S B 
 
 195 
 Bl4 
 
BAILEY'S 
 
 Practical Tree Trimmer 
 
 By the use of this new pruning implement, fruit trees of all kinds can be carefully and 
 symmetrically pruned without leaving the ground. The operator can see what lie is doing, and 
 prune three trees with less labor and in less time than one can be trimmed with other pruning 
 implements which require ladders and necessitate cUmbing. Limbs of any size up to two or 
 three inches cut with a few blows of the sliding hammer, which the operator grasps in one hand. 
 miCE S3.00. Patent applied for. 
 
 MANUFACTURED AND FOR SALE BY 
 
 JOHN M, BAILEY, "Winning Farm," Billerica, IVIass. 
 
ENSiiiAfJE. — Wc acknowledge the receipt 
 of a copy of the "Book of Ensilage," by 
 Dr. John M. Bailey, a pracllcal farmer and 
 breeder of Short-horn and Jersey cattle, 
 Cotswold, Oxfordshire-down and Vermont 
 Merino sheep. It is very seldom we get an 
 agricultural Avork of so much value from 
 the pen of a man Avho practises what he 
 preaches. Dr. Bailey has not only pre- 
 served various kinds of forage (chiefly 
 fodder corn) in their green state, but has 
 fed for months a large stock of cattle and 
 sheep upon the Ensilaged fodder. The 
 cost of keeping stock by this system appears 
 from Dr. Bailey's experiments to be less 
 than half as much as upon hay or hay and 
 grain. The book gives, in a plain practical 
 manner, all the necessary instructions, 
 details and specifications for building silos 
 of all sizes, and the manner of preserving 
 green forage by this system; also, plans of a 
 model dairy establishment adapted to the 
 system of Ensilage. 
 
 It is printed in a superior manner upon 
 heavy paper, in good large type, and hand- 
 somely bound in clotli. 
 
 It contains much valuable matter of 
 interest to every farmer, daii'yman, and 
 stock raiser. 
 
 It is published by the author, whose 
 address is "Winning Farm," Billerica, 
 Mass. 
 
 Price, post-paid, by mail, •'!;1.50. •<^^^'~t5 
 
 Kindly insert the above {if connistent 
 with your views, upon reading the book), 
 with such comments as your judgment may 
 suggest, 
 
 And oblige yours, 
 
 DJi. J. M. BAILEY. 
 
]Vt .A.]Vt T^ O T H 
 
 Ensilage Seed Corn. 
 
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 ^^^M. 
 
The Book of exsilage; 
 
 NEW DISPENSATION FOR FARMERS. 
 
 EXPERIENCE WITH ''ENSILAGE" AT ''WINNING FARM: 
 
 now TO PRODUCE MTTJv FOR ONE CENT PER QUART; IJUTTER 
 
 FOR TI'.N CENTS I'KU l>OUND; BEEF FOR FOUR CENTS 
 
 PER POUND; MUTTON FOR NOTHING IF WOOL 
 
 IS TPIIRTY CENTS PER POUND. 
 
 '^. 
 
 "^ BY 
 
 JOHN M. BAILEY, 
 
 Proprietor of " Winning Farm," Billerica, Massachlsetts, ano " Virginia Stock 
 Farm," Sussex County, Virginia. 
 
 " I beg to express my gratitude to you for the noble efforts you are making in behalf of the cause 
 of agricultural science. Ensilage is to prove a great blessing to the world." — Marshall P. 
 Wilder. 
 
 " A work of incalculable importance to American farmers." — Levi Stockbridge, President 
 Massachusetts Agyictiltitral Cotlcse. 
 
 ^fU. 
 
 BILLERICA, MASS. : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTH(^R. 
 
 1880. 
 
Copyright, 1880, 
 By JOHN M. BAILEY. 
 
 
 ^t^ 
 
 Stekeotvped and Printed by 
 Mills, Knight, & Co., 115 Congress Street, Boston. 
 
 ^ 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 To the farmers of America, I beg leave to dedicate this 
 book. It is but a plain recital of what I have accomplished at 
 "Winning Farm," by carefully gleaning every thing I have 
 been able to procure bearing upon the question of Ensilage. 
 
 I do not claim the credit of originating the system of Ensi- 
 lage. That, in a far greater degree than to any other man, 
 belongs to M. Auguste Goffart, a distinguished member of the 
 " Central Agricultural Society of France," and " Chevalier de 
 la Legion d'Honneur," who spent years in experimenting before 
 success final and absolute crowned his efforts. 
 
 The following letter would seem to show that the claim for 
 originality can hardly be given even to the eminent French 
 gentleman who has done so much to bring the system into 
 general use in Europe. 
 
 Houston, Tex., 3d May, 1S80. 
 Dk. Jno. M. Bailey. 
 
 Dear Sir, — ... It may perhaps interest you to know, that, in all proba- 
 bility, this idea of the Silo is by no means European, nor even Eastern, in its 
 discovery and origin. I have for years known — having been so informed 
 by Mexicans themselves, and others who have travelled through the rural 
 districts of Mexico — that many of the farmers of that country preserve 
 their grain, both green and matured, in underground cisterns ; the reason 
 assigned being that tlie ripe grain was thus protected from the attacks of 
 the weevil, whilst the green corn kept well, and was considered better for 
 being a little fermented. So tliat it becomes almost a certainty that the 
 
 5 
 
6 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 French, during their recent occupation of Mexico, seized upon the idea, and, 
 
 taking it with them to France, have only demonstrated its great practical 
 
 utility, &c., just as they did in the case of the artesian well, about which so 
 
 much false history prevails. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 D. D. FlQUET, 
 
 I am also informed that some of the earliest Latin writers 
 speak of Silos in the ground, wherein the ancient Romans used 
 to preserve fruits, grain, and forage in its green state, by sub- 
 jecting them to pressure ; so that, after all, the System of 
 Ensilage is not so much a new dispensation as one of the "lost 
 arts," which, after the lapse of centuries, has just been re-dis- 
 covered, improved, and is destined to be the means which shall 
 produce a revolution in modern agriculture. 
 
 Probably the idea was carried to Mexico by some learned 
 Spanish monk or priest who had an agricultural turn of mind, 
 soon after the subjugation of Aztecs by the Spanish adven- 
 turers who overran and conquered not only Mexico, but nearly 
 all of the American Continent south of it. 
 
 I have but put into practice in America that wliich M. 
 Goffart had demonstrated was practical in France. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Disadvantages of the System of Curing Forage i!Y Desiccation . ir 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Description of the "Winning-Farm" Silos i6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Filling the Silo 24 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Opening of the Silo ' . . 28 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Cost of Keeping Stock upon Ensilage 34 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Time when Forage Plants contain the Greatest Amount of Nu- 
 tritive Value 39 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Analysis and Composition of Corn when Cut in its Green State . 42 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Explanations why Ensilage must keep 54 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Ensilage adapted to Warm as well as Cold Climates • • • 59 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 A New Discovery 66 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Food Ingredients. — Chemical Terms explained 69 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Capacity of Silos 71 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Ensilage in the Great Dairy Districts 74 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 History of Maize, or Indian Corn 77 
 
 7 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THE IDLENOT PAPERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Cost of producing Milk One Cent a Quart, of Butter Ten Cents 
 PER Pound, and of Pork Three Cents per Pound, Beef for 
 Four Cents a Pound, and Mutton for Nothing, if Wool is 
 Thirty Cents a Pound 8i 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Second Idlenot Paper 90 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Analysis of Ensilage from the "Winning-Farm" Silos ... 97 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 How TO preserve Green Corn for the Table 100 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 My Experience with Sugar-Beets. — Cost of Raising One-Fourth 
 
 of an Acre, and the Yield loi 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Summary 104 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Effect of Alcoholic Fermentation in Ensilage upon "Gilt-Edged 
 
 Butter " 106 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Model Dairy Stable adapted to the System of Ensilage . . .111 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Conclusion of the Book of Ensilage . 119 
 
 PERCHERON HORSES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Horse of the Future 122 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Origin, History, Characteristics, and Performances of Percheron- 
 
 Norman Horses t^o 
 
^ CONTENTS. 9 
 
 COTSWOLD SHEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Winning Flock, late Mapleshade Flock 11:4 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Description of the " Winning Flock " 161 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Cotswold-Merinos jg^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Weights of Cotswold-Merinos 157 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Oxfordshire-downs j-j 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Improving Southern Sheep. — How to use Oxfords and Merinos . 174 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Criticism upon the Oxford-merino Cross, ey a Virginia Farmer . 177 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 IMPROVING' Southern Sheep jgg 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 How I Propose to Restore the Fertility of an Old Cotton- 
 
 Plantation jg- 
 
 BERKSHIRE SWINE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The "Winning Herd" 
 
 193 
 
WHAT IS A SILO, AND WHAT IS ENSILAGE ? 
 
 This is what the farmers want to know when the " Neiv 
 Dispensation, or system of Ensilage,'' is presented to their 
 attention. 
 
 A Silo is a cistern or vat, air and water tight on the bottom 
 and sides, with an open top, constructed of masonry or concrete. 
 It may be square, rectangular, round or oval in shape, with per- 
 pendicular sides, used to store in their green state forage-crops, 
 such as corn, sorgho, rye, oats, millet, Hungarian grass, clover, 
 and all the grasses. This forage is cut and taken directly from 
 the field, run through a cutter which cuts it into pieces less than 
 half an inch in length, and trampled down solidly in the Silo, 
 and subjected to heavy and continuous pressure. 
 
 The structure is the Silo, which may be above ground, or 
 partly or entirely below the surface of the ground. The fodder 
 preserved in Silos is Ensilage. 
 
ERR ATA. 
 
 On the i2th line, page i8, it should read "8 inches apart," instead 
 of "8 feet." 
 
 On the 15th line, page 18, "as" instead of "and." 
 On I St line, page 89, " i 1-4 inch spruce plank." 
 
THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 ACCOUNT OF THE "WINNING-FARM" SILOS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 DISADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM OF CURING FORAGE BY 
 DESICCATION. 
 
 The great obstacle to raising stock at a profit has 
 always been the high cost of all kinds of fodder for 
 winter feeding. Especially has this been the case in the 
 eastern part of the New England and Middle States. 
 The lowest cost at which a cow can be kept in Eastern 
 Massachusetts is twenty-two cents per day for feed, allow- 
 ing nothing for care except the manure. This makes 
 the yearly cost of keeping a cow to be at least $80.30. 
 Many of my fellow farmers who raise milk inform me 
 that it costs them twenty-six cents per day, which raises 
 the cost to $94.90 per year. To meet the lowest sum 
 $80.30, at the highest price at which milk has been sold 
 in Eastern Massachusetts during the past few years, viz., 
 twenty-five cents per can of 81 quarts, each cow would 
 have to yield 321^- cans, or 2,730 quarts, — about 5.500 
 pounds. 
 
 " It goes without saying," that there is not one herd 
 of cows in fifty which averages 5,000 pounds of milk per 
 
12 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 head yearly. While this is so, that ninety-eight per cent 
 of the cows yield less value in milk than it costs to feed 
 them, still as a choice of evils farmers are obliged to 
 keep them rather than sell the provender they consume, 
 though it would bring more money than the milk. By 
 gratuitously incorporating a large amount of labor into 
 the milk, they are enabled to keep up the fertility of 
 their farms, while on the other hand were they to sell 
 their forage they would soon impoverish their land. 
 
 Paradoxical as it may seem, the only way the majority 
 of farmers near our large cities can make (?) any money 
 is, and has been, to sell milk at less than it cost to pro- 
 duce it ! This is a very unsatisfactory condition of 
 affairs. 
 
 For several years I have been anxiously looking for 
 science to show us — agricultural laymen — the way 
 out of the wilderness into the promised land, where 
 crops could be grown at a profit witJwut the farmer's 
 labor being thrown in as straw — quantum stifficit — is 
 when figuring up the cost of wintering stock in the 
 West. 
 
 Analyses of the soil at one time promised to bring 
 about a great change in agriculture, by showing us just 
 what the soil lacked to produce bountiful crops of what- 
 ever we wish to raise. This proved an ignis fattens, — 
 for nearly all soils were found to contain when chemically 
 analyzed every thing required to produce scores of 
 bountiful crops of almost every thing. 
 
 The trouble was, that while the elements of fertility 
 were there chemically, they were not there in such a 
 form as the growing plant could avail itself of. 
 
 The next great panacea was to analyze the crop which 
 it was proposed to raise, and apply to the soil the various 
 elements found in the crop, principally nitrogen, phos- 
 
DISADVANTAGES OF CURLXG BY DESICCATION. 13 
 
 phoric acid, and potash. The trouble with this is, that 
 no one can tell except by a series of careful experiments 
 whether one, two, or all three of these elements must be 
 applied to the land in order to raise a satisfactory crop. 
 Having ascertained that a certain crop can be raised 
 upon a certain piece of land by applying- one, two, or all 
 three of the above-named elements of fertility ; another 
 set of equally careful experiments must be tried when- 
 ever a different crop is attempted upon the same land, 
 or the same crop upon another piece of land. 
 
 This necessitates the farmers' trying all these experi- 
 ments upon their own land ; which is out of the question, 
 for while they might, they certainly will not do it. 
 
 Therefore commercial fertilizers will perforce have to 
 be applied in the future as in the past, mostly at random. 
 I do not wish to be understood as sa)ing that com- 
 mercial fertilizers are not valuable and useful in their 
 place ; which place is not to take the place of barn-cellar 
 manure, but as an economical adjunct to it in the hill 
 and drill. 
 
 The chief objection to depending in the main upon 
 them is, that in the majority of cases the fertilizer costs 
 more than the crop will bring. 
 
 No great agricultural prosperity can come through the 
 increased use of commercial fertilizers, except as aids to 
 barnyard manure. 
 
 Experiments in England have demonstrated that the 
 crop does not increase in proportion to the amount of 
 fertilizers applied, even when the most consummate skill 
 directs the operations. 
 
 While agriculture has not been benefited to the extent 
 hoped for by the. processes mentioned above, there was 
 one man who was patiently experimenting, and endeavor- 
 ing to solve the problem in an entirely different way. 
 
14 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 It has long been apparent to every observer, that 
 there is an immense loss sustained in the manner in 
 which all forage-crops have been cured from time im- 
 memorial, viz., by desiccation or drying. While it is 
 agreed by all that a larger proportion of all vegetable 
 growth comes from the atmosphere than from the soil, 
 it does not appear to have struck scientific agriculturists 
 that during the process of curing by drying, a very 
 large proportion of the most valuable elements of nutri- 
 tion are returned to the atmosphere from whence they 
 came. 
 
 " The cow which gives us in summer while feeding on 
 green grass such excellent milk, and butter of such 
 agreeable color and flavor, furnishes us in the winter, — 
 — when she eats the same grass converted into hay, — 
 an inferior quality of milk, and pale, insipid butter. 
 What modifications has this o^rass undergone in chaneino" 
 into hay ? These modifications are numerous. It is 
 sufficient to cross a meadow when the new-mown o-rass 
 is undergfoinof desiccation, to recognize that it is losino- 
 an enormous quantity of its substance that exhales in 
 the air in agreeable odors, but which, if retained in the 
 plant, would serve at least as condiments favoring diges- 
 tion and assimilation. All stock-raisers know how rap- 
 idly young stock increases in weight in summer upon 
 green pastures, and also that the same amount of grass 
 converted into hay and judiciously fed in winter does 
 not always prevent them from shrinking, and seldom 
 gives any increase. 
 
 "The loss by desiccation in fine weather under the 
 best conditions, added to that caused by the physical 
 modifications which render mastication and digestion of 
 the hay more difficult than of the grass, and conse- 
 quently assimilation less complete, merits the most seri- 
 
DISADVANTAGES OF CURING BY DESICCATION. 15 
 
 ous attention on the part of those who are interested in 
 aericLiltural affairs. 
 
 " Rains, and even dews, add immensely to the dete- 
 rioration inseparable to a process of curing by dessica- 
 tion. What agriculturist has not seen a hundred times 
 his hay, notwithstanding the utmost care, injured by rain, 
 deprived of its richest and most assimilative elements ? 
 If these things occur to the common fodder-crops, — 
 timothy, orchard-grass, clover, &c., — what would (or 
 rather, what does) happen when the saving of fodder- 
 crops of high growth and great yield, such as maize and 
 sorgho, or even Hungarian grass or millet, is attempted 
 by desiccation ? never in our temperate climate could 
 we obtain for these a sufficient desiccation by the sun " 
 when raised on a large scale. I have seen a neighboring 
 farmer working nearly three weeks to cure about an acre 
 of millet, and then it was very imperfectly preserved. 
 
 M. Aguste Goffart, whom not only all agriculturists, 
 but the whole world ought to honor as it has no other 
 man, commenced his experiments in preserving fodder 
 by other means than drying, nearly or quite thirty years 
 ago. It is reasonable to suppose that he met with fail- 
 ure after failure ; but not discouraged he persevered ; and 
 during the last four years has so improved upon his 
 earlier methods, that the preservation of any and all 
 green crops, with all their valuable attributes unimpaired, 
 is no longer an experiment. 
 
 I will not take space to describe M. Goffart's Silos and 
 methods ; but would recommend all those who wish to 
 investigate the French system to send to J. B. Brown, 
 Esq., No. 55 Beekman Street, New York (the trans- 
 lator of M. Goffart's treatise) for a copy of " Ensilage 
 of Maize," and study It. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE " WINNING -FARM " SILOS. 
 
 I WAITED long in hopes that one of our agricultural 
 colleges or experimental stations would take the initia- 
 tive. 
 
 The following letters convinced me that there was no 
 use in waiting for more half-way experiments to be tried, 
 where " half of the fodder went to waste," and the bal- 
 ance was so imperfectly preserved that it was " very diffi- 
 cult to remove the peculiar and very disagreeable smell 
 from the hands after touching: it : " — 
 
 New York, July 26, 1879. 
 John M. Bailey, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sh', — ... Can you not effect a combination, and build a Silo 
 of masonry, and make a business of it this fall ? I have not yet heard of 
 any one who is going to do it thoroughly. ... I speak of combination, 
 as all seem to be afraid to do it right on account of the expense. I don't 
 think any thing but masonry is sure, and that is. ... I have urged all 
 the enterprising and competent farmers I am acquainted with to be the 
 first to do it on Goffart's plan, but I have not succeeded as far as I now 
 know. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. B. Brown. 
 
 If any thing was necessary to convince me that I must 
 depend upon myself, this letter was enough. Mr. Brown 
 knew of Mr. Francis Morris's experiments and their un- 
 satisfactory results ; hence his anxiety that I should test 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ''IVL\\\TNG-FA RM' SILOS. I 7 
 
 the system in a thorough manner : therefore I resolved 
 to brave the dano-er of beinp- " laiiohed at ; " and as no 
 one could be induced to try the great experiment, and 
 that the public should not lose the benefit of a system 
 of such vast importance to the welfare of our nation, 
 and fearing also that the grand discovery of M. Goffart's 
 might tall into disrepute in consequence of not being 
 tried in a thorough and scientific manner, I decided to 
 make the experiment. 
 
 For several years I have been trying to find the way 
 to raise profitable crops, or to turn them to profitable 
 account when raised. I eagerly scanned every item 
 which appeared in the public press bearing upon the 
 process of preserving forage-crops in their green state. 
 All the plans seemed to give but imperfect results ; 
 nevertheless, there seemed to be value in the idea. 
 
 It was therefore with pleasure I saw a notice of Mr. 
 Brown's translation of M. Goffart's work upon " Ensi- 
 lage." I sent for it. Upon a careful perusal of the 
 work, and some little discussion in the columns of "The 
 Country Gentleman " with Mr. Brown upon some parts 
 of it, I became satisfied that the principle was right, tliat 
 ]M. Goffart's method — with such modifications as cli- 
 matic differences demand — faithfully carried out, would 
 bring success. 
 
