7o8 
OCT. 18 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
amination, and notices of them are appended as follows: 
Hertia (“uniformly good crops,”) bunch medium, com¬ 
pact; berry large round, black, with a reddish tinge, juicy, 
sweet; pulp rather tough ; slightly foxy; season medium ; 
good. 
Elaine, bunch rather loose, berry medium, dark, pur¬ 
plish red, with bluish white bloom; juicy, very rich, sweet, 
sprightly; pulp very tender; after-taste astringent; very 
good; early. 
Pulpless Black, bunch slightly loose; berry medium, 
round, black with blue bloom; skin thin; juicy, vinous, 
high-flavored, rich, sprightly, nearly pulpless; very good to 
best. 
Honey (“heavy cropper”) bunch rather small, loose; 
berry round, white, almost translucent ; bloom thin, 
whitish; skin thin, tough, astringent; sweet, pleasant, not 
rich ; pulp tender; good. 
Iris (“ uniformly good crops,”) bunch above medium, 
long, compact; berry above medium, round, dark amber ; 
bloom, thin bluish; skin rather thin, firm; pulp slightly 
tough, meaty, slightly astringent, rich, foxy; good. Berries 
were dropping from the stems. 
Vesta (“ very productive,”) bunch above medium, long, 
shouldered, rather compact; berry greenish white, with 
whitish bloom, large, round; skin medium; juicy, vinous, 
rich, slightly acid at center ; pulp tender; very good. 
Metis, bunch rather small, short, not very compact, 
sometimes shouldered; berry medium to large, dark red, 
with whitish bloom; skin thick ; juicy, high-flavored, 
vinous; pulp rather tough ; good. 
Guinevra (“ big cropper,”) bunch large, long, very com¬ 
pact, sometimes shouldered; berry above medium, round, 
pale greenish white, with whitish bloom; skin thick, 
tough; juice vinous, rather acid (perhaps not fully mature); 
pulp rather tough, scarcely good. 
Michigan (“ good cropper,”) bunch, long, sometimes 
shouldered, compact; berry medium or above, greenish or 
yellowish white, with whitish bloom; juice sweet, vinous, 
sprightly, rich; pulp tender, slightly astringent; very good. 
I warmly commend Mr. Eryle’s practice of bestowing 
names upon the new varieties, even before they are per¬ 
mitted to go out for testing ; since it seems almost certain 
that great inconvenience, and probably more or less error, 
will arise from the now too common custom of permitting 
novelties to go before the public under numbers attached 
to the names of the originators or introducers. 
“IP I COULD BE YOUNG AGAIN.” 
A Good Farm Education. 
If I were young again I would get the best education 
possible, then seek some successful farmer who would give 
me advice. I would try to do even better than he had 
done, and would work for him a year, during which I 
would study the needs of different soils, and the best way 
to grow, harvest and market products. I would also train 
the eye so as to be able to judge the weight and points of 
horses and cattle, in case I desired to match either, without 
having to depend on others. After this I would commence 
to farm for myself. I would feed the land, get the best im¬ 
plements, find out what would be the most profitable crops 
in my section, learn through agricultural papers the best 
way to raise them, and try to improve even the methods 
given. I would be careful about trying novelties. 
One rule that has few exceptions I would always keep in 
view: “Never go into debt unless it is absolutely neces¬ 
sary.” if I did, I would pay promptly. I would be care¬ 
ful about owning fast horses. It is splendid to ride behind 
them, and I have a weakness for them, but I would never 
neglect business for the sake of trotting them. Many 
young men commence to fail through trotters. A farmer 
must love his work. The farm must be to him what the 
canvas is to an artist, and his labors must beautify it as do 
the brush and colors the canvas; then the farm will become 
more beautiful than the canvas. It will be a living pic¬ 
ture changing each day. To me there is no other business 
in which there ip so much to admire; but one must work 
hard with mind and hands else the picture will not charm 
the eye. I would seek a loving wife to make home happy, 
one willing to help me to build “ our home;” for life 
would be incomplete without the “dear wife” to share 
one’s sorrows and joys. H. DENTON. 
