THE VALUE AND USE OF ENSILAGE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1718, 24 November 1887, Page 3

THE VALUE AND USE OF ENSILAGE

— -♦ . The obj !ct attained by ensiling a oroj Is not only because it la easier that) making it into hay, or because there it rick of its being spoiled by weather if made into bay, but the lduceraent real)} la because it has been found In practice that by ensiling a crop bo much more ol the nutriment has heen preserved that a piven »cre»ue jrill carry one-third more etock than If dried into hay, and that a orop la the auooulent form of ensilage is available for mllk-produelug and for fattening stock ; while the aame crop If made Into hay would require, m order to be of equal value, to bo aupplement?d by a crop of routs to supply the encculence which hag been dried tuto hay, In othor words, silage ia the economy of the ftrm takes the pUoe of hay and roots or.mblnei. Until quite recently the cumbrous and expensive methods of making ensilage have prevented its general use, but ai efficient and cheap apparatus Is now available In Blaot's patent screw and lever press, by which farmer* are enabled to accumulate feed iv sufficient quantities to carry them through the severest drought or winter season. It Is not eotH<ient that tbe apparatus used should be capable of affording mere continuance and a given amount of pressure, but the construction of the press must be such that its whole weighing power shall be exerted uniformly a: d unimpaired upon the cntira stack or silo. These requirements are amply provided for In Blunts patent, aud constitute one of its groat advantages, as I' ft enormous weighting power m continuous and equally distributed over the surf so ) of tbe s'aok, an arrangement by which not an ounce of force is lost or micdirected. All suoculent crops can be preserved as ensilage, and should be cut yosng and stacked green, No disadvantage ailaes from feeding entirely on sweet ensilage, and all descriptions of stock, ic eluding oheep, yonog cattle, milch cows, f«tteoing beatts, and farm horses, thrive well on it. The Dunedin Iron and Woodwsre Company are the Dunedin agents for Bluet's patent eneilngo press, aad farmers will have r.n opportunity of ! of Boeing it at the show this week.