 Having resolved to try the experiment thoroughly, 
 on the seventeenth day of July, 1879, I broke ground, 
 selecting a side hill, and locating the Silos so that the 
 corner joined the north-east corner of my barn : I ex- 
 cavated on the west side and south end seven feet deep, 
 and put in a solid stone wall on the west side, 44 feet 
 long and 12 feet high. This was built of very heavy 
 stone and in the most substantial manner. • 
 
 I afterwards graded up on this side to the top of the 
 
1 8 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 wall, making a level spot to set an engine and Ensilage 
 cutter upon ; also to drive upon to deposit the corn fod- 
 der as it came from the fields on dump-carts. It took 
 13 days' work of a stone-mason, 43! days' work of 
 laborers, and 28^ days' work for one horse, to excavate 
 and build the stone wall and foundations for the Silos. 
 
 On the tenth day of August I commenced building 
 the Silo walls. These are 15 inches thick, built of con- 
 crete in the following manner. 
 
 First, 3x4 joists are set up at each of the angles, 
 and also at intervals of about eight feet on each side 
 of the walls. These scantling are placed eight feet 
 apart, spruce plank 12 inches wide and I2 inches thick 
 are set up on the inside of the scantling, which leaves 
 15 inches between the planks and the thickness of the 
 walls. 
 
 We are now ready to commence building the Silo 
 walls. The concrete is made by mixing one barrel of 
 
 aa. — 3X4 inch scantling, to hold i] inch plank while building wall. 
 b b. — Doors. 
 
DESCRIPTIOX OF THE ''VVINNIXG-FARM'' SILOS. 1 9 
 
 Newark, Rosendale, or Akron cement, with three bar- 
 rels of plastering sand and four barrels of clean gravel. 
 This is thoroughly mixed together while dry. It is then 
 wet and thoroughly mixed again, making a very thin 
 mortar. 
 
 About three inches in depth of this mixture is put in 
 between the planks ; then stone of all sizes and shapes 
 are packed and bedded in this layer of concrete, after 
 which another layer of concrete is poured in on top of 
 this layer of stones, and the operation is repeated until 
 the space between the planks all round each Silo is 
 filled ; then the planks are raised about ten inches, and 
 the space filled with concrete and stones as before until 
 the walls are at the desired height. The best way is to 
 have a sufficient number of hands to just raise the wall 
 the width of the plank each day. Time was pressing 
 with me, however ; and I sometimes raised the plank two 
 and three times in one day, the concrete " setting " so 
 that I was able to do so safely. But I do not recommend 
 this haste, as the walls will not be as smooth as they 
 would be if the cement had all niofht to " set" in before 
 the planks were raised. A 4X12 inch sill was bedded 
 on the wall in the last layer of concrete. This sill was 
 made of 2x12 inch spruce plank nailed together. 
 Upon these sills a building was placed with posts five 
 feet high, the beams on the top of these posts being 
 thoroughly braced to the posts, thus firmly tying the 
 whole structure too-ether. 
 
 In sections of the country where clean sand, gravel, 
 or stone is not easily obtained. Silo walls may be con- 
 structed of brick in the usual manner of brick buildinofs. 
 
 To put up the concrete walls and bed the sills, to- 
 gether with grading the upper side, where the cutting 
 of the fodder is done, took of the foreman 28I da)s, 
 
20 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 work of laborers 149 days, and 34 days' work of one 
 horse. Putting up the frame to hold the plank took two 
 carpenters two days. It required 124 barrels of cement, 
 costing- $1.25 per barrel in Lowell. The teaming of the 
 cement and lumber is included in the above account of 
 time of horses and laborers. The cost of tjie whole 
 structure will of course vary in different locations, as the 
 cost of labor and materials varies. 
 
 My Silos (capacity about 800,000 pounds) cost me 
 about $500. In other words, Silos will cost about one 
 dollar and a quarter for each ton's capacity. Large ones 
 will cost less, small ones more. The following diagram 
 illustrates my Silos. 
 
 Silos may be built of stone pointed with cement mor- 
 tar and plastered on the inside, or of brick, or of con- 
 crete as mine are. Whichever material is the cheapest 
 and most convenient in any locality is the best to use 
 there. Brick will cost more than the concrete. Con- 
 crete wall costs about ten cents per cubic foot. 
 
 As a general rule, Silos should be built rectangular in 
 form, the width being about one-third the length, and 
 the height about two-fifths of the length, and if possible 
 should be sunk about one-half below the surface of the 
 ground. 
 
 If there is a side hill near the stables, so that the 
 surface of the earth will come nearly to the top of the 
 wall i at one end of the Silos, it will be found very con- 
 venient in filling the Silos, in weighting the Ensilage, 
 and in removing the weights as it is fed out. 
 
 These walls must be built sufficiently strong to with- 
 stand when empty the pressure of the earth inward, as 
 well as the pressure outward, caused by the settling of 
 the Ensilage under the superimposed weights placed 
 upon it. 
 
DESCAVPT/OX OF TUE '^ WLXyLXG-FARM-' SILOS. 2 1 
 
22 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Where it is not convenient to get stone for weights, 
 heavy logs of wood may be used, sawed in pieces about 
 three feet in length, and placed on end all over the 
 planks which cover the Ensilage ; three feet of wood 
 being about equal in weight to one foot of stone. Or 
 broken bricks may be obtained at the brickyards at a 
 nominal price. Where neither of the above is availa- 
 ble, bags or boxes cf earth may be used as weights. 
 Where boxes of earth are used, they should be made of 
 such a size as to fit close together side by side. 
 
 M. Goffart recommends that the corners be rounded. 
 I thouofht that cutting" them off, as shown in the diaoram, 
 would answer as well and be much less expensive. I 
 find, upon opening the Silo, that the Ensilage is pre- 
 
 Earth-box for weights, showing convenient handles which will not interfere with piling the 
 
 boxes wiien removed. 
 
DESCR//'/'JO\ OF THE ^' IVrNNING-FA RM'' Sfl.OS. 23 
 
 served as well and settled as evenly in these corners as 
 elsewhere ; also that the preservation is just as perfect 
 close to the walls as in the centre, showing that a con- 
 crete wall is more impervious to air than a brick one. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FILLING THE SILO. 
 
 I COMMENCED Cutting my green-corn fodder on Sept. 
 22, and finished putting on the stone for weight at three 
 o'clock P.M., Sept. 30, putting in about two feet in depth 
 daily. This is fast enough ; for the shrinkage will then 
 be much less when the w^eights are put on than it would 
 be were the Silo filled faster. 
 
 The seven acres of corn-fodder filled one Silo to with- 
 in about 5^ feet from the top. Upon the top of the 
 Ensilage I put about one foot of rye straw uncut. Then 
 I commenced at one end, and floored it over by laying 
 i^ inch spruce plank crosswise the entire length. Upon 
 this floor I put about 25 tons of bowlders. I am not 
 sure that the straw is necessary : further experiments will 
 decide. I shall use less next season. 
 
 The Ensilage settled about i^ feet. There has been 
 no odor or steam arising from it. The cost of cutting 
 the corn up, hauling it to the cutter, cutting it j-o of an 
 inch long, and packing it in the Silo, was not far from 75 
 cents per ton. 
 
 It was new work. The cutter was not adapted to the 
 business, clogging badly and necessitating slow feeding. 
 All this combined to make it cost more than it will when 
 we become used to the work of handlincj laro-e amounts 
 of orreen-corn fodder. 
 
F/I.LIXG THE SILO. 
 
 The corn-fockler can he cut in tlie field with corn- 
 knives cheaper than l:)y the mowing-machine. The men 
 as they cut it la)- it in bunches ; for it is much easier for 
 the drivers to load it when laid in bunches, than to 
 gather it up after the mowing-machine. The extra cost 
 in cutting is more than made up by the expedition in 
 loading and hauling. 
 
 I think the cost of Ensilaging 300 to 400 tons, when 
 we have the right kind of a cutter (Baldwin's Ameri- 
 can fodder-cutter all sizes, adapted to large as well as 
 small farmers, substantiall)- built and at reasonable prices, 
 is the best one I have seen : they are manufactured 
 for, and are for sale by, Joseph Breck & Sons, the old 
 and reliable seedsmen and dealers in all kinds of agri- 
 cultural implements, Boston, Mass.: I have bought seeds 
 and tools of them for many years, and have alwa)s found 
 them reliable and trustworthy), will not exceed 40 cents 
 per ton. This is less than it would cost to go to the 
 field, and cut and haul it into the barn ; and, after it is in 
 the barn, the labor of feeding the lu/iole fodder is much 
 more than to fill a basket in the Silo and eive it to each 
 animal. Therefore it is cheaper to cut up the whole 
 crop at one time, put it in the Silos, and feed it from 
 them to the stock even in summer, than to go to the field 
 for it as it is wanted. 
 
 Now, when it is considered that the corn-plant is at its 
 best but a few days ; that it can all be put into Silos 
 when in the best condition ; and that, notwithstanding 
 great care in successive plantings, if used directly from 
 the fields, much has to be fed either in an immature 
 state, or when too hard for the catde to masticate the 
 stalks, — it will be seen that the saving, however consid- 
 erable in planting as well as harvesting the whole crop 
 at one time, is but a trifle compared to the gain in nutri- 
 
26 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 tive value by being all cut at the right stage of growth, 
 and preserved by the system of Ensilage with all its 
 elements uninjured. 
 
 Ensilaofe is therefore the most economical method of 
 soiling. The preserved succulent forage is improved by 
 lying in the Silos, and at the same time the easiest and 
 cheapest road by which green crops can reach the man- 
 ger is through the Silo. It practically annihilates winter, 
 and places the stock-raisers and dairymen in better cir- 
 cumstances than they would be if they had throughout 
 the year the waving fields of oats or rye and the luxu- 
 riant corn in their best stage for soiling, from which to 
 cut the daily food of their animals. The advantage of 
 being able to plant or sow the whole crop at one time, 
 and to cut and store it all at once, when in its most 
 nutritive state, can hardly be over-estimated. 
 
 My corn was planted from the 15th to the 25th of 
 June. On one acre was Stowel's evergreen sweet corn ; 
 the other six acres, Southern white corn. 
 
 There were at least twice as many tons of the latter to 
 the acre as of the former. I shall plant no more sweet 
 corn for Ensilage. The corn was all sown in drills about 
 three feet apart, one bushel of seed-corn to the acre; 
 was manured with about six cords of stable manure 
 spread broadcast after ploughing, and harrowed twice 
 with a Thomas smoothing harrow. It was planted with 
 an " x^lbany corn-planter ; " which, in addition to opening 
 the drill, dropping the corn, and covering it, also de- 
 posited about two hundred pounds to the acre of a mix- 
 ture composed of equal parts of superphosphate, cotton- 
 seed, meal, and gypsum. A portion did not come up 
 well, and had to be replanted. The dry weather and 
 cool nights of the summer of 1879 prevented a rapid 
 growth in certain portions. In fact, it was not a good 
 
FILLING THE SILO. 2 J 
 
 corn year, so that the crop was somewhat uneven at 
 harvesting. The leaves at the bottom of the stalks had 
 largely become dry and dead, and a sharp frost when the 
 cutting was about half finished injured somewhat the 
 leaves on that portion still standing in the field. Some 
 of the stalks had ears large enough for roasting ; and the 
 whole of it, I think, was rather too mature. 
 
 There was estimated to be in the Silo when opened 
 125 tons. The crop was very uneven, some parts having 
 at least 40 tons to the acre. Upon other parts, where 
 the drought affected that which was replanted, the yield 
 was not over 10 tons per acre. I do not think it will 
 be at all difficult to raise 40 to 75 tons per acre upon an 
 average on good corn-land. It should be planted from 
 the ist to the loth of June. It will then be in full 
 blossom, and in the best condition to cut, by the last of 
 August and before any frost can injure it. 
 
 As stated above, the cutting was finished on the 30th 
 of September. It was decided to open it on the third 
 day of December ; and, as the condition of the Ensilaged 
 maize was a question of the utmost importance, it was, 
 upon the suggestion of Mr. Brown, decided to have the 
 "opening of the Winning- Farm Silos " a public matter 
 " «jr //^,? American Initiative." 
 
 Accordingly invitations were sent to quite a number 
 of gentlemen, well known for their interest in agricul- 
 ture, as well as for the benefit they have conferred upon 
 the whole country in the untiring efforts they have made 
 to improve not only our system of cultivation, but our 
 domestic breeds of cattle and all the fruits of the earth 
 which minister to the wants and add to the pleasures 
 of mankind. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OPENING OF THE SILO. 
 
 Unfortunately the meetings of the State Board of 
 Agriculture and the Massachusetts State Dairy Fair, 
 were held on the same day as the opening, which pre- 
 vented the attendance of many gentlemen, who, however, 
 sent letters of regret expressing great interest in the 
 result. 
 
 The followinof letter was received from the United 
 States Commissioner of Agriculture : — 
 
 Department of Agriculture, Washington, Nov. 23, 1879. 
 
 J. B. Brown, 50 Becknian Street, New York. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I am much gratified to receive and thank you for the 
 invitation to attend the opening of the first American Silo at the farm 
 of Mr. John M. Bailey at Billerica, Mass. 
 
 As Congress will be in session' at the time mentioned, it will not be 
 possible for me to attend, a fact which I regret very much. Will you 
 have the kindness to convey to Mr. Bailey my sincere regrets, and ask 
 him to give me a detailed statement of the experiment from beginning 
 to end, for publication in my next annual report ? 
 
 I look upon the system of Ensilage as one which has wrought won- 
 derful changes in certain French provinces, and from which we may hope 
 for greater success in this country. 
 
 It will prove, I have little doubt, a very decided advance in our agri- 
 cultural methods. 
 
 Very respectfully }-ours, 
 
 VVm. G. Le Dug, Commissioner. 
 28 
 
OPENING OF rilE SILO. 29 
 
 The following letter from Hon. Marshall P. Wilder 
 shows us that neither his advanced age, nor the painful 
 accident from which we all rejoice to know he is rapidly 
 recovering, has diminished his interest in all that per- 
 tains to an improved agriculture : — 
 
 Boston, Dec. 2, 1879. 
 Mv dear Sir. — \ would be glad to be at the "Winning reception " 
 to-morrow, but I am not sufificiently recovered to take the journey. With 
 thanks lor your kind invitation. 
 
 1 am yours as ever, 
 Mr. Bailey. Marshall P. Wilder. 
 
 Ramsey's, Bergen County, N.J., Nov. 27, 1879. 
 Mr. J. B. Brown. 
 
 My dear Sir, — In reply to your letter of the 19th inst., I regret to 
 say that I shall leave in a few days for California, and am therefore un- 
 able to accept the invitation of Mr. Bailey to be present at the opening 
 of his Silo of 1 20 tons of " Ensilage," on the 3d of December, on his 
 farm at Billerica, Mass. 
 
 I have no doubt that the preservation of corn-stalks green for winter 
 fodder will soon become the great resource of our farmers, giving, as it 
 will, increased remuneration to agricultural industry. 
 
 Mr. Bailey is to be congratulated upon giving the first public exhi- 
 bition of Ensilage, which promises such important changes. 
 
 I am confident, from the investigation I have given the subject, that 
 it will be a convincing showing of its great national value to all present. 
 I have felt for the last three years that I could render no greater benefit 
 to my neighbors, than to direct their attention to this system of hus- 
 bandry. 
 
 I am, with great respect, )'Our obedient servant, 
 
 RoDMAX M. Price. 
 
 MoRETON Farm, Rochester, X.Y., Dec. 2, 1S79. 
 JOHX M. Bailey. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I received your kind invitation to be with >ou to-morrow. 
 Nothing would please me better ; but I am so busy with my seeds, that 
 it will be impossible to spare the time. 
 I think you have struck the right idea. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 Jos. Harris. 
 
30 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Letters were also received from the apricultural edit- 
 ors of the " New York Tribune," " New York World," 
 " Land and Home," and other journals, asking for infor- 
 mation as to the experiment ; and also from Professors 
 Stockbridge, Goessmann, and Maynard, Richard Good- 
 man, Esq., H. H. Commins, Esq., William H. Bowker, 
 Esq., T. G. Huntington, O. A. Hillman, S. C. Stone, and 
 many others interested in agricultural developments. 
 
 Mr. G. B. Brown, President of the " New York Plouofh 
 Company," and translator of M, Goffart's book, was pres- 
 ent ; and there were quite a large number of gentlemen 
 from New York and the New England States. 
 
 After briefly looking at the Berkshire swine, Oxford- 
 shire-down and Cotswold sheep, and Jersey and short- 
 horn cattle, the company repaired to the Silos ; and to 
 say that there was a good deal of anxiety felt while the 
 stones and spruce plank were being removed for the 
 space of about three feet at one end of the Silo, would 
 be statinof no untruth. 
 
 The top and edge of the Ensilage next the door for 
 two or three inches, was somewhat musty, and in places 
 almost rotten. But directly below this the fodder came 
 out cool, soft, moist, and wholesome looking, with a 
 strong alcoholic odor, and quite acid. It was evident 
 that fermentation had been oroinor on until acetic acid had 
 been formed. 
 
 The following from the report of the editor of " The 
 Lowell Journal," who was present, will describe the im- 
 pression received by those present at the "opening: " — 
 
 " There was, however, no unpleasant taste, except the acidity, and no 
 unpleasant smell. 
 
 " There were twenty or thirty head of cattle on the farm, as well as 
 sheep, swine, and horses. They were all given some of the Ensilage. 
 
 " The hogs ate it greedily. The sheep also seemed very fond of it. 
 
OPEA/XG OF THE S/LO. 3 I 
 
 The neat stock were not so eager for it at first ; hut nios of them 
 seemed after a while to acijuire a taste for it, and soon manifested a 
 desire for more. 
 
 "There were spots where the fodder was not so sour ; but it was evi- 
 dent tliat it did not come out the sweet, fresii, and ]jalatable foildcr 
 which has been secured in the French Silos. 
 
 " The reasons which may be ascril)ed for this are various. Mr. Urown 
 thought it was due to the maturity of the fodder when cut. 
 
 " It may be that being just at the upper corner, near the door, tlie 
 preservation from oxygen was less perfect than will prove to have been 
 the case farther down in the mass. 
 
 " The numerous dry and dead leaves caused by the drought and frost 
 may possibly have something to do with it. We shall know more about 
 this as the Silo is emptied. 
 
 " One thing is certaiiouthus tar : the fodder is so well preserved that 
 the cattle will eat it, and there is no question but that they will thrive 
 on it. 
 
 " Since writing the above we have received a note from Mr. Bailey, 
 dated Dec. 5, in which he says, — 
 
 " ' Yesterday morning we fed what Ensilage was taken from the Silo 
 while you were here. All of the animals but four ate it all, licking out 
 their mangers clean. The four finally ate theirs up before noon. This 
 morning we fed about a bushel to each grown animal, and a proportionate 
 feed to younger ones. I am pleased to state that they have all eaten it 
 up clean. The acidity appears to be much less than when first opened, 
 and there is emitted — as there should be — a strong alcoholic odor. I 
 
 think that under the circumstances we can claim it as a perfect suc- 
 
 > )> ^ 
 
 cess. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the cause of this acidity, 
 and the alcohohc odor in the Ensilage, is on account of 
 the stalks being too mature before cutting. 
 
 Professor Goessmann writes that "acetic' acid had 
 formed in the stalks before they were cut." 
 
 If cut at the period of blossoming, but very little 
 acetic fermentation will take place in the Silo, and no 
 alcoholic fermentation until after it has been exposed in 
 a large pile to the action of the atmosphere. 
 
 I think there is always more or less acidity present. 
 