Fairfield County, Conn. 
I Would be a Farmer. 
If I were young again I would probably be governed by 
circumstances in fixing upon a business in which I could 
earn a livelihood. In the light of experience, and with my 
interest and taste for agricultural pursuits, I would, with 
good health—which I consider all-important,—devote my 
efforts exclusively to agriculture. I have not always been 
engaged in farming. In the earlier part of my life neces¬ 
sity forced me into mechanical pursuits; but I entered 
farming as soon as I could, and would have been glad to 
have never been occupied with anything else. How desir¬ 
able it is to day to be a farmer with the facilities afforded 
by improved agricultural implements and ready access to 
markets. Farming here has come to be almost an exact 
science, with the use of commercial fertilizers and the 
ability to produce crops heretofore unheard of in this 
country. Again farming is, on the whole, a more 
certain business than any other. There are fewer 
failures in it than in any other, in spite of 
all the complaints of depression in prices. It is 
true that the work is hard, but not more so than in 
many other occupations. Although the farmer has 
periods of anxiety—more especially when he is securing 
his crops—yet there are months when he can go and come 
at pleasure, without positive interference with his busi¬ 
ness. On the whole, there are fewer anxieties in farming 
than in most other occupations. I also believe a farmer 
is, as a rule, more independent than those engaged in 
most other kinds of business. p, c, LEWIS, 
Middlesex County, N. J. 
OPENING THE SILO. 
When To Do It! How To Do It! 
1. Do you open at side or top t 2. Do you slice the silage 
down or take it from, the entire surface? 3. Do you 
cover after each cutting ? 4. How many feedings do 
you take out at each time? 5. What implements do 
you use for cutting and feeding the silage? 6. How 
Ion g after filling should the silo be opened ? 
Short Answers. 
1. On the top. 2. Whole surface. 3. No. 4. But one. 
5. As I cut the silage into half inch pieces before filling, I 
need nothing lor cutting afterwards. 6. Any time after 
four weeks. J. T. Edwards. 
Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
Shorter Answers. 
1. Top. 2. Both. 3. No. 4. Two. 5. Hay knife. 6. Any 
time after four weeks. o atm an bros. 
Kane Co., Ill. 
An Ohio Opinion. 
1. It is best to take the cover from the entire silo at once, 
and take from the top what is needed for each meal. 
Treated in this way, the silage will never mold. 2. The 
first year I sliced down, but never afterward. 3. No cover 
is needed when the top of the silage is removed. 4. Re¬ 
move from the top, morning and evening, enough for each 
meal. The amount to be removed will be regulated by the 
size of the silo and the number of animals to be fed. 5. I 
use the Silver & Deming large cutter for cutting the silage 
as it comes from the field, and it is taken from the silo 
with a fork. 6. The silo should remain covered from four 
to six weeks after it has been filled before the contents are 
uncovered and used. J. T. BROOKS. 
Columbiana Co., O. 
Feed In Layers. 
My silo is in two compartments and I open one at a time 
and invariably feed from the top. I take the silage off in 
layers sufficiently thick to last about three days each, and 
as I feed 40 cows, they are about six inches thick. I en¬ 
deavor to keep them of uniform thickness and the surface 
of the silage in the pit as level as possible. We use a 
six-tined fork for handling the silage, which is thrown 
down through a scuttle. It falls within the stable into a 
box, one end of which is open, and from this it is wheeled 
to the cows. I take from the silo two feeds at a time—for 
evening and morning. No covering for the silage in the 
pit is used while feeding. We fill the silo in the first half 
of September and open about the middle of November. It 
might, and probably would, do to open it sooner, but I 
plan to have fodder corn and similar provender to carry 
the cows to the middle of that month, and I want to be 
sure that I have silage enough to take me to grass time. 
I finished filling my silo on September 16, having put in 
170 loads in 8)4 days. The corn was cut in the field with 
a Champion reaper, and a Silver & Deming 13-inch cutter, 
driven by a Hubner’s one-horse level tread power,was used 
for cutting it into the silo. The corn was about two- 
thirds of a full crop. C. R. beach. 
