. It is, however, not yet decided that salt is a necessary 
application in the silo. We think that at present on many farms 
the making of hay for sale will hold in check the extent of 
storing for ensilage ; still it must be viewed as a matter of great 
consequence in the saving of fodder crops, especially as hay fit 
for ready sale can only be made in comparatively fine weather. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Ilorie Labour .—Having now a farm on hand, some fields left in a 
couchy state by the outgoing tenant were half ploughed during the 
winter. On some of this land the rafters have been turned over or 
reversed, and the land worked fine, much of the couch having been 
removed, and the land sown with the best Victoria Oats. As these 
weigh over 45 lbs. per bushel and are very small, only bushels of seed 
per acre are needed. A dressing of 4 cwt. of corn manure from one 
of our best artificial manure factories per acre will be given about 
the second week in April. The land in some parts will not be quite 
clean after harvest. As, however, these Oats will be ripe before the 
Wheat, perhaps ten or twelve days earlier, the land will be scarified 
between the stooks of corn at harvest and sown with stubble Turnips 
before the sheafed Oats will be carted, the sheaves being removed on 
to the sown land, in order to complete the sowing of the whole field 
before carting the crop. In this way for more than forty years we 
have often grown eighteen sacks per acre; last year, however, this 
sort of Oats gave nineteen sacks per acre, and the crop was carted 
by the end of July, although the general harvest was not an early 
one. 
The planting of Magnum Bonum Potatoes should now be com¬ 
menced if it has not been already begun ; and in order to prevent 
delay at planting time we fork out some few bunches of couch grass, 
if any manure is spread in the furrows with the sets, 3 cwt. of Peru 
guano and 4 cwt. of kainit per acre, mixed with damp ashes or sand 
if the weather is dry and windy. We plant cut sets, for whole tubers 
throw too many shoots even when the tubers are small. We prefer 
to plant the lines 3 feet apart, and the sets foot apart in the lines. 
In case the soil be poor gravel or sand we would apply lj cwt. of 
bone superphosphate per acre between the lines before earthing up. 
The cultivation for Mangold may now be continued so that the 
seed can be drilled by the 20th of April. If the land is very dry we 
drill on the flat, applying artificial manure with the seed, not over 
4 cwt. of bone superphosphate with 2 cwt. guano mixed with ashes 
per acre, and if the land requires more manure apply 2 cwt. nitrate 
of soda just before the second hoeing when the plants are strong. 
Hand Labour .—Although the weather has been severe and will 
delay much of the work that is generally done in the spring, such as 
felling oak timber and the barking or stripping the trees, mild 
weather is required to allow of the bark being taken off freely, after 
which dry weather is necessary for drying the bark. Some men will 
novv be employed in seeding the Lent corn with Clover seeds, Bennett’s 
seed barrow being used for the purpose. Where the Wheat is to be 
sown after the Clover lea we prefer to sow Clovers alone, taking 
10 tbs. Red Clover seed and 4 tbs. Alsike as the mixture per acre, 
without any Rye Grass seed with them, except in case of the hay 
being required for sale. We then use Rye Grass, as the hay makes 
in less time and with less risk than when composed of all Clover. It 
also sells better to town customers. 
Live Stock .—Unfortunately the foot-and-mouth disease continues 
to spread in some districts. This is very unfortunate for the farmers, 
as the closing of the markets prevents in a great measure the natural 
competition amongst the butchers, to the prejudice of the breeders 
and feeders. Sheep have done much better during the month of 
March than previously, but on the water meadows and high pastures 
the prospect for grass has much diminished since we have experienced 
the cold cutting winds and snowstorms. With a dry season here¬ 
after, which seems very probable, food for sheep and cattle may be 
scarce, although there are generally large stores of roots on many 
farms. The home farmer will do best to prepare for a dry summer, 
which will right also if it happens the reverse. It is a singular fact 
that we have had eight showery and wet seasons in succession, the 
like of which has not occurred during the present century. If the 
summer should be ever so dry we ask the home farmer not to be 
deluded into a false security by feeding sheep on lands which has 
coathed and rotted them in the wet seasons, for we know some of the 
finest water meadows in the kingdom which never can be fed by 
sheep after midsummer without risk of Taking the fluke ; and, again, 
on the dry parkland pastures, although sheep would not always take 
the coathe, yet they are sure to deteriorate the turf by eating out the 
finest sorts of herbage, like White Clover. Breeding sows will now 
be farrowing, and the young pigs will require care and shelter and 