32 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 From a report to the Central Agricultural Society of 
 France by a " committee of the sections on live stock, 
 physico-chemical and high cultivation," upon the subject 
 of the " Ensilage of green-cut corn-fodder seance, April 
 7, 1875," I make the following extract: — 
 
 " The fodder has an alcoholic odor quite marked and slighdy acid. It 
 is eaten with avidity by the cows, and constituted their sole food since 
 the commencement of winter. We were struck by the hearty appear- 
 ance of the 28 or 30 cows. Their eyes were bright, their skins soft, and 
 they are in good condition. (Goffart's ' Ensilage of Maize.')" 
 
 On the 9th of December the following report was 
 made to "The Country Gentleman : " — 
 
 ENSILAGE IN MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 Editors Couxtry Gentlemax : — 
 
 The •' Winning Farm Silos " are a perfect success. The preserved 
 corn-fodder which was cut about -^^ of an inch long, and placed in the 
 Silo about the last of September, and subjected to heavy and continuous 
 pressure, is being fed to the stock. They all eat it with aviditv. Its 
 preservation is perfect. It has an alcoholic odor, and is somewhat 
 acid. My stock eat it all, lick out their mangers, and look wistfully for 
 more. When the Silo was first opened, Dec. 3, there appeared to be a 
 strong acidity, so much so that some of the gentlemen present were some- 
 what disappointed ; but as we get farther into the mass of Elnsilage the 
 acidity is much less, while the alcoholic odor upon exposure to the air 
 several hours is much stronger. 
 
 I tried a little experiment with it this afternoon. I had a pen of seven 
 Oxfordshire-downs, and another pen of five maple-shade Cotswolds. 
 Tiiey had just been fed with some clean bright hay. In another feed- 
 trough I put some Ensilage. Five of the seven Oxfordshire-downs left 
 the hay, and ate the Ensilage, and four of the five Cotswolds left their 
 hay and did likewise. 
 
 I feed, in place of the ration of hay, 25 to 30 pounds of Ensilage to 
 each cow in the morning, and the same at night, which has lain upon 
 the barn-floor all night, during which time fermentation is quite active so 
 that it is warm in the morning. 
 
 The Ensilage in the Silo which is compacted, although exposed to 
 
OPENING OF THE SILO. 
 
 33 
 
 the air seems to undergo no change. It is pressed so hard that the air 
 cannot enter, and therefore does not affect it at all. I am delighted with 
 the success of the enterprise. 
 
 I believe it is possible to keep four cows a year upon corn fodder 
 Ensilage raised upon one acre of land. Verily we are under the greatest 
 obligation to M. Goffart, and to J. B. Brown ; to the former for demon- 
 strating to our satisfaction that corn-fodder can be successfully preserved 
 in this manner, and to the latter for translating M. Goffart's work into 
 English so that we may profit by his great success. If he is truly blest 
 who '•' causes two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before," 
 how much more to be honored is this man who has taught us how to 
 keep four cows upon an acre of land where one cow would find but 
 scanty subsistence before ! A most fortunate agricultural revolution is 
 indeed impending, and one which I trust many of our progressive farm- 
 ers will engage in during the coming season. 
 
 John M. Bailey. 
 "Winning Farm," Billerica, Mass. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 COST OF KEEPING STOCK UPON ENSILAGE. 
 
 The followinof statement from a p-entleman whose 
 estate joins " Winning Farm " will be read with interest. 
 
 John M. Bailev, Esq., 
 
 Winning F'arm, Billerica, Mass. 
 
 Dear Sir, — In accordance with my suggestions made on the occa- 
 sion of the opening of your Silo, Dec. 3, I have used your Ensilage in 
 manner as follows. My small herd of six cows calved early in the 
 spring, viz., in the months of March and April. They are of the ordinary 
 New England stock, with no pretensions to any pedigree. I sell no milk ; 
 and my cows, such as they are, were selected more for their butter-mak- 
 ing qualities than for any extra milking properties. These cows had 
 served through the season for butter-making, and with the commence- 
 ment of cold weather and the stoppage of " fall feed " had begun to 
 shrink in milk. 
 
 Previous to the use of your Ensilage, the six cows had been fed two 
 bushels of flat turnips, with four quarts of bran to each cow daily, and 
 what dry corn-fodder they would eat. The amount of milk given by 
 them daily was 30 quarts, from which 18 pounds of butter were made 
 per week. 
 
 I commenced using your Ensilage on Wednesday, Dec. 10, and left 
 off using it on the 17th, feeding 18 barrels, or 54 bushels, during the 
 week. All but one cow took to the fodder at first kindly, and their 
 appetite for it increased from day to day. There was an increase of 
 milk from 30 quarts to 35 quarts daily. The cream was thicker, of 
 richer color, and of better quality, than from their previous feeding. 
 One sack of bran of the value of 90 cents was all that the cows ate dur- 
 
 34 
 
COST OF KEEPING STOCK UPON ENSILAGE. 35 
 
 jng the week in addition to your Ensilage, except a small amount of 
 bog or meadow hay of nominal value. 
 
 The account for this week would therefore be for the six cows : — 
 
 54 bushels Ensilage (1,620 lbs.), @ $.001 .... §1.62 
 I bag wheat shorts . 90 
 
 $2.52 
 
 The cows should be credited with 22 pounds of butter at 35 cents 
 a pound, and say 210 quarts of skim-milk at one cent per quart, which 
 I consider its value as feed for the pigs. 
 
 22 pounds butter, @ $.35 $770 
 
 210 quarts skim-milk .01 ...... . 
 
 Cost of keeping ......... 
 
 Profit 
 
 The flavor of the butter was excellent, and its color a good yellow 
 equal to that which sweet pasture gives. 
 
 In the above brief statement I have confined m)'self strictly to facts, 
 and will make no comments, except to say that I am convinced that 
 your method of preserving green fodder for use in winter time is a suc- 
 cess, and will eventually be adopted in this part of the country. 
 
 Henry B. Judkins. 
 
 Since receiving the above, Mr. Judkins informs me 
 that his cows shrank so that they gave but 20 quarts 
 daily, three days after resuming dry feed. 
 
 This is about what they would have shrunk to by this 
 time, had the natural shrinkage not been arrested and an 
 increase caused by the one week's feed of Ensilage. 
 
 I have a Jersey heifer 20 months old which has 
 doubled her yield of milk since I began to feed Ensilage. 
 I have one cow 13 years old which came in Dec. i, three 
 weeks ago. She is now giving 16 quarts daily upon 60 
 pounds of Ensilage and four quarts of shorts. I am 
 feeding 35 head of cattle and 100 head of sheep upon 45 
 bushels (about 1,350 pounds) of Ensilage, and 80 cents' 
 
36 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 worth of shorts, and less than 50 pounds of hay daily. 
 I cannot make the cost of corn Ensilage to be more than 
 one mill per pound, or $2 per ton. 
 
 It will, therefore, be seen that the expense of keeping 
 35 horned animals and 100 sheep at "Winning Farm" 
 is as follows : — 
 
 1,350 pounds of Ensilage (a) ^.001 . . . ^1.35 
 90 pounds of shorts . . . . . .80 
 
 50 pounds of hay (a) ^15 per ton . . . .37-^ 
 
 Total cost per day ...... $2.52^ 
 
 The cost of keeping the above stock upon hay and 
 grain would be as follows : — 
 
 20 pounds of hay to each animal (ten yearlings count- 
 ed as five cows), making 30 head, would require daily as 
 follows : — 
 
 600 pounds of hay for cattle, at ^15 per ton. . . . $4 50 
 
 200 pounds of hay for 100 sheep. . . . . . i 50 
 
 120 pounds of shorts for cattle, at $18 per ton . . . i 08 
 
 40 pounds of shorts for sheep ...... 36 
 
 Total cost of keeping 30 cattle and 100 sheep per day on hay 
 
 and grain . . . . . . . . . $7 44 
 
 Cost of keeping the above on Ensilage as above . . . 252^ 
 
 Daily balance in favor of Ensilage . . . . . ;^4 91^ 
 
 From my experience in feeding so far, I consider Ensi- 
 lage to be worth one-half as much as the best timothy 
 hay. I would not, however, exchange Ensilage for hay 
 and give two tons for one. I believe that 40 to 75 tons 
 of corn-fodder can easily be raised upon an acre, which 
 if properly Ensilaged will be equal to from 20 to '^^l tons 
 of hay. To receive the fullest benefit, however, I think 
 there should be some nitrogenous food, such as oats, 
 shorts, pea or bean meal, oil meal or animal meal, fed 
 with the Ensilage. 
 
COST OF KEEPING STOCK UPON ENSILAGE. T^-j 
 
 Judging from the appearance and the droppings of 
 my animals, I beheve they are fed as high as young and 
 breeding stock should be fed. 
 
 There is another advantage : after the corn is cut and 
 put into the Silo, — the last of August or first of Septem- 
 ber, — the land can then be ploughed, and sown with 
 winter rye. The summer, fall, and winter accumulations 
 of manure can be hauled out, and spread broadcast upon 
 the rye at any time after it is sown, during the fall and 
 winter months or early spring. The rye will be in blos- 
 som, and ready to cut, between the loth and 25th of 
 May, and should be cut ^V of an inch long, and put into 
 the Silo in the same manner as the corn fodder. 
 
 Land highly manured ought to give ten tons of green 
 rye for Ensilage per acre. The manure having been 
 applied to the land during the time it was occupied by 
 the rye, nothing remains but to plough in the rye stubble, 
 and drill in the corn. Thus 40 to 75 tons of Ensilage 
 can be easily raised from one acre of good corn-land. 
 
 I roll my fodder-corn land as soon as planted, harrow 
 with a Thomas smoothing-harrow just as it is prick- 
 ing through the ground, and once every week or ten 
 days until it is about a foot high. Then, if there appear 
 any weeds, I go through it once with a horse-hoe. I 
 like the Centennial horse-hoe, manufactured by Tim- 
 othy B. Hussey, North Berwick, Me., best of any I have 
 tried. 
 
 In conclusion, let me urge every farmer, who can, to 
 build a Silo. They will have to build sheds to accommo- 
 date the stock they will be able to keep. Silos and 
 cheap cattle-sheds are much cheaper than expensive hay- 
 barns. 
 
 No manure-cellars are needed. Cement the floors of 
 the cattle-sheds {\t costs less than a plank floor), so as 
 
38 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 to save all the manure, both solid and liquid ; bed them 
 with leaves, meadow hay, or any kind of hay, for that 
 matter. 
 
 Apply the manure as it is made, broadcast upon the 
 rye fields. The land will continually grow richer, the 
 crops of rye and corn fodder heavier. The stock upon 
 the farm will increase in number and value until aericul- 
 ture will become the most profitable as well as the 
 noblest avocation which shall engage the attention of 
 intelligent and refined manhood. 
 
 The foregoing was — it will be seen — written at 
 intervals, from the time of opening the Silo until about 
 the third day of January, when I went to Virginia to visit 
 my stock farm in Sussex County. A month had elapsed 
 since I first began to feed the Ensilage, and I was absent 
 from " Winning Farm " about a month. 
 
 Although letters from my manager had informed me 
 from time to time that " the Ensilage works better every 
 day," still I was unprepared to see such an improve- 
 ment in the general appearance of the stock. They 
 looked as if they had been at pasture with feed up to 
 their eyes, sleek and smooth. Hundreds of people have 
 visited "Winning Farm" during the winter to see the 
 Silos, and examine the stock fed upon Ensilage. All 
 expressed the same surprise and delight at their appear- 
 ance. It is all eaten, not a pound is wasted : sheep, 
 hogs, cattle and horses, all like it. Sheep seem to be as 
 fond of it as they are of oats. In January I purchased 
 the maple-shade flock of Cotswolds, or, at least, all the 
 best ewes in the flock. Since their arrival at " Winning 
 Farm " they have been fed Ensilage daily. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TIME WHEN FORAGE PLANTS CONTAIN THE GREATEST AMOUNT 
 OF NUTRITIVE VALUE. 
 
 A GREAT advance has been made within a few years in 
 agricLikural knowledge ; and among the most valuable 
 facts learned has been this, that grass contains a greater 
 amount of nutrition when in blossom than at any time 
 before or afterwards. 
 
 What is true of the common grasses, viz., timothy, red- 
 top, orchard-grass, and clover, is equally true of corn, 
 which is but a gigantic grass. 
 
 If, then, a stalk of corn contains at the time it blossoms 
 more nutritive value than at any subsequent time, how 
 foolish and wasteful to let it stand for the ear to form at 
 the expense of the stalk, while at the same time great 
 loss is going on from the leaves and the stalk, as is the 
 case with other and smaller grasses. 
 
 The seed formed in the head of a stalk of timothy or 
 other grass — while very rich and nutritious in itself — 
 does not by any means compensate for the loss which 
 has been sustained by the stalk and leaves while the 
 seed is forming and ripening. 
 
 The loss which is sustained in the ripening process is 
 not all. By expending a great amount of labor the corn 
 is shucked and put in the cribs. There it suffers more or 
 less from the depredations of rats, mice, and other vermin. 
 
 39 
 
40 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 We re-shock or stack the corn-fodder. If we hope 
 or expect to induce our cattle to eat much of the 
 stover, we must cut it with a powerful cutter ; next the 
 corn must be ground, and carefully mixed with the cut 
 corn-fodder. Then it must be steamed; and after all this 
 labor and expense the stock will nose it about in their 
 mangers, and leave enough of it to keep themselves well 
 bedded. Now what do we accomplish by all this shuck- 
 ing, cribbing, grinding, cutting of the fodder, mixing 
 and steaming? Why, we have been getting up a very 
 poor quality of " Ensilage " ! 
 
 After the. stalks and leaves had become almost worth- 
 less by exposure to the rains and dews while the ripen- 
 ing of the ears was being accomplished, we then, by 
 an expensive, laborious, and roundabout way, try with all 
 the appliances of steam and machinery to get the corn 
 back into the stalks so that we can induce our cattle to 
 eat them. 
 
 Why not take and preserve the plant when its nutritive 
 value is the ereatest ? when all its valuable elements are 
 mixed and blended in an harmonious whole exactly 
 adapted for the healthy sustenance of our domestic ani- 
 mals, by that Master Chemist whose handiwork as seen 
 in the tiniest leaf is so far in advance of our most skilful 
 combinations that we can never even hope to comprehend 
 how it was formed from the original elements. 
 
 It will be almost unnecessary to state that this system 
 of preserving corn-fodder is equally well adapted to all 
 the grasses, clover, Hungarian grass, millet, pea and 
 bean vines, and, in fact, to all kinds of forage-crops, par- 
 ticularly heavy crops of aftermath, which it is often im- 
 possible to cure by drying, owing to the lateness of the 
 season, the sun by the obliquity of its rays having lost 
 much of its potency. 
 
TIAfE OF GREATEST NUTRITIVE VALUE. 41 
 
 There is no doubt in my mind that there is more 
 available nutrition in a kernel of grain when it is fully 
 grown, before it has had time to harden, before a part of 
 its substance has been converted into a hard, tough en- 
 velope which is almost indigestible, than at any subse- 
 quent time. This hard protecting envelope is a wise and 
 providential provision to protect the kernel as a seed for 
 future crops. Heretofore no means have been known 
 to preserve grain except by ripening and drying, nor to 
 cure forage crops except by drying : since Ensilage has 
 been proved practical, we may now harvest all our crops 
 when they contain the greatest available amount of as- 
 similable nutritive elements, and preserve them unim- 
 paired indefinitely. In this view of the object of ripen- 
 ing grain, the conclusion is irresistible that the nutritive 
 acme in corn and other grain is to be found at or before 
 the blossoming period, as it is in the grasses. 
 
 It is by no means certain, so far as the kernel of grain 
 itself is concerned, that the ripened grain contains as 
 large an amount of available nutritive elements as it does 
 when in the milk. I have often observed that pigs when 
 fed upon soft corn grow better than when fed upon old 
 corn. Experiments in feeding swine at the West, re- 
 ported in "The National Live Stock Journal," show this. 
 In the Auofust number I find the followino- : — 
 
 " There is no article of food for swine, available to the ordinary farm- 
 er, that will fatten hogs so rapidly as green corn. Its use may be com- 
 menced just as soon as the kernels are fairly filled with "' milk ; ' and 
 the gain that young pigs, as well as mature hogs, will make upon this 
 food is surprising. In preparing swine for exhibition at the autumn fairs, 
 or for an early market for pork, nothing is equal to it." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ANALYSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN WHEN CUT IN ITS 
 GREEN STATE. 
 
 The following is taken from J. B. Brown's translation, 
 and Is a letter to Mons. A. Goffart from J. A. Barras, 
 Perpetual Secretary of the Central Agricultural Society 
 of France, and editor of " Journal de I'Agrlculture. " 
 
 "You do not seek to produce a fermentation." (Earlier in the experi- 
 ments it was thought that fodder could only be preserved in a green state 
 by fermentation. This is found to be a mistake : all fermentation is 
 but the beginning of decomposition and decay, and should be avoided 
 as much as possible. — J. M. B.) "You propose to maintain all its parts 
 in a condition as near as possible like that of the plant at the moment it 
 was cut. 
 
 " It is important to ascertain what is the distribution of mineral and 
 organic matter in the different parts of the stalk of corn. 
 
 " When it is cut for the Silo it becomes a mixture of all parts of the 
 plant in such a manner as to give to the stock those which are richest in 
 nourishment as well as those that are the poorest. 
 
 " This is one of the advantages of the method. If you give the corn- 
 plant to the stock in the natural state, they will eat first the tender parts, 
 and will leave the hard parts which offer the most resistance to the teeth 
 and have the least flavor. 
 
 " I have taken thirteen stalks of corn weighing altogether 37 pounds." 
 (In reducing the weights and measures of the metric system to pounds, 
 feet, and inches, I omit small fractions, getting it near enough for all 
 practical purposes. — J. M. B.), "and have cut them up into six lots as 
 follows. Each of these lots has been dried at 100 degrees (R.). The 
 stalks were cut into three parts. The length of each portion was : upper 
 42 
 
ANALYSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN. 
 
 43 
 
 part, 25.50 inches ; middle part, 34.60 inches; lower part, 31.50 inches. 
 Average total length of each stalk without tassels being a fraction over 
 nine feet. 
 
 Table No. i. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ear, with stem . . 
 Upi^er part of stalk 
 Middle part of stalk 
 Lower part of stalk . 
 
 13 stalks . . . 
 
 Weight in 
 Green State. 
 
 Grammes. 
 4.805 
 .102 
 3.026 
 1.270 
 2.446 
 5.146 
 
 16.79s 
 
 Weight after 
 Dkying. 
 
 Grammes. 
 
 i-j'S 
 
 047 
 
 75- 
 125 
 
 341 
 661 
 
 3.241 
 
 Water, or 
 Loss per Cent. 
 
 72.63 
 56.07 
 
 75-'4 
 90.15 
 86.06 
 87.15 
 
 80.76 
 
 "Thus the water was quite unequally distributed in the stalk. They 
 were more watery at the upper part, but the flowering portion was much 
 less ; the grain was still milky. 
 
 "The relations between the different parts of the plant are found to 
 be as follows : — 
 
 Table No. 2. 
 
 Green State. 
 
 Dry State. 
 
 Leaves .... 
 Tassel .... 
 Ear, with stem . . 
 Upper part of stalk 
 Middle part of stalk 
 Lower part of stalk 
 
 Per cent of Weight. 
 40.57 ) 
 
 1.42 > 65.19 
 23.20 ) 
 
 3-85) 
 
 10.52 J 34.81 
 20.44 > 
 
 100.00 100.00 
 
 100.00 100.00 
 
 " This shows that the stalks when green surpass in weight the remain- 
 der of the organs of the plant. They contain, however, a less propor- 
 tion of dry matter, and less even than the leaves which have in the fresh 
 state a much less weight. 
 
44 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 "■ I have analyzed separately each of the six lots ; and I have obtained 
 the following composition in organic substance, and ashes or mineral 
 substance : — 
 
 Table No. J. 
 
 
 STALK. 
 