Walworth County, Wis. 
The Entire Surface Of the Top. 
I take the silage from the entire surface of the top of the 
silo. It should be removed in layers about three inches in 
depth, at least every second day ; otherwise it will be 
somewhat injured by the heat it generates. If it is sliced 
down very far, the air striking the side, will affect it be¬ 
fore the entire section is cut down and the side will be 
covered, to some extent, with mold; bub by removing it 
from the top it will be bright and good all the time. If 
there is sufficient stock to justify one in taking the silage 
from the entire surface every two days, there will be no 
necessity for covering it after eacn cutting. One feeding 
at a time is all I remove. If it is desired to have it 
warmed, some throw it down 12 hours in advance and 
leave it in a pile and it will become quite warm. A rake 
is all that is needed to remove it from the surface. A silo 
can be opened and fed from two weeks after It has been 
filled, though it is better to let the fermenting process be 
thoroughly finished before it is opened, and this requires 
three or four weeks. GEO. .T- 1’OWELL. 
Columbia Co., N. Y. 
Take Silage from the Bottom. 
Our silo is so made as to enable us to take the silage from 
the bottom on a level with the feeding floor. In opening 
it we cut out a narrow pit from the top down to the door 
at the bottom.. We then feed entirely from the top, uncov¬ 
ering the whole surface at once and throwing the silage 
down through the opening mentioned. We do nob cover 
the top from day to day and usually we throw down an en¬ 
tire day’s feed at once. In feeding we use no implements 
except a cart into which the silage is thrown and then 
wheeled directly to the mangers. We usually begin to 
feed silage during December, about three months after 
filling, though I know of no reason why we might not 
begin to feed at once if we needed the material. 
Cornell University. H. H. WING. 
Frozen Silage Is Poor Food. 
1. We first open the section door a part of the way down, 
by taking off one or two of the top cross-boards. Then we 
throw out the cover of the straw or swale hay, and a part 
of it goes to the bedding pile, and the worthless portion to 
the manure heaps. The waste silage is raked off and 
carted out, usually about 50 bushels for a whole silo, and 
the cattle are allowed to “ nose” it over. The section door 
is then opened down to a level with the silage inside the pit. 
A temporary perpendicular chute is then set up in front of 
th e door of the silo. The silage is taken twice a day nearly 
uniformly from the entire surface of the pit, and drops 
down through the chute to.the feeding floor, and is there 
caught in a large box, where it is handy to be forked out 
in feeding. 
2. We never slice or cut down a pit of silage. To do so 
would be needless work, have no advantage over removal 
from the surface, and would be imposing profitless labor 
upon one’s self or his help. We use large manure forks for 
handling the silage. An iron rake with a six-foot handle 
can be used to advantage. We keep the top of the section 
door on a level with the silage, and then we can easily rake 
or pitch down from the surface. We do not remove an 
entire new layer each time, but go over, the surface in 
about two days. 
3. No, we never re-cover a silo after the cover has been 
once removed. Silage that is made from mature corn 
when once cooled down to 75 or 80 degrees, is not liable to 
be affected by the air for a number of days. I have pur¬ 
posely left a corner of my silage exposed for a week, and 
could not detect any change or any indication that the 
cows found anything objectionable about it. In a very 
cold locality, or when cold spells are intense, the silage is 
liable to be “chilled” a trifla upon the surface, and the 
next ration is likely to be a little too cold. In such a case, 
the temporary use of an old blanket or tarpaulin spread 
over the silage to hold the heat might be beneficial. In 
other respects, there is no benefit in covering a silo between 
feedings. 
4. We pitch down one or two feeds at once, but usually a 
feed at a time, amounting to a bushel basket loosely filled 
for each grown cow, and about 12 quarts for each horse. 
