l6 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN’S ASSOCIATION. 
only. In 1877 he made a complete success of it after the exact plan of 
Goffart, omitting the mixture of cut straw which the latter used as late 
as 1876. 
It seems strange that two men so far apart should both hit upon 
the same thing at about the same date, and yet we have the statement 
of Mr. Mills that he had not heard of Goffart or Morris when he built 
his first two silos in 1877. These were each 40 ft. long, 13 ft. wide 
and 20 ft. deep, and located under the floor of his barn and constructed 
of masonry and plastered with cement, with a plank casing on the top 
of the walls and with proper pressure these silos will hold 600 tons of 
ensilaged corn. A year ago this winter he had them filled from the 
produce of 13 acres of ground. The complete cost of these silos was 
$700. or $1.16 for each tons capacity. The cost of seed, planting, till¬ 
ing, harvesting and putting into the silos ready for feeding was some¬ 
thing less than $500. The capital being $700, the interest at 6 per¬ 
cent would be $42, and allowing 20 per cent for repairs of silo which 
would be the very outside for all possible repairs, we have the cost ol 
the ensilage to be $1.14 per ton. Mr. Mills weighs his silos with the 
grain feed which he uses with the ensilage, a g#>od idea where grain 
need to be used, which would be only necessary with the milking 
cows, the work horses, and the fattening stock, no grain being required 
for the rude wintering of stock. On April 4th, 1881 Mr. Mills stated 
to Francis D. Moulton that he had carried through the winter then 
just past, 120 horned cattle and 12 horses on the produce of 13 acres 
and with half of the ground feed that would have been necessary if 
feeding the best of hay instead of green corn fodder. With hay worth 
20 to 25 dollars per ton as it was last winter in the vicinity of New 
York, and with two tons of ensilage equivalent to one ton of good hay 
as they all claim for it, I hardly dare mention for fear of ridicule from 
the skeptics, what Mr. Mills saved last winter by feeding ensilage to 
his 132 head of stock. But I will venture, 600 tons of ensilage equal 
to 300 tons of hay at $20 per ton $6,000—600 tons of ensilage at 
$1.13 per ton $678", a clear saving of $5,322 for the winter. 
"During the summer of 1880, Whitman and Burrell, of Little Falls. 
New York, erected a large stock barn 92x36 ft. and three stories 
high. They built on the hill side of the barn, opening into it, two silos 
each 27 ft. long, 16 ft. wide and 20 ft. deep. These will hold 250 tone 
each of ensilage. These silos are built of strong masonry, and roofec 
in with the barn. From seven acres of corn planted on the first 0 
June, and harvested in September, they filled one silo to the depth 0 
16 feet and the other to the depth of 11 feet, taking seven days tc 
harvest the crop. They put on the plank covering, and weightec 
with stones. On the 26th of October they opened one silo and fount 
the contents preserved in good shape. They fed their cows upon i 
during all of last winter, and they were doing well in milk and looking 
well when Mr. Oatman, who will follow me, visited them in Marc! 
last. Their ration per cow was 65 lbs. of ensilage, 4 lbs. of middlings 
and ]/ 2 ft) of cotton seed meal per day. 
As to the cost of their ensilage, Messrs Whitmen and Burrel 
speak as follows: “ We had when we commenced feeding, 212 tons 0 
ensilage; the exact cost of harvesting it, filling the silos, and putting or 