 
 > 
 
 < 
 w 
 
 ►J 
 
 
 < 
 
 Id 
 
 a. 
 
 u 
 _] 
 
 D 
 Q 
 
 
 i-i 
 
 2 
 < 
 
 Organic substance 
 
 Ashes or mineral substance . . 
 
 86.01 
 10.99 
 
 94.80 
 5.20 
 
 98.30 
 
 1.70 
 
 9543 
 
 4-57 
 
 97-31 
 2.69 
 
 98.26 
 
 1.74 
 
 94.26 
 
 5-74 
 
 . 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 " Thus it will be seen that the mineral substance is accumulated in 
 the leaves and upper part of the stalk. 
 
 " Here are the exact proportions of the mineral substance in the dif- 
 ferent organs of corn : — 
 
 Table No. 4. 
 
 Leaves 77-70 
 
 Tassel 1.22 
 
 Ear and stem 6.79 
 
 Upper part of stalk 3.13 
 
 Middle part of stalk 4.87 
 
 Lower part of stalk 6.29 
 
 100.00 
 
 "Thus, more than 77 per cent of mineral substance is accumulated 
 in the leaves, more than 14 per cent in the stalk, and only about six per 
 cent in the ear. 
 
 " We will now ascertain the composition of the different parts of the 
 plants, as appears when dried : — 
 
ANALYSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN. 
 
 45 
 
 Tabic No. 5. 
 
 STALK. 
 
 Nitrogenous substances . • • 
 Fatty matter soluble in ether . 
 Saccharine matter soluble in al- 
 cohol 
 
 Starch 
 
 Cellulose 
 
 Mineral substance 
 
 Total 
 
 Nitrogenous per cent .... 1-004 
 
 6.28 
 1.30 
 
 6.50 
 
 64-33 
 10.60 
 10.99 
 
 6.27 
 1.90 
 
 4.70 
 
 25-3 
 
 56.70 
 
 5.20 
 
 1.004 
 
 11.09 
 
 2.50 
 
 8-30 
 
 73-51 
 2.90 
 1.70 
 
 4-34 
 1. 00 
 
 17-50 
 
 39-49 
 
 33- 10 
 
 4-57 
 
 3-86 
 .40 
 
 20.60 
 
 38.65 
 
 33-80 
 
 2.69 
 
 loo.oo 100.00 1100.00 
 
 I-77S 
 
 .694 .617 
 
 3-37 
 
 •30 1 
 
 2 1 .00 I 
 
 35-79 , 
 38.00 
 
 r-74' 
 
 6.47 
 1.28 
 
 11-77 
 
 56-35 
 
 i8-37 
 
 5-74 
 
 100.00 
 
 .540 
 
 100.00 
 
 "The ear is found, as we would expect, much richer in nitrogenous 
 substance than the other parts of the plant. The nutritive power (or 
 comparative value) as it is agreed to define it, by the relation of the 
 azotic substance to the sum of the fatty matter, sugar, and starch, is quite 
 inferior in the stalks to that of the other organs, as the following table 
 
 shows. . . 
 
 "Taking the ear as unity, the proportionate nutritive power is as 
 
 follows : — _ , , ,T >c 
 
 Table No. 6. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ears 
 
 Upper part of stalk 
 Middle part of stalk 
 Lower part of stalk 
 
 Nutritive Value 
 
 OF THE 
 
 WHOLE Plant. 
 
 2-54 
 .09 
 
 2.57 
 
 •17 
 .41 
 .69 
 
 6.47 
 
 "The stalk, however, shows that it is very rich, and, above all the 
 leaves, which therefore should be taken care of for the cattle 1 he fatty 
 matter is concentrated in the leaves and in the ear, the saccharine mat- 
 ter in the leaves and stalk, and mostly in the lower part of the stalk. 
 
46 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 " The following table indicates the concentration of saccharine mat- 
 ter in the leaves and stalk : — 
 
 Table No. 7. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ears 
 
 Upper part of stalk 
 Middle part of stalk 
 Lower part of stalk 
 
 Each Part con- 
 tributes. 
 
 n 
 
 Per cent of dif- 
 ferent PARTS 
 TO THE WHOLE. 
 
 22.36 
 
 •59 
 
 16.41 
 
 5.69 
 
 18.45 
 
 36-50 
 
 " Cellulose substance is, as we would expect, in large proportion in 
 the stalk, and mostly toward the lower part of it. It is principally in the 
 leaves and ears with stem, that the starch and the other principles which 
 are neither cellulose nor nitrogenous nor mineral are found : — 
 
 Table No. 8. 
 
 Phosphoric acid . . . 
 Sulphuric acid .... 
 
 Chlorine 
 
 Potash 
 
 Soda 
 
 Lime 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 Iron 
 
 Silex 
 
 Carbonic acid and waste 
 
 7-17 
 3.S1 
 
 1-35 
 4.41 
 8.26 
 12.96 
 6.60 
 0.51 
 
 54-75 
 0.18 
 
 100.00 
 
 3-97 
 3-21 
 1.04 
 1.23 
 6.78 
 
 13-78 
 5.64 
 0.46 
 
 63.76 
 0.13 
 
 10.01 
 6.13 
 
 2;73 
 7.88 
 
 10.37 
 11.87 
 
 15-03 
 O.I I 
 
 35-83 
 
 0.03 
 
 100.00 
 
 33-50 
 3-5S 
 3-52 
 
 27.11 
 
 21.36 
 3-46 
 7.04 
 
 Trace. 
 
 0-34 
 0.09 
 
 9.07 
 5.61 
 
 2.15 
 14.61 
 
 12.57 
 10.29 
 10.52 
 
 2.08 
 2983 
 
 3-27 
 
 14.02 
 
 8.65 
 
 Trace. 
 
 2.41 
 
 8.39 
 
 14-31 
 8.73 
 0.63 
 
 41.37 
 1.49 
 
 7.17 
 3.81 
 
 1-35 
 4.41 
 8.26 
 12.96 
 6.60 
 0.51 
 
 54-75 
 0.18 
 
 " The above table shows that the ears are the richest in phosphoric 
 acid and potash. These also contain the largest percentage of soda, 
 the least of lime and silex. 
 
ANALYSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN. 
 
 47 
 
 "As to the distril)ution of each mineral element in the different parts 
 of the plant, it is necessary, in order to study it thoroughly, to enter into 
 a more detailed and separate examination. Phosphoric acid or phos- 
 phorus plays an important part in agriculture, not because it is more 
 indispensable to vegetation than several other elements, but because na- 
 ture has not distributed it with so much j^rofusion in all lands or in the 
 atmosphere as certain other elements that on that account are considered 
 secondary. Indeed, there is not any one element in vegetation of any 
 greater importance than another ; and, if any person judges otherwise, it 
 is because he places himself at the point of view of an agriculturist who, 
 having need to produce certain crops of a special kind, needs to accu- 
 mulate such elements as enter specially into their organization. 
 
 " Therefore, in order to obtain abundant food, in order to produce 
 with rapidity domestic animals whose organs require much phosphorus, 
 it is necessary to seek methods for increasing the supply of phosphates, 
 more or less assimilable, that the plants may find in the bed where their 
 roots develop. 
 
 "To indicate the sources of the supply, whether in the residuum of 
 factories, or of the household, or in the numerous repositories, has been 
 one of the greatest services rendered in modern times to agriculture by 
 chemistry and geology. 
 
 "But there our knowledge ends : we are entirely ignorant as to how 
 the phosphorus distributes itself in the vegetable, by what process it 
 penetrates and circulates and accumulates in certain organs, or exactly 
 what these organs are. 
 
 " As to the relative distribution of these elements ; the following tables 
 show as far as concerns maize fodder intended for green preservation 
 by Ensilage. 
 
 PHOSPHORIC ACID. 
 
 Table No. g. 
 
 Amount in each 
 
 PART. 
 
 Present in dif- 
 ferent PARTS. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ears 
 
 Upper stalk . . . 
 Middle stalk . . . 
 Lower stalk . . . 
 
 Whole plant, dr)- 
 
 Grammes. 
 0.177 
 0.007 
 0.132 
 0.020 
 0.026 
 0.050 
 
 42.96 
 1.70 
 
 32.04 
 4.S5 
 6.31 
 
 12.14 
 
 0.41; 
 
 100.00 
 
48 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 SULPHURIC ACID. 
 
 " The role of sulphur in vegetation is nearly unknown : all that we 
 know is that it is absolutely necessary. It is generally found in less pro- 
 portion than phosphorus, in corn as 88 to i8o. 
 
 Table No. lo. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ears 
 
 Upper part of stalk 
 Middle part of stalk 
 Lower part of stalk . 
 
 Whole plant, dry 
 
 Quantity in each 
 
 PART. 
 
 0.219 
 
 Per cent in each 
 
 PART. 
 
 Grammes. 
 
 
 .144 
 
 65-75 
 
 0.005 
 
 2.28 
 
 0.014 
 
 6-39 
 
 0.009 
 
 4.11 
 
 0.016 
 
 7-30 
 
 0.031 
 
 14.17 
 
 CHLORINE. 
 
 " By the conclusive experiments of Prince de Salon-Horstman we 
 know that chlorine is indispensable to the regular operations of the 
 different phases of vegetation ; but the most complete obscurity rests 
 upon its real action. 
 
 Table No. 11. 
 
 Quantity in each 
 
 PART. 
 
 Per CENT IN dif- 
 ferent PARTS. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ears 
 
 Upper stalk ... 
 Middle stalk . . . 
 Lower stalk . . . , 
 
 Whole plant, dry 
 
 Grammes. 
 0.047 
 0.002 
 0.014 
 0.009 
 0.006 
 Traces. 
 
 0.078 
 
 60.26 
 2.56 
 
 17-95 
 
 11.54 
 
 7.69 
 
 Traces. 
 
 POTASH. 
 
 " Berthier's saying, ' No plant without potash,' has become a maxim. 
 
AAAL}S/S 
 
 Ajy£> COMPOSITION OF 
 Table No. 12. 
 
 CORN. 
 
 49 
 
 
 Quantity in each 
 
 PART. 
 
 Per 
 
 CENT IN EACH 
 PART. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Grammes 
 
 00-55 
 0.006 
 0.107 
 0.036 
 0.041 
 O.ooS 
 
 
 
 
 Tassel 
 
 21.94 
 
 Ears 
 
 2.27 
 
 Upper part stalk .... 
 Middle part stalk .... 
 Lower part stalk .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 42.29 
 1423 
 16.20 
 
 Whole plant, dry . . . 
 
 0-253 
 
 100.00 
 
 SODA IN CORN. 
 
 '• In the whole plant 0.475 grammes, of which two-thirds accumulated 
 in the corn and one-sixth in the ears. 
 
 LIME IN CORN. 
 
 " Lime has been considered necessary to plant-growth from a very 
 ancient period : more than four-fifths are found in the leaves, only two 
 per cent in the ear, and the quantity increases in descending the stalk. 
 
 MAGNESIA IN CORN. 
 
 "The role of magnesia in vegetation has been but little studied. 
 There is no doubt, however, after the experiments made in Germany, 
 that its presence is indispensable to plants. Two-thirds of it is found 
 in the leaves, and the remainder equally divided in the other five parts 
 of the plant. 
 
 IRON IN MAIZE. 
 
 " Iron is evidently of great importance to the life of animals who are 
 nourished by vegetation. As with sulphur, chlorine, soda, lime, and 
 magnesia, the greatest accumulation is in the leaves. But it is a notice- 
 able fact that it is absent from the ear, which would seem to explain the 
 opinion of physicians as to the insufficiency of corn-meal for exclusive 
 human food. 
 
 " As to corn harvested green in order to be fed to cattle after Ensi- 
 lage, the lack of it in the ear is equalized by its presence in other parts 
 of the plant. 
 
50 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 SILICA. 
 
 " It is probable that all silica enters the organs of vegetation in the 
 soluble state. The quantity found is very considerable. 
 
 Table No. 13. 
 
 Quantity in each Per cent in dif- 
 part. ferent parts. 
 
 Leaves 
 
 Tassel 
 
 Ears 
 
 Upper part of stalk 
 Middle part of stalk 
 Lower part of stalk 
 
 Whole plant, dry 
 
 Grammes. 
 
 
 2.S43 
 
 90.45 
 
 0.026 
 
 0.82 
 
 0.00 1 
 
 0.03 
 
 0.042 
 
 1-33 
 
 0.084 
 
 2.67 
 
 0.147 
 
 4.70 
 
 3-143 
 
 '■ Thus the stalk contains only about one-tenth part of the amount 
 in the leaves, which contain 90 per cent of the whole plant." 
 
 Thus it is seen by the Table No. i, that the ear with 
 cob and stem forms but about one-fifth of the whole 
 plant either in its green or its dry state. By Table No. 
 2, that the leaves contain of solid material over 40 per 
 cent of the whole plant. By Table No. 4, that of the 
 mineral constituents the leaves contain over three-fourths 
 of all the mineral element in the whole plant. 
 
 But referring to Table No. 6 we find that when none 
 of the valuable attributes of the plant are lost, the 
 value of the ear as compared to the leaves is as 2.57 
 to 2.54 ; and, as compared to the whole plant, as 2,57 to 
 6.47. This shows the stock, leaves, and tassel to be 
 worth nearly three times as much as the ear, taken when 
 the ear is in the milk. Experiments made last season in 
 the West showed that hogs fattened faster upon green 
 corn (probably past the milky stage) than when fed 
 upon old corn. 
 
AA\IL]-S/S AJVD COMPOSITIOIV OF CORX. 
 
 51 
 
 Table Xo. 7 shows tliat the ear and cob contain less 
 than one-s,xth as much sugar as the whole plant, and 
 but htt le more than two-thirds as much as the leaves 
 and httle more than one-fourth as much as the stalk ' 
 _ W hile the ears are richer m proportion to their weight 
 in phosphoric acid, -the most expensive mineral whtch 
 we require to restore to our long-cropped fields, es- 
 pecially where dairying has been pursued, — still Table 
 No. 9 shows that the leaves altogether contain one- 
 lourth more than the ear, and that the ear contains but 
 3-^ per cent of that contained in the whole plant 
 rabies 10 and ri show that the ears contain but 6 per 
 cent ot the sulphuric acid, and but 18 percent of the 
 chlorine And Table 12 is still more instructive; for it 
 shows that the leaves contain more than half as much 
 potash as the ears, that the stalk contains nearly as much 
 as the ear, and that the ear with the cob and stem con- 
 tain but 42 per cent of the potash contained in the 
 whole plant Iron - that which gives color not only to 
 the beautitul and luxurant vegetation, but paints the rose 
 upon the cheek of health, and gives vigor to the animal 
 system, and strength and clearness to the human brain 
 — is not found in the ears at all. 
 
 Of silica we find that over ninety per cent is in the 
 leaves, while but three one-hundredths of one per cent 
 are in the ear. 
 
 The lesson I wish to draw from this summary is t^vo- 
 oid. F,rst,-,t is shown that the ear contains, before 
 he stalk has lost by deterioration through exposure to 
 the weather but a small part of the valuable constitu- 
 ents of the whole plant. 
 
 The following table, carefully compiled from the fore- 
 going, gives the comparative value which the ear bears 
 to the balance of tlie plant. 
 
52 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Nutritive Value of the Ear, compared to the Rest of the Plant. 
 
 In the Ear. 
 
 In balance of the 
 Plant. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Solid matter . . . 
 
 Sugar 
 
 Mineral substances 
 Phosphoric acid. . 
 Sulphuric acid . . 
 Chlorine . . . . 
 
 Potash 
 
 Soda 
 
 Lime 
 
 Magnesia . . . . 
 
 Iron 
 
 Silica 
 
 16.41 
 
 6.79 
 
 32.04 
 
 6-39 
 
 17-95 
 
 42.29 
 
 16.66 
 
 2.00 
 
 6.67 
 
 Trace. 
 
 0.03 
 
 76.80 
 83-59 
 93- -I 
 67.96 
 93.61 
 82.05 
 57-71 
 83-34 
 9S.00 
 
 93-33 
 100.00 
 
 99-97 
 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 100 
 
 Now, all of these mineral constituents are necessary 
 for the health and well-being of our domestic animals ; 
 and when corn is cured by Ensilage they are all present 
 in solution, so that when introduced into the alimentary 
 canal such parts and proportions as the animal economy 
 requires can be readily taken up and assimilated. Now 
 comes an almost equally important fact ; and it is this, — 
 a very large proportion of these mineral constituents of 
 the plant passes through the animals, and is found in 
 their excrements. 
 
 When corn is preserved by Ensilage, all of these 
 valuable mineral elements are in condition, when ap- 
 plied in the manure to the next crop, to be immedi- 
 ately taken up and assimilated by the growing plants. 
 What an immense savin Pf is here ! When corn-fodder 
 is cured by desiccation, many of the leaves, that part of 
 the plant which is richest in mineral matter, are lost, 
 being blown by the winds into the fence-corners, and 
 other out-of-the-way places where their mineral wealth 
 is wasted. The stalks are not eaten and digested by the 
 
ajvalvsis and composition of corn. 53 
 
 animals, are a nuisance in the manure-pile, and are at 
 
 least two years in becoming sufficiently decomposed in 
 
 the field, so that their mineral fertilizine material is in 
 condition for the g-rowing- plant to a\ail itself of. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXPLANATIONS WHY ENSILAGE MUST KEEP. 
 
 Many farmers and others came to see the process of 
 fining the Silo with the green corn-fodder ; nearly all 
 declared that it would spoil, mould, heat, and rot. Sev- 
 eral said, " I guess you will have a fine lot of manure 
 before winter." I replied, " Gentlemen, it will not spoil 
 at all ; it will not even heat : it will come out just as 
 good feeding stuff as it is now, and I think better." 
 
 None of them believed a word I said, it was plain to 
 be seen. They were certain that this last of my " new- 
 fangled notions " would prove a complete failure, and 
 they would have the laugh on me this time. Some 
 endeavored to cheer me up by saying that " even if it 
 did not work well for the purpose I intended, the Silos 
 would be a capital place to store fruit in, so that it won't 
 be all loss, any way." 
 
 This kind of talk had been going on for several days, 
 and was, I confess, getting to be rather monotonous. 
 One day a number of well-meaning but incredulous 
 neighboring farmers were present. They knew nothing 
 of agricultural chemistry, or the philosophy of its pres- 
 ervation ; but I made up my mind 1 would convince them 
 that the green corn-fodder would keep instead of rotting : 
 therefore I said, " You think it will heat and spoil, do 
 
 54 
 
EXPLANATIOXS Jl'HV EXSILACE MUST KEEP. ^^^ 
 
 you?" — " Ves, I am afraid it uill," said they each and 
 all." — " Now, I tell you it won't do any such thing." 
 "Why won't it? what makes you think so?" they asked. 
 I knew that I might quote M. Goffart, and all the agri- 
 cultural scientists in the world to them till doomsday, 
 and it would have no impression on their minds, so I 
 took homely illustrations. Said I, "Why doesn't a pile 
 of horse-manure heat when it is left in the stable all 
 winter under the feet of the horses, until it eets three or 
 four feet deep ? Why doesn't sheep-manure heat when 
 it is left all winter in the sheep-folds, and becomes a foot 
 and a half to two feet deep? " — " Because it is trod doiun 
 so solid, the air can't get into it." — "Just so! that is the 
 reason this corn-fodder won't heat and spoil : it is 'trod 
 down' so solid that the air cannot get into it," I rejoined. 
 This was rather a stao-o-erer. " Is there any thinof which 
 is quicker to heat when it has a chance than horse or 
 sheep manure?" I asked. " No-o-o," they reluctantly 
 admitted. " Now see here," said I : " haven't you all 
 noticed in the spring, when you were getting out ^ our 
 hog-manure, that you often came across, in the bottom 
 of the yards, buried under the manure, potato-vines and 
 weeds which had been thrown in to the hoes the fall 
 before, that were just as green and fresh as when they 
 were first pulled out of the ground?"* They all replied, 
 " Yes, we have." 
 