5. We use no implements except a wide fork and an 
iron-headed rake. As the silos are at the head of the 
feeding alley, we have never used a cart or barrow; but 
proportion the silage by means of a bushel basket. The 
open-ended barrow, with two wheels, and holding about 
15 bushels, is a handy implement when the manger is at 
some distance from the silo, 
6. I doubt if any exact length of time should elapse 
before opening a silo after it has been filled. No two silos 
act exactly alike. Last year either of my silos would have 
been ready to be opened in 10 days after the cover was put 
on. The contents of silos do not cool down alike, and 
some do not become very much heated. If feed were 
necessary for the stock, there is no reason why one could 
not begin to feed the silage at once. Last year one silo 
man near here began to feed from the silo the day after it 
had been filled, giving the silage no chance to cure. For 
about 10 days the surface was inclined to show traces of 
“ crusting,” but nothing that could be called bad results 
followed, and the feed was soon as good as any “ ortho¬ 
dox ” kind could be. There is a good deal of theory afloat 
about the chemical changes that go on in a silo during the 
first three weeks after it has been filled, and I cannot 
help wishing that Prof. Ladd or Henry would in some 
way find out what goes on daily for the first 30 days in a 
pit of mature-corn silage. Usually the silos are opened in 
about eight weeks after they have been filled, but that the 
silage would be just as good in three weeks I have little 
doubt. JOHN GOULD. 
Portage County, Ohio. 
Silage Is King, the Cow Queen. 
The question of silos and how to use them is one of great 
importance to the farmers in any State of the Union; in 
the South fully as much as in the North. In all dairy sec¬ 
tions the question how he can cheapest and best carry 
his stock through comes home to every farmer. It is to¬ 
day a generally admitted fact that the silo is the all-im¬ 
portant thing to dairy farming. In no other way can a 
depleted farm be brought up so quickly or with so little 
outlay as by raising corn, and in acorn section it is as sure 
a crop as any. In my case, with a silo, large crops can be 
cured, and made a rich, wholesome feed for the dairy, or 
winter feed for hogs. I have nine silos, 16 by 12 feet and 20 
feet deep, and all open on a level with the floor, each hav¬ 
ing a door at the bottom. They are built into a side-hill 
and are filled from the top and hold about 75 tons of 
corn each, or 62 tons of rye. Each is kept closed for not 
less than six weeks after it has been filled. When it is 
opened we remove the covering at the top and clear off all 
that is at all injured. We then open the door at the bot¬ 
tom, and remove all that is not good about the opening; 
then dig a tunnel or hole, about 18 inches square, through to 
the top. Then we back up a feeding truck close to the silo 
and pitch the silage from the top down this hole into the 
truck, say, 12 hours before feeding, being always careful to 
keep the top level and smooth. The fact that it is left un¬ 
covered lets the gas escape from the silage at the top 
and, as some is fed every day, it sustains no damage in 
summer or wi nter. It takes me about two months to feed 
out the contents of one silo, and I have never met with any 
loss by keeping one open when the silage has been fed out 
evenly and regularly, from the top. If one slices down, he 
is sure to meet with a considerable loss in the part that is 
left behind. After the silo has once been opened, I never 
cover it. We take out but one feed a day, as a rule; but if 
we fed the silage twice a day, we would take it fresh from 
the silo morning and night, letting it stand about 12 hours 
before feeding. If it warms up a little it will do just as 
well. We cut the silage into half-inch lengths when we 
put it in, so that it is always ready to be fed. We use a 
six-tined fork and an iron rake to get it out of the silo, and 
a scoop shovel for feeding it, pushing the truck along in 
front of the feed boxes. It will be more satisfactory if the 
wheels on the truck are 10 inches in diameter with a face 
three inches wide, and a little rounded, so as not to wear 
out the floors. Small wheels run hard, and narrow ones 
wear out the flooring. A silo 10 by 10 feet is large enough 
to feed 12 to 20 cows advantageously; one 12 by 16 feet is 
quite large enough to feed 125 head. Small, deep silos are 
usually beBt, corresponding in size with the size of the herd 
to be fed. 
A good supply of silage for winter use is like plenty of 
salt pork and corned beef in the cellar for a large family. 
[A good supply of canned fruit and vegetables seems to us 
a better illustration — Eds.J Let no farmer say that he 
cannot have it, for he can. If he has not tilled land for it, 
let him plow up a piece of old pasture. If he. has no 
