SILAGE CROPS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 658, 8 November 1909, Page 10

SILAGE CROPS.

I- A COMPREHENSIVE GLANCE.. ', f; The crops ;usually ■ sown for. ensilage v.are chiefly ; maize, millet,- sorghum, red . clflver, 'rye,- pats',, w'Mat,i lucerne, : :beans,.> peas, 'and ■any grass. Maize wiU; yield 15 ito 20 tons per acre.' Tho larger dent varieties are the'mbst jwpular; ' • Dri] Ung of- • the'- seed, .clean cultivar' ; tion in the young, stages,- ! of-the; crop; and good. 'soil' are. the' chief'. re, quifehiflnts';' ' .Thft-l>est .time: to' cut. for' silage -is -when . the kernels 'begin' to .glaze, nnd before the. lower leaves .bccomo dry. At this stagc.il contains.in the' stalks'and leaves the maximum of nutriment. , Red clover is less than fonnerly, partly .because of the loss which occurs when, the •leaves fall:aw'ay during use,..and partly, be-, .'cause.. it is' found. that • there is; morerisk of . with clover silage thnn'Vit.h that -made from maize or sorghum. The; yield-also, is ;less, and,it'is doubtful whether the cows "benefit any ;moro from ; a ton'of clover ;than from _■ a ton , made from maize. As far" as . palatability goes • all' kinds,' of " silag® are. '.about, equal. Silage., has., been aptly likened' to the curried dishes enjoyed by human be;ings. One curry is much the' same ■as aji'other, whother it * be effrried rabbit,' or' cur-' fried chop's, or ourried ' anything else. ' Ensilage .doe? not necessarily involve great .expenditure. :Though a' permanent silo is valuable where the occupant is the owner .of his farm, silage can be successfully preserved in ordinary stack. A foundation of ti-treo ."scrub or gorse or other material to give a dry •baSe and a good covering of soil on top of the stack, to give the necessary pressure, are ..the important considerations. Silage ;can be made and- stacked in rain or sunshine. The temperature is regulated \by the' amount of pressure applied to'the top, and is ascertained ;by letting down a thermometer through , an .'ordinary pipe, "which ;is placed in ; '.position for the purpose while tlie stack is be'ing built.