 BlLLERICA, April 21, iSSo. 
 
 * My Good Doctor, — According to request I send you an account of the find- 
 ing of a fresh and perfectly preserved lily-pad, six or seven feet below the surface 
 of one of our Concord-river meadows. It was in perfect shape, and as green and 
 healthy-looking as in its prime of life. Having a love for geological researches, and 
 thinking these meadows had some time been deposited by the river, I concluded to 
 make an examination. At the top I found a foot in depth of black meadow soil ; 
 then, next below, another foot in depth of diatomacious deposit of microscopic shells, 
 composed entirely of pure silex, so small that they make a good silver-polish. I then 
 came to a pure vegetable deposit, consisting of sticks and leaves, four feet deep. 
 At the bottom of this I found green and well-preserved lily-pads, clam-shells, char- 
 
56 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 " Well, " said I, " my Ensilage will keep just the same 
 way. I trample it down solid as it is put in the Silos, 
 cover it with rye-straw, then floor it over with plank, and 
 put about a foot in depth of cobble-stones or bowlders 
 which will press it down solid as a cider-cheese. No air 
 can then get in. The air and gases already in will be 
 continually being forced out by the weight. Therefore 
 it cannot heat any more than the horse and sheep 
 manure can when it is trodden down compactly." They 
 were silenced. 
 
 Pretty soon one old farmer who has got a great deal 
 of good, hard, sound sense in his head, slowly looked 
 round, and still more deliberately said, " By Horn, I've 
 changed my mind ! I believe it will keep. But you will 
 have to feed it all out before the weather begins to get 
 warm in the spring, won't you ? " — " No," I replied : " the 
 outside temperature has nothing to do with its keeping. 
 Won't a pile of horse or sheep manure ' heat ' and ' burn ' 
 if it lies up loose so that the air can get at it in the win- 
 ter, be it ever so cold, just as badly as in the hottest days 
 of summer? " 
 
 " Well, there ain't much difference," said he. " Now, it 
 is just the same with Ensilage," I replied. " If it does 
 not ' heat ' in the winter, it will not in the summer. It 
 is the presence of air, or rather of the oxygen in the air, 
 which causes manure or any damp mass of organic mat- 
 ter to ferment or decay." — " Well," said he, as he started 
 for his team, " as I said afore, I believe it will come out 
 all right." The rest of them said nothing ; and whether 
 all of them have found out to this time that it does keep, 
 
 coal, and sticks with marks of beaver-teeth, all in a fine state of preservation. These 
 
 deposits must have been preserved here, perfectly excluded from light and air, for at 
 
 least a thousand years. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Daniel Parker, M.D. 
 
EXPLANATIONS WHY ENSILAGE MUST KEEP. 57 
 
 or not, I am unable to say. One thing is certain : they 
 were silenced for once. 
 
 Now, my explanation why it keeps, and why it is some- 
 what sour, is this : — 
 
 When it is cut ever so fine, and trodden down ever so 
 vigorously, still there is some air left in the little spaces 
 between the pieces of the stalks ; and the dried leaves, if 
 there are any, arc full of air which has taken the place of 
 the sap which has evaporated. Large stalks, after being 
 cut four-tenths of an inch long, are finer than small ones; 
 which is one reason among several why the corn which 
 grows the largest is the best for Ensilage. The oxygen 
 in this amount of air — be it greater or smaller — im- 
 mediately starts a fermentation. Fermentation, mould, 
 decay, rot, and fire are all identical. The only difierence 
 is in the degree of speed with which the combustion 
 goes on. They all alike depend upon the presence of 
 oxygen, and cease when this active agent of destruction 
 is removed. The process of combustion, whether slow 
 or rapid, consumes oxygen, and gives out carbonic acid 
 gas. 
 
 This fermentation consumes the small amount of oxy- 
 gen which is contained in the mass of Ensilage, and 
 liberates an amount of carbonic acid gas which takes the 
 place of the oxygen. The fermentation in its incipient 
 stage is arrested for want of oxygen. None can get in 
 from the top ; for the compression which is constantly 
 eoinof on is all the time forcino- the erases out, and where 
 there is ever so slight a flow out, none can possibly flow 
 in. Then, as the carbonic acid gas is heavier than the 
 atmosphere, the sides and bottom of the Silo being tight, 
 and as the carbonic acid gas cannot leak out, the air 
 cannot get down into the space occupied by the carbonic 
 acid gas, any more than air can get down into a jug filled 
 
58 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 with water or other heavy Hquid until the water or other 
 hquid is poured or leaks out. The Ensilage is thus 
 immersed in a bath of carbonic acid gas. Fermentation 
 under such circumstances is an impossibility. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ENSILAGE ADAPTED TO WARM AS WELL AS COLD CLIMATES. 
 
 Right here let me reply to an opinion which I saw 
 expressed in a Southern paper which was commenting 
 upon the success which had attended the " Winning- 
 Farm " Ensilage experiment: "We understand Dr. Bai- 
 ley intends to try the experiment at ' Virginia Stock 
 Farm.' We shall await the result of his trial with a 
 great deal of interest, and hope he will succeed equally 
 well ; but we fear that while this system of preserving 
 green forage-crops will doubtless prove of incalculable 
 benefit to the North, we do not think it will answer in 
 as warm a climate as Virginia." 
 
 If any of my fellow farmers in Virginia or other South- 
 ern States have the same fear, let me call their attention 
 to the fact that the climate of that part of France where 
 M. Goffart has been so successful in preserving fodder 
 by Ensilage is nearly if not quite as warm as Virginia, 
 Kentucky, Tennessee, or Missouri ; and also to the rea- 
 sons given in the preceding chapter. I believe the 
 system is equally applicable wherever the winter's cold 
 or the droughts of summer necessitate the preservation 
 of forage for the food of domestic animals. 
 
 The sourness or acidity which is, I believe, always 
 present in a greater or less degree, especially if the 
 
 59 
 
60 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 corn is allowed to stand in the field until the ear is fully 
 formed, is far from being an injury : on the contrary, 
 it is probably an advantage. Nearly if not all of our 
 domestic animals gain faster when their food is allowed 
 to stand and ferment until more or less sour before 
 feeding-. 
 
 This has been demonstrated at the Massachusetts 
 Agricultural College. There all food is chopped and 
 steamed. By actual experiments it was noticed that the 
 animal gained faster, and had a better appetite, when the 
 steamed food was allowed to stand twenty-four hours, at 
 least, to ferment until there was a perceptible degree of 
 sourness, than when fed upon the same food before any 
 such change had taken place. 
 
 In regard to swine, every farmer knows that they gain 
 faster upon sour, not putrid food, than upon sweet. 
 
 The other day a neighbor of mine, a most excellent 
 farmer, called to see Ensilage. He winters about 60 
 head of cattle. He informed me that several years ago 
 he began to cut his hay and other fodder, and mix his 
 grain with the cut fodder, wetting it thoroughly with 
 boiling water. He found a very considerable gain in so 
 doing. About three years ago he began to mix and wet 
 with boiling water a day's feed for his stock, and let it 
 stand twenty-four hours before feeding, during which 
 time it ferments and becomes quite sour. He informed 
 me that his stock ate it better for the fermentation, and 
 that there is a saving of at least 50 per cent in the 
 amount of hay they required, from the amount they 
 required if fed dry and uncut. His process, doubtless, 
 has somewhat the same effect in facilitatino- the dio-es- 
 tion and assimilation of the starch and other nutritive 
 elements in the fodder as is produced by Ensilaging. 
 
 Among the many minor advantages to be gained by 
 
ENSILAGE ADAPTED TO WARM CLIMATES. 6 1 
 
 adopting the system of Ensilage is the lessening of the 
 danger from fire. The tramp with his pipe, or the in- 
 cendiary with his match, would have hard work to raise 
 much of a blaze in a Silo with nothing but Ensilao-e for 
 fuel. 
 
 Another is, the crop can be all planted at one time. 
 Large lands can be ploughed and harrowed, long rows 
 planted admitting the use of agricultural implements to 
 greater advantage, and much less time consumed in 
 turning corners. The work can be not only accom- 
 plished in less time, but easier and better. 
 
 The dairyman and stock-raiser can systemize their 
 work. They will have all winter to get out their manure, 
 which they can spread broadcast upon the winter rye. 
 They will have no spring's work except to "slick up," 
 repair fences, &c., see to the kitchen and fruit garden. 
 They can now find time to trim their orchards, to graft 
 over trees w^hich bear undesirable fruit, and to put out 
 that " little patch of strawberries," which they have been 
 promising the good wife so long, but which they never 
 before, in the hurry of their spring's work, could get time 
 to attend to. 
 
 Then, when all the little jobs that ought to be attended 
 to in the spring are done up, the potatoes planted, and 
 the pleasant days of May have come, the broad fields of 
 waving rye are beginning to show their shining heads, 
 and the time for work is here. 
 
 If the farmer I am writing about now, is a worker, and 
 economical, — and he is both, — he has been chang-ino- 
 work with his neighbors, helping them get thei7' spring's 
 work done ; and now they come with their cradles, and in 
 three days the 20 acres of rye are all safely housed. Or, 
 if he has a reaper, — which he has not, — it can be done 
 in one day. No waiting for fair weather : a cloudy day 
 
62 • THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 is just as good as any ; even if it rains a little, no need 
 for the work to stop. 'Tis but the work of a couple of 
 hours to replace the plank covering, throw on the bowl- 
 ders, and the rye* Ensilage is saved. 
 
 Now comes ploughing-in the rye stubble. Three or 
 four teams make quick work of the 20-acre field. I use 
 the Cassidy sulky plough. It saves not only the labor of 
 holding the plough, but does the work better. Land so 
 hard that it cannot be ploughed with a common plough is 
 turned over without difficulty. It is much easier for the 
 team. You can turn corners quicker, and plough closer 
 to fences. At " Virg^inia Stock Farm" we averag^ed with 
 each pair of horses 20 acres per week. For ploughing 
 under weeds or green crops, nothing is equal to it. It 
 is smoothed and fined in one day by a boy and a pair of 
 horses with the Thomas smoothing-harrow. In four 
 days the farmer himself can plant it in drills 3^ feet 
 apart, using one bushel of seed to the acre, with one 
 horse and an Albany planter. Or if he has a Farm- 
 er's Favorite grain-drill, with a pair of horses, he can 
 plant it in less than two days, at the same time distrib- 
 uting a little fertilizer in the drill. (This will pay, no 
 matter how rich your land is.) 
 
 Every farmer ought to have a Farmer's Favorite 
 grain-drill, if he raises 20 acres of Ensilage. 
 
 With it he can drill in his rye after his corn is cut, 
 which is better than broadcasting, can save ten bushels 
 of seed, and will have a better crop. 
 
 It has two sets of "feed-cups," which make it the best 
 combined grain-drill and corn-planter in the world. 
 
 If he thinks he cannot afford the Farmer's Favorite 
 grain-drill, he must have an Albany seed-sower and corn- 
 planter. 
 
 After his corn is planted, he has nothing to do but 
 
ENSILAGE ADAPTED TO WARM CLIMATES. 63 
 
 look after his stock, attend to the garden, and hve the 
 hfe an American farmer ought to hve. A boy and a 
 pair of horses with the Thomas smoothing-harrovv one 
 day in a week will keep the corn free from weeds, 
 the soil completely pulverized, inducing absorption and 
 preventing evaporation, until the corn is a foot high. 
 Then, when it is about waist high, he will want one 
 of Timothy B. Hussey's Centennial improved horse- 
 hoes. With it he can hoe five to seven acres a day 
 better than it can possibly be done by hand, killing and 
 burying up every weed, and throwing just earth enough 
 around the stalks to strengthen them and prevent the 
 wind from breaking them over. Corn is growing very 
 rapidly now, and is very tender, and I think is better for 
 a little hilling. By the way, let me say here that I have 
 a quantity of seed-corn expressly raised for me for 
 Ensilage. I tested it last year on a small scale. I had 
 sino-le stalks which before the tassel was in sio-ht weighed 
 nine pounds ; others when fully grown with the grain in 
 the milk weighed over 15 pounds each. I can safely 
 guarantee this corn if planted upon good corn land, in 
 good condition well manured, with proper cultivation to 
 produce from 40 to 75 tons to the acre of green fodder 
 just right for Ensilage. The stalk is extremely sweet 
 and succulent ; some of them beine over six inches in 
 circumference and 14 feet high, with an immense amount 
 of long, broad leaves, some of which measured four feet 
 ten inches in length, and 6l inches in width. It will not 
 require more than half a bushel to plant an acre (of other 
 kinds one bushel is needed) ; so that, although it is some- 
 what high-priced by the pound or bushel, it does not cost 
 so very much more by the acre. It should be planted in 
 drills four feet apart, with the stalks six to eight inches 
 apart in the rows. Be sure and not get it too thick, 
 
64 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 for it throws out a great number of suckers, and to yield 
 a large crop must have room and air.. I will send sam- 
 ple bags of this Mammoth Ensilage corn by mail, 
 containing one pound, on receipt of 60 cents ; three 
 pounds, $1.50 ; by express or freight, half a peck, $1.25 ; 
 one peck, $2.00; half a bushel, $3.00; one bushel, 
 ^5.00; two bushels or more, $4.00 per bushel. No 
 charge for bags. 
 
 It is a waste of time to plant common sweet corn. 
 None of it is as sweet as this Ensilage corn, nor as 
 nutritious, and it will not yield one-third as much ; be- 
 sides it is much easier to cut up a ton of large stalks than 
 a ton of small ones. It is just as easy to cut with the cut- 
 ter, easier to feed into the cutter, and, when cut, the disks 
 split into small pieces, so that the Ensilage is as fine as 
 if the stalks were small, and packs closer in the Silo. 
 There is every advantage in growing the Mammoth 
 Ensilage corn. 
 
 Now I want to say something about fodder-cutters. 
 We must have a self-feeding machine, which will cut or 
 shred (which would be better, as it would pack closer, 
 thereby excluding the air more completely) at least sixty 
 tons per day without any labor on the part of the men 
 tending it, except that required to throw the fodder in 
 armfuls upon the apron of the machine. 
 
 I think I have found it in Baldwin's Improved Ameri- 
 can fodder-cutter. I shall try it this spring when I 
 Ensilage my rye, and, if satisfactory upon trial, will in a 
 second edition (if one is called for) tell you all about 
 it. One thing I will say now: a cutter which has but one 
 feed-roller will not answer. There must be two rollers, 
 the top one fluted, the bottom roller smooth, between 
 which the fodder must pass. The top roller must be 
 geared to rise and fall, to adjust itself so that a large or 
 
ENSILAGE ADAPTED TO WARM CLIMATES. 65 
 
 small amount of fodder will be i<c^ widi the same speed 
 and re<T;-Lilarity. 
 
 1 Baldwin's lodder-cutter I believe to be the best ciit- 
 tiiLg machine for Ensilag-ing- purposes on the market. 
 
 I think tearinor or shreddinQf the stalks would be much 
 better than cutting-. The fodder shredded must pack 
 closer, thereby giving less room for air. I have invented, 
 and am perfecting, a machine which will cut ami shred 
 fodder of all kinds, with the expenditure of onedialf the 
 power all other machines I have seen require to do the 
 same work. I utilize a principle never before made use 
 of in fodder-cutters. I hope to have it completed, and 
 be able to furnish it in season for the Ensilaeine of 
 the corn. To successfully preserve green fodder, three 
 things are essential : first, that the fodder shall be in as 
 fine a condition as possible so as to compact ; second, 
 that the Silos shall be air and water tiofht on the sides 
 and bottom ; third, that sufficient weight shall be placed 
 upon it in order to press out all or nearly all of the air. 
 If the air can be all forced out, there will be no fermen- 
 tation, and the Ensilage will keep indefinitely in the 
 same condition as when put into the Silo. In that case, 
 in order to receive the full benefit of the system of En- 
 silage, it will be necessary to pile up the Ensilage upon 
 the stable fioor twelve to twenty-four hours, until active 
 fermentation takes place, before feeding, that the bene- 
 fits of fermentation may be secured as explained in the 
 following chapter. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 A NEW DISCOVERY. 
 
 During my investigations and experiments it occurred 
 to me that it would be a great improvement to mix the 
 concentrated nitrogenous grain, such as the refuse from 
 flour-mills, wheat, rye, or buckwheat bran, shorts or mid- 
 dlinors, the refuse grains and feedinof-stuff from brewer- 
 ies, or prepared animal food from fish and meat scraps, 
 such as Bowker's animal meal, fish-scrap prepared by 
 Goodale's process or otherwise, with the green corn-stalks 
 or other forage crops at the time of Ensilaging. 
 
 For while the Ensilaging of green corn, rye, and other 
 succulent forage-crops is an immense advance over the 
 old system of curing forage-crops by desiccation, and 
 while such Ensilage is a most excellent and succulent 
 food for all domestic animals, still it is by no means a 
 perfect food, being deficient in albuminoids: therefore it 
 is necessary to add to the ration of Ensilage a certain 
 amount of concentrated nitrogenous food in the form, ot 
 grain, or animal-scrap-meal, or other concentrated cattle 
 foods containing albuminoids to excess. 
 
 Animals fed exclusively upon Ensilaged corn will 
 become fat, dull, heavy, and lymphatic, the nervous and 
 muscular systems not receiving that degree of nutrition 
 which they require for their full development. 
 
• A A'EIV DISCOVERY. 67 
 
 Starch, the chief nutritive element in corn and other 
 carbonaceous plants, is almost identical in its chemical 
 constituents with sugar. But it is difficult to digest by- 
 reason of the toughness of the envelope which encloses 
 the starch-cell. 
 
 The gastric juice of the stomach being able to dissolve 
 but a part of them, the remainder passes from the ani- 
 mal in its excrement, and is lost. 
 
 The softening and fermentive process through which 
 the Ensilage passes in the Silo bursts the starch-cells, 
 and converts the starch into sugar, as is evinced by the 
 strong odor of alcohol which is emitted when the Ensi- 
 lage is exposed to the action of the oxygen in the 
 atmosphere. The digestion of the Ensilage is thus ren- 
 dered easier, and its assimilation more perfect. 
 
 By mixing the concentrated nitrogenous food with the 
 comminuted forao-e at the time of Ensilao-ine, the labor 
 of feeding the concentrated nitroo^enous food is reduced 
 to a minimum. 
 
 The nitrogenous food is also subjected to the same 
 softening and fermentive process. The carbo-hydrates in 
 it (composed largely of starch) are liberated, and fitted 
 for easy digestion and assimilation. The albuminoids 
 (which contain the nitrogen) are also rendered more 
 digestible and assimilable by this process of maceration 
 and fermentation, which has the same effect substan- 
 tially upon them as that which is produced by the pro- 
 cess of steaming- or cooking. 
 
 The concentrated food should be added in such 
 amounts that the mixture shall contain the proper com- 
 parative amounts of albuminoids and carbo-hydrates 
 which are best adapted to the sustenance and growth of 
 our domestic animals. An addition of about ten per 
 cent of wheat-bran to the corn-fodder would make the 
 
68 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 mixture about equal to the best clover hay, and would 
 be admirably adapted for milch-cows, young and growing 
 cattle, and colts. It is also excellent for breeding-ewes, 
 and for swine nothing could be better. 
 
 The great importance of this new discovery, both in the 
 saving of labor and increasing the nutritive value of the 
 concentrated food over that which it has when fed in a 
 dry and raw state, and the fear that some avaricious per- 
 son might take out letters-patent upon the process, and 
 seek to prevent the full benefits of this great and 
 improved system of Ensilage from being adopted, by 
 exorbitant claims for royalty, has induced me to make 
 application for a patent upon the process of mixing con- 
 centrated nitrogenous cattle-foods with the comminut- 
 ed green corn, rye, or other succulent forage at the time 
 of Ensilaging the same, in such proportions as shall give 
 to the mixture the proper amounts of albuminoids and 
 carbo-hydrates which are best adapted to the growth and 
 subsistence of our domestic animals. Besides the labor 
 saved in feeding (at least $1.50 for each ton of grain), 
 and the increased value by facilitating digestion (fully ten 
 per cent) , is the certainty that each animal will get its 
 ration, and no more. No heedless stable-boy will empty 
 two measures of grain into one cow's manger, and give 
 none to the next, thereby depriving one of the necessary 
 food, and impairing the digestion of the other by an 
 overfeed. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 FOOD INGREDIENTS. CHEMICAL TERMS EXPLAINED. 
 
 Water. — If a piece of wood or wisp of hay be dried some time in 
 a hot oven, more or less water will be driven off. The water in feeding- 
 stuffs varies from 80 to 90 pounds in every 100 pounds of young grass 
 or fodder-corn, to only 8 or 10 pounds to the 100 in dry straw or hay. 
 
 Organic Substance. — If the dried wood or hay be burned, most -of 
 it will pass off as gas, vapor, or smoke. The part thus burned away is 
 the organic substance. The residue : — 
 
 The Ash contains the mineral matters, that is, the potash, lime, phos- 
 phoric acid, &c., of the plant. The most important part for our present 
 purpose is the organic, the combustible matter. This consists of three 
 kinds of ingredients, albuminoids, carbo-hydrates, and fats. The main 
 point in economical feeding is to secure the right proportions of these 
 at the lowest cost. 
 
 Albuminoids — also called protein compounds, proteids, and flesh- 
 formers — contain carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. Thus they 
 differ from the carbo-hydrates and fats, which contain no nitrogen. 
 The name albuminoids comes from albumen, which we know very well 
 as the whites of eggs, and it is found in milk. The fibrin of bone and 
 muscle (lean meat) and the casein (curd) of milk are also albuminoids. 
 Indeed, the solid part of blood, nerves, lean meat, gristle, skin, &c., con- 
 sist chiefly of albuminoids. In plants they are equally important ; plant 
 albumen occurs in nearly all vegetable juices, especially in potatoes and 
 wheat, casein or legumin in beans and peas, and fibrin in the gluten of 
 wheat, the basis of what farmer-boys call "wheat gum." Clover, bran, 
 beans, peas, oil-cake, and flesh and meat-scrap are rich in albuminoids. 
 
 Carbo-hydrates consist of carbon and hydrogen. The most impor- 
 tant are starch, sugar, and cellulose (woody fibre). They make up a 
 
 69 
 
70 
 
 THE BOOK OF EXSILAGE. 
 
 larger part of the solids of plants, but only a little of them is stored in 
 the animal body. Potatoes, wheat, poor hay, straw, and cornstalks con- 
 sist largely of carbo-hydrates. 
 
 Fats have more carbon than carbo-hydrates, and like them have no 
 nitrogen. Fat meat, tallow, lard, fish-oil, the fat (butter) of milk, and 
 linseed oil are familiar examples of fats. Indian corn, oil-cake, cotton- 
 seed and linseed, are rich in fatty matters." [The last three are also 
 rich in albuminoids.] — From American Agriailttirisf, January, i8jg. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CAPACITY OF SILOS. 
 
 A CUBIC foot of Ensilage weighs from 40 to 50 pounds ; 
 a daily ration for a cow is 50 to 60 pounds : therefore it 
 is only necessary to allow one-and-one-half cubic feet for 
 each cow daily, to tell how large a Silo is wanted. First 
 let the stock-raiser or dairyman decide how many head 
 of stock he wants to keep : the number he has kept will 
 be no criterion. 
 
 " Winning Farm" three years ago could keep but six 
 head of cows and one horse : now 35 cattle. 5 horses, 
 and 125 sheep are kept, and there is every probability 
 of doublinof the number next season. One cubic foot 
 will keep a sheep a week in good condition. According 
 to the rule laid down above, it will require 547.I cubic 
 feet of Ensilage to keep one cow one year. To keep 
 two cows, a Silo is refjuired ten feet wide, ten feet long, 
 and ten feet deep. This would hold about twenty-five 
 tons, and could be grown upon one-half acre of rich, 
 warm land. For four cows it should be built twice as 
 long. It will only be necessary to have your Silos con- 
 tain 550 cubic feet for each cow's subsistence for twelve 
 months. If the cows are pastured six months of the 
 year, then 275 cubic feet of Ensilage will be sufficient 
 for each cow. It is ver)- important that the sides should 
 be perpendicular, and smoothly plastered with a cement- 
 plaster, so that the Ensilage will settle evenh', and in 
 
72 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 order that the plank covering may have nothing to catch 
 upon as it settles under the heavy weights placed upon it. 
 
 Small Silos, capable of holding enough Ensilage for 
 ten to twenty cows, can be constructed by digging and 
 walling up, as for a cellar, when stone is plenty. Mix 
 one part cement with two parts sand, and make a con- 
 crete floor about one inch thick. Put a cheap battened 
 roof over it to keep the rain and snow out, and you 
 have just as good a Silo as any. One 12 feet wide, 30 
 feet long, and 12 feet deep, would not cost, besides the 
 labor, over fifty dollars, and would hold enough Ensi- 
 lage to winter 12 to 15 cows, or about 175,000 pounds, 
 or 872 tons. (See cut on opposite page.) This can 
 easily be produced upon two acres of suitable land prop- 
 erly prepared. 
 
 Two feet in depth daily is fast enough to fill the Silo. 
 This rate is better than to fill faster ; as the Ensilage will 
 settle better, and there will be less space lost by settling 
 at the top of the Silos. If an accident to cutter or 
 power, or if any untoward incident, stops the filling of 
 the Silo for one, two, or even three days when it is partly 
 full, no injury will be done to the Ensilage, providing 
 one or two men (according to size of Silo) are kept 
 constantly trampling upon it, so as to keep the Ensilage 
 compact. If it begins to dry or heat on top, take a 
 garden watering-pot and sprinkle over it to supply the 
 loss from evaporation. 
 
 Two small Silos are better than one large one of the 
 capacity of both ; for, with two, one will be empty in 
 the summer, ready to receive rye, clover, or other green 
 forage, which it will be as advantageous to preserve by 
 Ensilage as it is the green corn in the fall. 
 
 After the Ensilage is compacted so that it ceases 
 to settle, it is ready to feed out. This takes about a 
 
CAPACirV OF SILOS. 
 
 Vc 
 
 month. At any time after it is compacted, the weights 
 can be removed, the plank taken up, the straw raked 
 off, and more green fodder of any kind put on top of 
 that which is in the Silo, thereby utilizing all the space. 
 If more fodder be raised than the Silo will hold, the 
 walls can be carried up about two feet with plank, and 
 filled so that when setded the Ensilage will fill the Silo 
 to the top of the masonr}- walls. 
 
 ^M^y-^imm^im^MMm^m^m^mmB^ 
 
 Sectional view of Silo, t2 feet wide, 12 feet high, and 24 or 30 feet long; capacity, 80 to loo tons of Ensilage, 
 sufficient to winter fifteen to twenty cows ; cost, exclusive of labor, about $40, where stone are plenty. 
 
 I, I, three-inch by four-inch scantling. 
 
 II, II, i^-inch by 12-inch plank, between which and the rough wall a concrete or grout is poured. 
 
 III, 111, dotted line showing the face of the concrete pointing and plastering. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ENSILAGE IN THE GREAT DAIRY DISTRICTS. 
 
 The system of Ensilage is especially adapted to the 
 great dairy districts of the West. Improved Ensilage 
 will enable the dairyman to make as good an article of 
 butter in the winter as in summer. By it the number of 
 cows can be tripled. It is cheaper to soil cows during 
 the summer than to pasture them where land is valuable, 
 particularly in the vicinity of cities. Fifty cents per 
 week is the average price paid in my section for pastur- 
 ing a cow ; for less than this, a cow can be kept upon 
 Ensilage, and in better condition than the average pas- 
 ture wdll keep her : besides, by this system, all the 
 manure can be saved, which will abundantly pay for all 
 the extra labor of caring for the stock, if the labor is 
 greater than in pasturing, which I much doubt. 
 
 The system of Ensilage — which I hope to see rapid- 
 ly adopted (of the hundreds of farmers who have visited 
 " Winniiig Farm'' nearly all have assured me that they 
 shall build Silos this season) — will cause our exports of 
 beef and mutton to be immensely increased, while the 
 exports of dairy products will be doubled and tripled. 
 
 They are noiv rapidly increasing, as is shown by the 
 following table of receipts and exports of butter alone, 
 at New York, for the years 1874 to 1879 : — 
 
ENSILAGE IN THE GREAT DAIRY DISTRICTS. 
 
 75 
 
 Receipts. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 1874 
 1875 
 1S76 
 1S77 
 1S78 
 1S79 
 
 Packages. 
 994.430 
 1,080.899 
 1.292,577 
 1,269,759 
 I.277.S63 
 1,581,825 
 
 Pounds. 
 4,695,11 1 
 4,216,548 
 10,045,434 
 19,686,447 
 23,029,732 
 36,153.444 
 
 The exports of cheese are fully as important, and of 
 so fine a quality that the English and European dairy 
 farmers are in despair as to the future. 
 
 By Ensilage, wool can be produced so cheaply and in 
 such quantities as to preclude the possibility of importation. 
 
 Ensilage being so rich in carbo-hydrates, it is espe- 
 cially adapted to the growth of wool. If, in connection 
 with Ensilage, we would feed the cotton-seed raised in 
 the South (no better food can be imagined than En- 
 silage and cotton-seed meal) , we could not only stop the 
 importation of wool, but have wool as well as choice 
 mutton in almost unlimited quantities to export (see 
 chapter on sheep for weights of lambs) : their mothers 
 being fed upon Ensilage, numberless flocks could be 
 kept. The old pastures, which have become so worth- 
 less by being stocked with cows so long, would, if pas- 
 tured with sheep, speedily improve, and soon be restored 
 to their original fertility. 
 
 In the rich and fertile West, Ensilage of corn can be 
 raised and stored in Silos for one dollar per ton : as two 
 tons are equal to one ton of the best hay, this places the 
 comparative \'alue of hay at two dollars per ton ; this is less 
 than hay can be cured for. Two acres of good meadow 
 are required to keep one cow ; while by the system of 
 Ensilage — improved by my process — cigjit cows may 
 be kept in high condition upon the same land. 
 
76 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 No country is so well adapted by reason of both soil 
 and climate as our own for the growth of the corn-plant. 
 Now that we know how to utilize this greatest o-ift of 
 Nature, and save all its valuable constituents instead of a 
 part only, who is able to correctly estimate the blessings 
 which will follow when this knowledge is universally 
 diffused and profited by ? 
 
 THE CORN-SONG. 
 
 BY JOHN G. WHITTIER. 
 
 Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard ! heap high the golden corn ! 
 
 No richer gift has Autumn poured from out her lavish horn. 
 
 Let other lands exulting glean the apple from the pine, 
 
 The orange from its glossy green, the cluster from the vine. 
 
 We better love the hardy gift our rugged vales bestow, 
 
 To cheer us when the storm shall drift our harvest-fields with snow. 
 
 Through vales of grass and meads of flowers, ourploughs their furrows made, 
 
 While on the hills the sun and showers of changeful April played. 
 
 We dropped the seed o'er hill and plain, beneath the sun of May, 
 
 And frightened from our sprouting grain the robber crows away. 
 
 All through the long bright days of June its leaves grew green and fair, 
 
 And waved in hot midsummer's noon its soft and yellow hair. 
 
 And now with autumn's moonlit eves, its harvest-time has come ; 
 
 We pluck away the frosted leaves, and bear the treasure home. 
 
 There, richer than the fabled gift Apollo showered of old, 
 
 Fair hands the broken grain shall sift, and knead its meal of gold. 
 
 Let vapid idlers loll in silk around their costly board : 
 
 Give us the bowl of samp and milk, by homespun beauty poured ! 
 
 Where'er the wide old kitchen-hearth sends up its smoky curls. 
 
 Who will not thank the kindly earth, and bless our farmer-girls ! 
 
 Then shame on all the proud and vain, whose folly laughs to scorn 
 
 The blessing of our hardy grain, our wealth of golden corn ! 
 
 Let earth withhold her goodly root, let mildew blight the rye, 
 
 Give to the worm the orchard's fruit, — the wheat-field to the fly ; 
 
 But let the good old crop adorn the hills our fathers trod : 
 
 Still let us, for his golden corn, send up our thanks to God ! 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HISTORY OF MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN. 
 By E. Lewis Sturtevant, M. D. 
 
 The corn-plant is only known as a cultivated plant. 
 When Columbus first reached the shores of the West 
 Indies in 1492, he found mahiz grown and used by the 
 Indians, and also in Yucatan upon its discovery in 1502. 
 While Cabeca de Vaca was toiling his intermittent way 
 from Florida to the Pacific coast in 1528 to 1536, he 
 found maize grown in large fields, and stored in cribs, by 
 the natives of those regions. Cortez had previously 
 found maize in Mexico, at the period of the invasion, 
 and at Cempoalla, in 15 19, had eaten maize made into 
 bread-cakes, and on the march to Mexico passed amidst 
 flourishing fields of maize. When De Soto invaded 
 Florida in 1539, viaes occurred everywhere in large 
 fields ; and the same year Marco de Vica found maize 
 growing in New Mexico in fields. In 1540 Vasquez 
 de Coronado mentions fields of maize in the valley of 
 San Miguel and also in store at Cibola ; and it is also 
 mentioned in Castanedo's Relations for the same date. 
 Alarcon, in 1*540, found it growing in his journey up the 
 Colorado River, and Antonio de Espips in 1583 found 
 it under cultivation by the Concho Indians of this region. 
 
 77 
 
78 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 When Cartier visited Hochelaga, now Montreal, in 1535, 
 that town was situated in the midst of extensive corn- 
 fields. In 1586 Heriot refers to maize cultivated in 
 Virginia, and called by the natives '' pagatom^ ; " and John 
 Smith in 1606 describes the Indian method of culture 
 then. Champlain in 1605 found it growing in fields all 
 along the New-England coast, and describes the man- 
 ner of its culture. Our Puritan fathers found it in 
 store upon their first expedition of discovery, and speak 
 of the deserted corn-fields, for the time was winter. The 
 Five Nations, in 1603, made corn-planting their business 
 before the French arrived in Canada. The Iroquois 
 raised it in such large quantities that in the invasion 
 into the country of the Senecas, in 1687, some 1,200,000 
 bushels were destroyed. The Indians of Illinois culti- 
 vated corn when the country was first described by Mar- 
 quette in 1673, by Allouez in 1676, and Membre in 
 1679. In Louisiana they had even invented a hoe for 
 its culture. 
 
 This list might be indefinitely extended ; for so uni- 
 versal was the use of maize by the aborigines, that its 
 mention is to be found in nearly all the early chroniclers, 
 and it seems never to have been grown as a luxury 
 simply, but rather as a source of supply, and as a staple 
 food. In the southern country, it was so largely grown 
 that many tribes may be considered as agriculturists, 
 rather than as hunters ; in the northern countries it 
 shared with the products of the chase the claims of a 
 sustenance. Its merits, too, were quickly recognized 
 by Europeans, and it soon found introduction to Europe, 
 and a wide distribution. It had a strong agency in the 
 settlement of this country, as it afforded relief from star- 
 vation to the " Conquisitors " in the South, and to plain 
 Miles Standish and his contemporaries in the North. 
 
HISTORY OF MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN. 79 
 
 The Indian made his conquest the more easy by feeding 
 his invaders from the produce of his corn-field, and the 
 parched grain supported him again in his defence. 
 Among the more imaginative Indians of the South, 
 maize became an object of worship, and a means of 
 conferring honor : it formed portions for gifts, and in 
 one instance was poured upon the ground for the 
 tramphng of the horses, as an earnest of welcome to 
 the Spaniard. Everywhere the grain supplied food, in 
 many places was parted into a drink, and the leaves and 
 stalks were crushed to secure the juice to be boiled into 
 a sirup or sugar, and the stalks were used to form bags 
 and other material of wigwam use. It is passing strange 
 that the corn-plant does not appear upon the coat of 
 arms of any of the States whose early necessities it 
 relieved. 
 
 In all the references to corn that we find for North 
 America, we find no reference to the amount of crop 
 harvested from a given area ; and this seems at first sur- 
 prising. We read of manuring and fallowing, of the 
 preparation of the ground, of the planting, of the cul- 
 ture, and the storing of the crop. We have some few 
 accounts of varieties, and frequent mention of the uses 
 and modes of preparation. In 1608 the settlers of 
 Jamestown were taught the manner of growing it by 
 the Indians; and in 1621 Squanto, the good-natured 
 Indian friend of the Pilorims, taught them ; and, strange- 
 ly enough, until quite recently there has been but little 
 change from the Indian methods; and throughout New 
 Enorland freneralh' the cultivation which sufficed the 
 barbarous Indian and the colonist of limited means is 
 deemed by many to be proper now, except the plough 
 has taken the place of the sharpened bough or the 
 shoulder-blade of the moose, the hoe has rei.ilaccd the 
 
8o THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 clam-shell, the dung-hill is called upon oftener than is 
 the sea or the stream for its fish. We now store in 
 cribs, rather than in the sacks of our instructors buried 
 in the sand ; yet the Southern Indian had cribs, even as 
 we have now. 
 
 It is a valuable reflection this, the antiquity of the cul- 
 tivation of the corn, and the little progress in the method 
 of its culture which civilization has been enabled to add. 
 It is worthy of thought, this paradox, that in this one 
 case civilization is instructed by barbarism, instead of 
 instructing. Did the Indian attain perfection, or is it 
 ourselves who are satisfied not to progress ? This latter 
 question seems the true one : for the Western farmer has 
 departed from the Indian ways, and meets a greater suc- 
 cess; the progressive farmer here and there in New 
 England has left the track beaten for him by custom, 
 and finds his gain. Yes, it is a fact, the cultivation by 
 the red man was sufficient for him with his resources, 
 but is far from satisfactory for us with our resources. It 
 is time we should follow in the line of civilization, even 
 if we would not be in the van ; and it is folly for us to 
 longer continue in the line traced by barbarians, rather 
 than by an educated experience. 
 
 Waushakum Farm, South Framingham, Mass. 
 
THE IDLENOT PAPERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COST OF PRODUCING MILK ONE CENT A QUART, OF BUTTER 
 TEN CENTS PER POUND, AND OF PORK THREE CENTS PER 
 POUND, BEEF FOR FOUR CENTS A POUND, AND MUTTON 
 FOR NOTHING, IF WOOL IS THIRTY CENTS A POUND. 
 
 At Winning Farm I have by careful tests demonstrated 
 that milk can be produced for one cent a quart, and a 
 clear though small profit made. More than twice as 
 much profit can be made by converting the milk into 
 butter, even thoucrh the butter is sold for ten cents a 
 pound, providing the skim-milk is fed to improved 
 breeds of swine. Por producing pork with skim-milk 
 and grass, no breed is equal to the well-bred Berkshire. 
 I will as briefiy as possible tell how milk can be produced 
 for one cent a quart, then show how much more can be 
 made by converting the cream of the milk into butter, 
 and finally how the greatest amount of pork can be 
 raised from the skim-milk. 
 
 To beor-in with, we will assume that a farmer has a 
 good farm of 50 acres, with a comfortable house and a 
 barn 36 by 48 feet. This barn will hold not far from 25 
 
82 ' THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 tons of hay and the corn-stalks and butts from about 
 two acres of corn. It will probably have a lintel for 
 cows on one side of the " floor," a granary and harness- 
 room, two or three horse-stalls, and hay-mows on the 
 other side. Upon such a farm — if it is a good one — 
 there can be kept two horses and lo to 15 cows upon 
 hay and grain, providing a partial system of soiling is 
 adopted to help out the pasturage during July, August, 
 and September. 
 
 To carry on this farm, even though the farmer be ever 
 so much of a worker, he will have to keep one good 
 hired man at least nine months of the year ; the entire 
 resources of the whole farm will have to be devoted to 
 the subsistence of the 10 or 15 cows ; all the other crops 
 — vegetables, fruit, &c. — will not bring in more cash 
 than the grain fed to the cows in addition to that raised 
 upon the farm will cost. Now, we will assume that each 
 of the 15 cows will produce 2,000 quarts of milk, besides 
 that used by the farmer's family : this, if sold for three 
 cents a quart, gives $60 as the gross income from each 
 cow; that makes the total income from the 15 cows, 
 $900. This, I think, is as good a showing as our best 
 farmers can exhibit. 
 
 Against this income of $900, there must be charged 
 the interest and taxes upon the farm, and other expenses 
 as follows : — 
 
 6 per cent on $5,000, value of farm 
 Repairs on buildings, 2\ per cent on $2.000 . 
 Taxes on farm, $40; taxes on stock, $\o . . 
 Interest on stock and farming tools 
 \\'ages and board of hired man 9 months, at $30 , 
 Depreciation on stock and farming tools, value $1,500, 
 cent ........ 
 
 Ca rried fo riva rd 
 
 o per 
 
 $300 00 
 50 00 
 50 00 
 90 00 
 
 150 00 
 
COST OF FARM-PRODUCE. 83 
 
 Brought forward . . . . . . . $910 00 
 
 Wages of the farmer, besides house-rent, fuel, and produce 
 
 raised on the farm consumed by himself and family . . 400 00 
 (This may seem high, but I would like to hire the man and 
 
 his family I am writing about for the same wages and other 
 
 consideration mentioned.) 
 
 Total expense ....... .$1,310 00 
 
 Total income ........ 900 00 
 
 Deficiency .......... $410 00 
 
 In Other words, the farmer who owns a 50-acre farm 
 worth $5,000, with stock and farming-tools worth $1,500, 
 who keeps 15 cows and sells $900 worth of milk from 
 them yearly, if he keep a correct account of expenses, 
 instead of receiving $400 for the services of himself and 
 family, actually works for nothing except house-rent and 
 fuel and vegetables, and pays $10 per year for the privi- 
 lege of doing so. 
 
 It must be confessed that this is not very encouraging ; 
 and it is no wonder that the boys want to leave the farm, 
 and the girls declare that " they won't marry a farmer." 
 
 If my figures are incorrect, I hope some enterprising 
 and industrious farmer will show how much better his 
 actual results are. Let us have all the items of both 
 expense and Income. 
 
 Now, there Is a chance to take a " new departure," 
 which will change all this ; and I propose in this and 
 subsequent letters to show how it can be done. Under 
 the new dispensation, which we will call the " Book of 
 Ensilage," Sylvester Idlenot starts with the same 50-acre 
 farm, divided into 20 acres arable land, 20 acres pasture, 
 and 10 acres in wood, all well fenced, and valued at 
 $5,000. Time, March i. He has used plenty of muck 
 and road dust for absorbents, so that he will have two 
 cords of good manure for each animal, 32 cords in all. 
 
84 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 A few days ago I called on Sylvester, who is a neighbor 
 of mine, in whom I have taken a great deal of interest. 
 At first I was interested because I saw he was always at 
 work. His motto, like his name, was " Idlenot." From 
 his dropping the final t when pronouncing his name, I 
 think he is of French descent; probably a "Limerick 
 Frenchman." Upon further acquaintance I found he 
 had rare good sense. I found him studying over his 
 farm-account for the year past. From the expression 
 upon his countenance I saw he was not satisfied with 
 the results. " Good-morning, Sylvester," said I. "Ah ! 
 good morning to yoursilf. It's glad I am to see ye, 
 docther : 'tis puzzled intirely I am. Perhaps ye can 
 explain the botheration, so that Mary and mesilf can 
 see through it." — "I'll try, Sylvester. What is it?" 
 I asked. 
 
 "Well, docther, 'tis just this: Me and Mary has been 
 married fifteen years this very blessed first day of March. 
 When we were married I had saved up $750, and Mary 
 had $250, just $1,000 betwixt us. Well, Mary, God 
 bless her, she kept right on at work, and she laid up a 
 little over $100 a year. I kept right on at work too, 
 and laid up me whole wages. (I received $300 a year 
 and me board.) I clothed mesilf with what I earned 
 doing extras and warrking nights for me master's neigh- 
 bors. This made our savings $400 a year. In tin years 
 we had saved up, with what we had when we married, 
 $5,000, and the interest made it some over $7,000. 
 W^ell, we got tired of working for other people, and 
 thought we would have a home of our own : so we 
 bought this farm, and the stock and the tools and all the 
 fixings were all paid for. We had a few hundred dollars 
 left. 
 
 " Well, now, I have just been figuring up the last year, 
 
C0S7' OF F.^i/i:.V-P7^0B^CE. 85 
 
 and it stands this awa)' : We have sold milk amounting 
 to $900. The fruit and vegetables and chickens and 
 eggs have come to just enough to balance the mate, the 
 grocery, and the grain l)ill. As the incomes and the out- 
 goes are of a bigness we'll let them go together, and say 
 no more about them. When I had got this far without 
 stopping to think, I said, ' Mary, the milk-money is all 
 clear gain ; ' Mary says to me, ' I don't see it : where is 
 the money? ' I began to think again ; says I, " there is 
 the ^7,000 in the farm. The year before we bought it 
 we got $420 inthrust, that we would have had if we had 
 had no farm, so that is no profit belonging to the farm ; 
 take that from the $900, and there is only $480 left. 
 Thin there was the wagis of one hired man, $15 a month 
 and board worth $10 a month, that for nine months is 
 $225, that laves only $255; thin there is the taxes, $60, 
 the insurance, $10, thin the depraciation in the, stock 
 and farming-tools, tin percent on $1,500, — $150; thin 
 the repairs on the buildings, 2} percent on $2,000, — 
 $50, making $270. Taking that out of $255, all that 
 was left of the milk money, and I find mesilf in debt to 
 mesilf $15, and nary a cint of wagis for Mary or mesilf. 
 ' Mary,' says I, ' we have been working hard as iver we 
 could work the whole year for our board, and have paid 
 $15 for the privilege, and clothed oursilves. All the 
 year we have been working hard arning our 07i>;i in- 
 thrust money, and giving $15 for the right to do it.' Now, 
 docther, what I wants to know is this : ain't there no way 
 for a farmer to do, 'cepting to work for nothing and 
 clothe himself?" I was very much amused while Syl- 
 vester was explaining his figures, and wondered how 
 many farmers there are who have kept as accurate an 
 account as he has, and could tell whether they were 
 maldng any thing or were really working for nothing. 
 
S6 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 I finally said, " Sylvester, I will tell you how to manage 
 your farm and stock so as to receive good wages for 
 yourself and also for Mary, and something as a profit. 
 How much ready money have you saved up now ? " — 
 "Well," says he, "we have a bit over $2,000; we have 
 each year saved up just about what the interest would 
 be, and worked for our board ever since we bought the 
 farm, bad luck ! but it's a good farm too." 
 
 " Well, Sylvester, in the first place, you must buy 
 fifty cords of good manure, that will cost you at the rail- 
 road-station $6.50 per cord, — $325; that will give you 
 82 cords of manure. Spread that as you haul it broad- 
 cast upon 15 acres, that will be about 52 cords to the 
 acre. After you have got it well spread, come up to my 
 place, and get my Thomas smoothing-harrow, and give 
 it two good harrowings, one each way. The 15 acres 
 will take your ten-acre meadow and the five-acre field 
 where you had potatoes and other vegetables last year : 
 the other five acres, which is the apple-orchard, you can 
 cut the hay early, and then use it as a hog-pasture. 
 
 " Now, immediately after harrowing the five-acre field, 
 sow it to spring rye to be fed out green in May. You 
 have now a lintel on one side of your barn which will 
 hold 16 cows ; you want to make one on the other side 
 36 feet long, that will accommodate 12 cows; the other 
 1 2 feet will allow for two horse-stalls and a pair of stairs 
 to go up to the granary, which you must move up stairs ; 
 this gives you room in your barn for 28 cows and two 
 horses. All the planting you want to do this year is one- 
 half acre of potatoes and a good big kitchen-garden." 
 " Never you mind telling me that," broke in Sylvester. 
 " Go on, docther : I'm listening wid both ears, and so is 
 Mary." 
 
 " Now, after you have your manure all out and spread, 
 
COS 7' OF FARM-PRODUCE. 
 
 87 
 
 the rye sowed, the garden made, and the potatoes plant- 
 ed, you dig a hole into that bank east of your barn, 30 
 feet wide, and 45 feet long, and about four feet lower than 
 the sills to your barn ; wall it up all round, then plaster 
 the walls with concrete, run a wall through the centre, 
 cut off the corners, and carry these concrete walls up 
 above the top of the earth until they are 16 feet high on 
 the inside ; then get a carpenter to put a light roof over 
 them to keep the rain and snow out, and you have two 
 Silos which will hold 400 tons of Ensilage, two tons of 
 which is worth more than one ton of timothy hay. You 
 will have to hire some help to build these Silos ; and it 
 will take about 125 barrels of cement, besides the labor 
 of yourself and hired hand : you will have to pay out in 
 building them about $300. Early in May. as soon as 
 your spring rye is eighteen inches high, commence to cut 
 it, and feed it to your cows in the barn ; the last week in 
 May cut the grass in the ten-acre lot ; as soon as you 
 have got the hay off of it, turn it over, roll it, take my 
 Nishwitz harrow, and harrow it both ways, then plough 
 the rye-field, turning under the stubble and the green 
 second growth. Rye, if cut before headino-. o-rows a 
 second crop. After harrowing that, the same as the sod- 
 land (and, Sylvester, let me right here repeat the old 
 Pennsylvania Dutchman's advice to his son about pre- 
 paring corn-land : ' Shon ! you shust drag and drag and 
 drag until you have him shust right, and den you shust 
 drag him vonce more, and he vill do pretty veil '), I will 
 let you take my Albany corn-planter, and with one horse 
 you can plant the whole 15 acres in three days, at the 
 same time distributing about 100 pounds of Stockbridge 
 corn -manure or some good reliable superphosphate in 
 the drills. I use an equal amount of plaster mixed with 
 the fertilizer. Make the drills about three and a half 
 
88 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 feet apart, using from one-half to one bushel of seed- 
 corn to the acre, according to the size it grows. I have 
 a variety, — the Mammoth Ensilage, — which takes 
 only one-half bushel to the acre : the drills want to 
 be four feet apart. It will yield on good corn-land, 
 well manured, 40 to 75 tons of green-corn-fodder to 
 the acre : I guess I can furnish you with seed if you want 
 me to. As soon as the corn begins to prick through 
 the ground, you must harrow it all over with the 
 Thomas smoothing-harrow, and follow it up every week 
 or ten days until the corn is a foot high : each harrowing 
 will take one day. When it is about waist high, you 
 want to go through it once with Hussey's Centennial 
 Improved cultivator and horse-hoe ; after that the corn 
 will shade the ground so much that there wdll be no 
 more weeds ; when this is done, until your corn is ready 
 to cut, you and your man can change work with your 
 neighbors, helping them in their haying, they to pay 
 you back w^hen you save your corn-fodder : having noth- 
 ing but the garden to attend to, you will have plenty of 
 time to pay in work for all the help you will need then. 
 About the ist of September your corn will be in full 
 tassel, which is the time to cut it. You w^ill have to buy 
 you a cutter, w^hich will cost about $100. You will have 
 to hire a small engine, — three to five horse-power will 
 do, — and a boy who understands how to run it : this will 
 cost about $25 to $40. It will take eight men besides 
 yourself to cut the corn-fodder and pack it in the Silos 
 to advantage. It will take about ten days to fill the two 
 Silos. I think you will have enough on your 15 acres to 
 fill them, and have several tons which you will have 
 to shock and cure by drying. When the Silos are filled, 
 you want to put six inches of rye-straw on top of the 
 Ensilage, then lay down on the straw a floor of one and 
 
COST OF FARM-PRODUCE. 89 
 
 one-fourth spruce plank : on top of this floor put a layer 
 of cobble-stones about a foot deep. As soon as )ou 
 have done this, plough your corn-land, and sow with 
 winter rye. Sow two bushels to the acre. I will loan 
 you my Cahoon Broadcast seed-sower to sow the rye : 
 with it you can sow the 15 acres in one day, and do it 
 far better than by hand. Harrow it in with the smooth- 
 ing-harrow, then roll. In the spring, harrow the rye as 
 soon as it begins to grow, and follow it up once a week 
 until it is eight or ten inches high. This harrowing 
 loosens the ground, kills the weeds, and causes the rye 
 to tiller more, thereby increasing the crop from 20 to 
 50 per cent." 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SECOND IDLENOT PAPER. 
 
 About two months after my last interview with Sylves- 
 ter Idlenot, when I advised him to try Ensilage, I saw 
 him coming up the walk to my house, evidently In a 
 botheration. As he opened the office-door I said, 
 " Good-morning, Sylvester. Take a chair. How are 
 Mary and the boys ? " 
 
 " All well, God bless 'em, I thank ye ; but it's in 
 throuble I am intirely ! " 
 
 " What is the matter, Sylvester? " I asked anxiously. 
 
 " Well, docther, 'tis just this. You know, last March 
 ye happened into my house just as I was figuring up the 
 account for the year, and we had made nothing but 
 shelter and our vittles. Shure, we always had a roof over 
 our heads, and plenty to ate, and comfortable clothes on 
 our backs, and laid up three and four hundred dollars each 
 year, and niver touched the bit of inthrust money our 
 savings was arning. After we bought the farm, and 
 since then, divil a cint have we laid up more'n the in- 
 thrust would have been. Well, you, docther, told me 
 what to do, and I'm a-doin' it; and now we're ruined 
 intirely ! " 
 
 This sounded rather ominous ; and I said, with more 
 90 
 
PRICE OF M//.K. 91 
 
 anxiety than curiosity this time, " Sylvester, what is the 
 matter ? " 
 
 " Docther, I've been following your directions, for I 
 thought it was sinsible ; and besides, I'd seen how well 
 your own stock looked that was fed on the insilage; and 
 ses I to Mary, it's thrying it we'll be after doing. So I 
 bought the manure, and I spread it broadcast on the tin- 
 acre field and five-acre lot: the grass 'tis just growing 
 splendid ! We sowed the five acres to rye, and up to 
 me shoulder it is, and so thick ye can hardly make your 
 way through it. We are feeding it tO the cows, and 
 have been for a while or two." 
 
 " Well, don't they do well, and give a good mess of 
 milk ? " I asked, interrupting him. 
 
 " Niver better, but that ain't the throuble," said he. 
 
 "Well, what is it? Tell me, what is the matter, Syl- 
 vester ? " I asked. 
 
 " I'm coming to it, docther, directly. I'll tell ye im- 
 mejitly. I was at warrk on me siloos. I've got 'em 
 more'n half done already. Day before yesterday, whin 
 I looked up, there right forninst me stood the con- 
 thractor ! ' So you are going to thry the docther's new- 
 fangled feed, are ye, Sylvester ? ' — ' Yes, indade I am,' I 
 said : ' it is tired I am making milk, and selling it to the 
 likes of ye for less tiian it costs to make it.' 
 
 '"I read all about it in the noosepapers,' said he : 
 * ye's going to make it for a cint a quart. It's foine 
 business ye'll have making milk for a cint a quart and 
 selling it for three ; ' and he wunk a knowing kind of a 
 wink as he got on to his wagin, and druv away. Ses I 
 to myself, Fhat the divil is that conthractor winkingf like 
 that to me for ? and thin I thought about the noosepa- 
 pers telling all about the siloo and the insilage, and at 
 the head of the whole story was, ' How to projuce milk 
 
92 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 for one cint a quart ; ' and it sthruck me all of a suddint. 
 Ah, docther, ye's guv us away wid your noosepapers, 
 and ruined the whole business, bad luck to it ! I niver 
 did belave in book-farming, anyhow ! " 
 
 Sylvester wiped the perspiration from his brow, and 
 looked the personification of disgust. " Why, Sylves- 
 ter," I said, " how can that be ? What harm can there be 
 in writing down our conversation and the advice I gave 
 you, and printing it so that others may profit with us in 
 the advantages which the new system of Ensilage gives ? 
 Surely you are not so selfish that you do not want other 
 farmers to share with us the good times which the gen- 
 eral adoption of the new system will bring about ? " 
 
 " No, no, docther : it isn't the farmers that I want to 
 kape in the darkness and throuble they are now in, by 
 any manes ; but the milk conthractors — may the divil 
 fly away wid every mother's son of them ! As soon as 
 they foind out we can make a quart of milk for a cint, 
 not a farden more thin a cint will they pay us for our 
 milk. And that's what's the trouble altogether ! Fhat's 
 the use of all your exparimints ? The conthractor — 
 bad luck to the likes of 'im — will get the oisther and 
 lave us the shells like he does now. Shure thim's the 
 b'ys fhat makes their foine living by the sweat of ither 
 men's brows ! " 
 
 I laughed at this, and proceeded to finish the advice 
 I gave Sylvester last March. "Sylvester," I said, "you 
 are keeping your cows now on rye. All right: continue 
 to feed the rye to them until the first of June, then turn 
 them into the pasture. By that time there will be plenty 
 of feed which will carry them till fall, with the help of a 
 little grain. In fact, keep them as you would if you 
 were not trying the Ensilage system. Finish your Silos. 
 When you have them filled with the corn Ensilage, put 
 
XO CHAiXGE REQUIRED. 93 
 
 a lintel on the other side of the barn, and in about a 
 month buy thirteen more cows, and keep them in the 
 barn, turning them out every day an hour or two in 
 the yard to exercise. Feed the Ensilage to them twice 
 a day, about a bushel (25 or 30 pounds) to a feed. The 
 two Silos will hold about four hundred tons ; that, with 
 the rye Ensilage, will be sufficient to keep fifty cows the 
 year through, if you give to each cow, in addition to the 
 Ensilage, about four pounds of bran or cotton-seed meal 
 daily while she is in milk." 
 
 " But, docther, won't the cows and sheep get tired of 
 the insilage, and need a change sometimes ?" asked Sil- 
 vester. 
 
 " I don't see that there will be any need of a change," 
 I replied ; " I have fed cattle upon it exclusively for sev- 
 eral months, and they like it better and eat it with 
 greater avidity than ever. It is almost the same as fresh 
 pasture grass when bran or cotton-seed meal is fed with 
 it, and is certainly as good as fresh pasture, as the 
 cattle can eat their fill without labor. When there is 
 plenty of food in the pastures, no one dreams of offer- 
 ine a chajio-c to stock. You \v\\\ have but 28 cows, and 
 that is all I advise you to keep ; but, as you have the 
 feed for 22 more, you must build a shed on the south 
 side of the Silo, 24 feet wide and 47 feet long; fence in 
 a yard of about one-quarter of an acre of that high, dry 
 ridge east and south of your Silos, and buy 100 breeding- 
 ew^es, common merinos, such as I bought last fall, only 
 you need not bother about their breeding. If they are 
 grades they will answer just as well. 
 
 " As I am advising you what to do, I will let you take 
 two of my Cotswold bucks to put with them. If they 
 turn out well, you can pay me for the use of them what 
 you think is right. Now you will want to buy six good 
 
94 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 brood-sows (any large breed), and a pure Berkshire 
 boar to use on them. You can keep the 28 cows, the 
 100 sheep, and the seven hogs on the Ensilage which you 
 will raise on the 15 acres. If the contractor tries to beat 
 down the price of milk, you can make butter, and have 
 the skimmed milk to feed to the pigs. If your cows 
 each give 2,000 quarts of milk per year, you can make 
 200 pounds at least of butter. The skim-milk, the run 
 of the five-acre orchard (you must ring the hogs when 
 you turn them out to pasture), and Ensilage in the win- 
 ter, will make you at least 500 pounds of pork to each 
 cow. This will give you $20 for butter, if you have to sell 
 it at ten cents per pound. 500 pounds pork at three 
 cents per pound is $15. You will also raise a fine calf 
 worth at least %\o when a year old. This gives you for 
 each cow $45, or $1,260 for the 28 head. Your 100 
 sheep will shear you seven pounds of wool on an average 
 (my merinos average between nine and ten pounds), 
 worth unwashed at least 30 cents per pound, $2.10 a head, 
 or $210 on the whole flock. Then you will raise, by the 
 use of Cotswold bucks, 90 lambs or more, which will be 
 worth when four months old, at least $4 per head ; this 
 is $360 more. Now let us see : your income will be as 
 follows : — 
 
 For butter, 5,600 pounds, at 10 cents 
 
 For pork, 14,000 pounds, at 3 cents 
 
 28 yearlings, at $10 apiece . 
 
 700 pounds wool at 30 cents 
 
 90 lambs (Cotswold merinos) at ^4 
 
 Total 
 
 5560 00 
 420 00 
 2 So 00 
 210 00 
 ^60 00 
 
 ^1,830 00 
 
 " You must in the future, as in the past, make the 
 sales of fruit, eggs, poultry, and vegetables pay the 
 butcher's and grocer's bills, so that there will be to 
 
PROFITS OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 95 
 
 come out of the $1,830 the following items of ex- 
 pense : — 
 
 Interest on farm, value .... 
 Interest on stock and depreciation on farming 
 
 tools, value ..... 
 Interest on 13 additional cows, value 
 Interest on 100 sheep, " 
 
 Interest on stock of manure bought, " 
 Interest on Silos, cash paid out, " 
 
 Interest on sheep-shed, " 
 
 !5,ooo 00 $300 00 
 
 1,500 00 150 00 
 520 00 ^ 
 400 00 
 
 325 00 [> III 70 
 300 00 
 150 00 J 
 
 ,195 00 
 
 Total investment 
 Wages and board of one hired man six months, at ^25 . 
 Repairs on buildings and fences ...... 
 
 Taxes and insurance ........ 
 
 Bran and cotton-seed meal, four pounds daily to each cow when 
 in milk .......... 
 
 Grain for sheep and horses ....... 
 
 Total expense 
 
 150 00 
 50 OQ 
 80 00 
 
 280 00 
 150 00 
 
 1^1,271 70 
 
 "This leaves for you and Mary $558.30." 
 " Fhat ! $558 and 30 cints ! besides inthrust and all 
 expinses is it ? " asked Sylvester, who had been watching 
 me closely, " and no thanks to the conthractor ; wid biit- 
 ther at tin cints a pound, and pork at three cints a pound, 
 wool at 30 cints a pound, and Cotswold Merriny lambs 
 at $4 apiece ! Shure, that is too low for the lambs any- 
 way. Your lambs, docther, of the same kind, weighed 
 over 100 pounds apiece whin only five months old ; for, 
 d'ye moind, I helped ye to weigh them meself." 
 
 "That's so," I replied: " they will be worth from $5 to 
 $7 each ; so will the butter be worth more than ten cents 
 a pound, and the pork be worth more than three cents a 
 pound. I have put the prices low, in order to show you 
 what can be done by the system of Ensilage. Now, Syl- 
 vester, you and Mary take hold of this as you do of 
 
9'6 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 every thing you undertake ; and, my word for It, you 
 will think you have found the real ' philosopher's stone.' 
 After you have tried it one year, show me your account. 
 If it is not better than last year, I'll pay the difference 
 out of my own pocket." 
 
 " Ye'U not be called upon to do that, docther," said 
 Sylvester ; " and ye can depind upon Mary and me and 
 the b'ys to thry." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF ENSILAGE FROM THE " WINNING-FARM SILOS. 
 
 By C. A. Gocssmati}!, Ph.D., 
 
 Professor of Chemistry, Chanist to the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, 
 and State Inspector of Commercial Fertilizers. 
 
 The sample of Silo corn (Ensilage) consists of: — 
 
 Moisture at 2i2°-220° Fahrenheit 
 Dry matter left 
 
 PER CENT. 
 80.70 
 19.30 
 
 
 100.00 
 
 is dry matter consists of: — 
 
 
 
 PARTS. 
 
 Crude cellulose .... 
 
 6.43 
 
 Fat ether abstract .... 
 
 0.62 
 
 Albuminoids ..... 
 
 . . 1.56 
 
 Non-nitrogenous extract matter 
 
 8.92 
 
 Ash (with traces of sand) 
 
 1.77 
 
 19.30 
 
 Also an average analysis of the corn-plant in the 
 milk : — 
 
 Moisture at 21 2^-220° Fahrenheit 
 Dry matter .... 
 
 PER CENT. 
 85.04 
 14.96 
 
 100.00 
 
 97 
 
98 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 
 PARTS. 
 
 Ash ...... 
 
 0.82 
 
 Albuminoids 
 
 0.86 
 
 Fat 
 
 0.26 
 
 Crude cellulose .... 
 
 4-53 
 
 Non-nitrogenous extractive matter 
 
 8.49 
 
 By comparing the two tables it will be seen that the 
 Ensilage contains over 29 per cent more dry matter than 
 the whole plant in the milk; over 41 per cent more of 
 crude cellulose ; over 138 per cent more of fat ; over 81 
 percent more albuminoids ; over 5 per cent more of non- 
 nitrogenous extract matter; over 115 per cent more ash 
 (or mineral constituents). 
 
 It will also be seen that the nutritive ratio of the 
 Ensilage is one part of albuminoids to 6i"o parts of non- 
 nitrogenous extractive matter (digestible carbo-hydrates) . 
 This makes its nutritive ratio a little better than timothy 
 hay, which is, according to Dr. Wolff, i to 81V, but not 
 quite as good as average clover hay, which is i to 5^%. 
 By this analysis Ensilage would seem to be much nearer 
 a perfect food than I have supposed. If the results of 
 careful experiments in feeding coincide with the above 
 analysis, the system of Ensilage is far more perfect and 
 important than I have even hoped. 
 
 I shall institute a series of experiments to test this 
 point ; for, however satisfactory a chemical analysis may 
 be, the real touchstone is the feeding value demon- 
 strated by careful and repeated experiments. 
 
 What farmers want to know is not what an article of 
 food is worth chemically, but how much it is worth to 
 feed to their stock. 
 
 My experiments thus far satisfy me that the value of 
 corn-fodder is doubled by the softening and fermentive 
 process which it imdcrgoes in the Silos ; that two tons of 
 
ANALVS/S OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 99 
 
 it arc worth more to feed than four tons of corn-fodder 
 fresh from the fields, or one ton of best timothy hay. 
 
 I received the above analysis the last of April, and at 
 once resolved to test it by experimentation. April 29 I 
 selected two thoroughbred two-year-old Jersey bulls, 
 and weighed them. " Rossmore " weighed 960 pounds, 
 " Hero " weighed 890 pounds. " Rossmore " was fed 
 40 pounds of Ensilage daily, and nothing else. " Hero " 
 was fed 40 pounds of Ensilage and three pounds of 
 wheat-bran daily, and notJiing more. June 2 I weighed 
 them again, and found that " Rossmore " weighed 960 
 pounds, having neither gained nor lost ; showing, so far 
 as one experiment could, that 40 pounds of Ensilage 
 containing over 80 per cent of water was sufficient to 
 sustain in a healthy condition the functions of the 
 animal system, and replace the waste tissue. His hair 
 was smooth, he appeared to be satisfied, and Sylvester 
 thought he was gaining. " Hero " at this time weighed 
 943 pounds, being a gain of 53 pounds in 34 days, or 
 i-55i7 pounds daily: as it took the 40 pounds of Ensi- 
 lage to sustain the animal, it follows, that 102 pounds of 
 wheat-bran, fed with the Ensilage, produced 53 pounds 
 of beef (live weight). 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 HOW TO PRESERVE GREEN CORN FOR THE TABLE. 
 
 During my visit at " Linden Grove," the home of T. 
 S. Cooper, the well-known importer of choice, high-class 
 Berkshires and Oxfordshire-down sheep (see portrait of 
 Freeland), upon my describing Ensilage to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cooper one evening, I was surprised and pleased 
 to learn from Mrs. Cooper that she had been Ensilaging 
 o-reen corn for a lone time for her table. I asked her to 
 tell me how she prepared it, and she replied as follows : 
 " I take fresh ears of green sweet corn, cut the corn 
 from the cobs, pack it down solidly in a large stone jar, 
 cover it on the top with about two inches of salt, put a 
 follower on the salt, and weight it. Whenever I wish to 
 prepare some for the table, I soak it until fresh, or 
 change the water in which I boil it as often as necessary. 
 When it is cooked, I drain the water from it by letting it 
 stand in a colander a few minutes, then season to suit ; 
 or, after it is nearly done, the water may be drained off, 
 and nice rich milk added, in which let it simmer until 
 ready to serve." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 MY EXPERIENCE WITH SUGAR-BEETS. COST OF RAISING ONE- 
 FOURTH OF AN ACRE, AND THE YIELD. 
 
 DEBIT. 
 
 Seed 
 
 12 bushels wood-ashes 
 
 I GO pounds salt 
 
 2^ cords manure at $6 pei 
 
 Ploughing twice 
 
 Cultivating and harrowing 
 
 Raking the ground half a day 
 
 Planting one-fourth day . 
 
 Weeding and thinning, 4 days 
 
 Harvesting, 2 days . 
 
 Total . 
 
 $1 
 
 50 
 
 I 
 
 So 
 
 
 50 
 
 15 
 
 GO 
 
 2 
 
 GO 
 
 I 
 
 00 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 25 
 
 4 
 
 00 
 
 2 
 
 00 
 
 ."28 55 
 
 CREDIT. 
 
 252 bushels at 60 lbs. to the bushel, 15,120 lbs. at ^4 per ton . . $30 24 
 One-half the value of the manure, salt, and ashes left in the ground 8 65 
 
 Total 
 Cost 
 
 $35 89 
 =S 55 
 
 Profit $10 34 
 
 The piece of land was broken up a year ago last spring, planted that 
 season with potatoes and beans, manured lightly in the hill. The beetles 
 ate the potato-vines all up, so that potatoes there were none : the beans 
 bore a very light crop. Before it was broken up, the land produced 
 perhaps half a ton of hay to the acre of fine June grass. This was the 
 first time I ever raised sugar-beets, and the result so well satisfied me 
 that if there were a beet-sugar factory near me I would raise five to 
 ten acres next year. The profit on an acre would be $41.36, which is 
 
I02 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 more than any thing else has yielded, except land cultivated by our 
 market-gardeners. 
 
 I have no fears but what, by applying \\ cords of manure to the same 
 piece, I could raise ten to twelve tons another time, for I learned some- 
 thing last season. I had them too thick : the rows were twenty-eight 
 inches apart, and as my men hated to pull up nice plants they left them 
 too close together. Next year I shall plant the rows three feet apart, 
 and thin to twelve inches. I shall not try this piece with i;^ cords of 
 manure, however : I shall put on at least three cords. I raised 225 
 bushels of long red mangels on one-eighth of an acre, right alongside of 
 the sugar-beets, and on another eighth of an acre side of them 160 
 bushels of yellow globe mangels. All these pieces were manured alike 
 and cultivated the same. 
 
 Now, I want to inquire whether I had better spread about 200 loads 
 of manure on the land I intend to break up next spring, as I get it out 
 next week ; or put it in a pile, and spread it in the spring after plough- 
 ing, the ground being frozen. I cleaned my barn-cellar out in October. 
 The cellar is cemented on the bottom, and the walls pointed with cement. 
 I have made this manure since then. I have thirty-two head of cattle, 
 four horses in the barn and twenty-nine head of swine in the cellar. 
 
 I had no idea how much manure I was losing until I cemented the 
 cellar bottom. I have been constantly throwing in dry loam and muck 
 at the rate of one to two loads per day, besides bedding my cattle with 
 sand and the horses with meadow-hay ; and now, since the urine of all 
 the animals is saved, the pig-pens which extend under all the stalls and 
 lintels are so wet and soft that the hogs are unable to get from one end 
 to the other. 
 
 I feed one hundred pounds of cotton-seed meal, sixty pounds of corn 
 meal, fifty pounds of shorts, and twenty-four quarts of oats daily, besides 
 the food of the swine. I believe that dry muck or loam thoroughly sat- 
 urated with urine from animals fed as above, and worked up into a per- 
 fect mush, is as good to grow crops as the same bulk of solid excrement. 
 Am I right? I should like to know whether I had better spread my 
 manure on the ground, or pile it. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 John M. Bailey. 
 
 (In American Cultivator.) 
 
 Winning Farm, Nov. i, 1S78. 
 
 From this experiment I am satisfied that sugar-beets 
 can be raised at a profit. The sugar- factories are now 
 
SUGA R-BEE TS. 1 03 
 
 paying five dollars per ton, which would make the profit 
 on my quarter of an acre $17.90, or at the rate of $71.60 
 per acre ; but, in order to realize the greatest profit, the 
 pulp should be returned to the farm, and fed out to the 
 stock thereon. By the system of preserving- cattle-food 
 in Silos, this can be done most economically. A small 
 Silo ten feet wide, twenty feet long, and ten feet deep, 
 will hold about sixty tons of pulp. By covering it with 
 a little straw, and upon that a flooring of plank, with 
 weights upon it, the same as in the Silos of corn Ensi- 
 lage, it may be kept for a long time. The beet-pulp, 
 containing as it does all the nutrition except a part of 
 the sugar, would be an excellent food to feed with the 
 corn Ensilage. It is also a very good article of food for 
 swine by itself.^ 
 
 In regard to the manure, I have demonstrated by 
 several careful experiments since the above was written, 
 that the best time and way to apply manure is when you 
 have time, and with a broadcast manure-spreader. 
 
 ^ I have learned, since writing the above, that the best way to raise sugar-beets 
 is to have the rows eighteen inches apart, and to thin to nine inches. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 To .sum up, I will say that large Silos 40 to 50 feet 
 long, 15 to 18 feet wide, and 16 to 24 feet deep, are the 
 cheapest : they will not cost more than one dollar for 
 each ton's capacity. As two tons of Ensilage are worth 
 more than one ton of English or timothy hay, the com- 
 parative economy of Ensilage is at once manifest. They 
 require no repairs, and if properly built will last for ages. 
 
 The cost, therefore, of storage-room for Ensilage is 
 about six cents per ton yearly. In order to store its 
 equivalent of hay as cheaply, a barn to store a hundred 
 tons of hay would have to be bidltfor two IniJidred dollars. 
 My plans of building Silos are cheaper than to dig pits 
 in the ground. The small pits which are used in France, 
 and described by Charles L. Flint, Secretary State Board 
 of Agriculture, in his last report, would cost much more 
 to construct, the labor of filling and weighting them be 
 much greater. 
 
 Since the publication of the last State Agricultural Re- 
 port, I have had the pleasure of showing my system of 
 Ensilage to Secretary Flint. After critically examining 
 the Silos, the Ensilage, and the stock fed upon it, he de- 
 clared " that the system of Ensilage would work a per- 
 fect revolution in agricultural methods in this country." 
 The system of Ensilage reduces the comparative value 
 
ENSILAGE VS. ILIV. IO5 
 
 of good timothy hay to four dollars per ton, and of 
 hay-barns to two dollars for each ton's capacity. The 
 labor of feeding is lessened very materially ; the health, 
 condition, and appearance of the stock is immeasurably 
 improved. In short, it will bring about, ujjon its general 
 introduction and adoption, an agricultural millennium — 
 almost. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 EFFECT OF ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION IN ENSILAGE UPON 
 " GILT-EDGED BUTTER." 
 
 The following letter was received from a gentleman 
 with whom I have had considerable correspondence 
 upon the subject of " Ensilage." 
 
 SoDUS, Wayne County, N.Y., April i'6, i8So. 
 Mr. John M. Bailey. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Yesterday I received a visit from Professor L. B. Arnold, 
 the dairy-writer. The subject of " Ensilage " came up, and its effect on 
 "gilt-edged butter,'' &c. He is very strong of the opinion that the 
 alcoholic fermentation that is begun will injure the fine flavor and text- 
 ure that is desirable in my trade. I am very anxious to read your book 
 so as to clear up these points ; and, if there is any thing further that you 
 can say on the subject, I would be very glad to hear from you. 
 
 I haven't got that copy of the paper with your article, " How to pro- 
 duce milk for one cent a quart, butter for ten cents a pound, beef for 
 four cents a pound, and pork for three cents a pound," yet. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 A. J. Rice. 
 
 P. S. Just received and read it. 
 
 As Professor Arnold is so great an authority, as he is 
 supposed to know every thing concerning dairy matters, 
 it will doubtless be deemed presumptuous in me to say, 
 and attempt to prove, that the learned professor is mis- 
 taken. Let us consider through what organs, changes, 
 
 io6 
 
ALCOHOL ON BUTTER. 107 
 
 and circumstances the small amount of alcohol (which is 
 found in the Ensilage) passes before it can reach the 
 butter. 
 
 In the first place, the alcohol is only an incident to the 
 great change which has been taking place in the Ensi- 
 laged forage. This change, which is so important and so 
 useful, is the conversion of the starch contained in the 
 plants into sugar. The formation of alcohol is only a 
 nutritive barometer which tells us that suo^ar has been 
 formed. The odor of alcohol is hardly perceptible until 
 after the Ensilage has been exposed to the action of the 
 oxygen of the atmosphere twelve to twenty-four hours. 
 
 Therefore, if the professor is correct, it is in the power 
 of the dairyman to prevent the formation of alcohol by 
 feedincr direct from the Silo without allowinof the alco- 
 holic fermentation to take place.' Thus, if an evil, it is 
 easily avoided. 
 
 In the second place, the small amount of alcohol pres- 
 ent in the Ensilage (I have never seen any of my cows 
 intoxicated) is mixed with the saliva during the process 
 of mastication, and passes with the Ensilage into the 
 first stomach, or paunch, thence into the second stomach. 
 It is then re-masticated by chewing the cud, and passes 
 into the third stomach, thence into the fourth stomach, 
 where it is digested. 
 
 When cows are fed upon Ensilage, I have noticed 
 that their breath is particularly sweet, as if fed upon the 
 sweetest grasses. From the stomach it passes into the 
 intestines, from which that part of their contents neces- 
 sary for the nourishment of the animal economy is taken 
 up by two sets of vessels ; first, the blood-vessels of the 
 intestines, and passes through the portal vein to the 
 liver. There the portal vein is divided and subdivided 
 into an infinity of minute branches as they reach the lit- 
 
108 • THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 tie glandular lobules which compose the liver. Here 
 they break up into a plexus of microscopic vessels as 
 fine as those which originally absorbed from the intestines 
 the nutritive matter with which they are filled. These 
 minute vessels fill the entire substance of the liver with 
 a vascular net-work. Then these little vessels collect 
 together again, and unite into larger ones, until at last 
 they leave the liver as the hepatic vein, which conveys 
 the nutritive matter called chyle. Chyle is also absorbed 
 by the lacteal vessels, and conveyed by the thoracic duct 
 to the sub-clavian vein, and by both sets of vessels is 
 conveyed into and finally mingled with the venous blood 
 returning to the heart. By the contraction of the right 
 auricle it is forced into the right ventricle, which in turn 
 contracts, and forces the blood into the pulmonary artery, 
 which conveys the blood, chyle, and — alcohol? — to 
 the lungs. There this artery divides into numberless 
 branches which penetrate and encircle all the minute 
 spaces between and about the air-vesicles. Here the 
 blood is subjected to the action of the air which is in- 
 haled by the lungs. Now, alcohol is very volatile ; and if 
 any of the alcohol has got thus far with the blood on its 
 way to the milk, there can be no doubt that it would all 
 be thrown off with the expiration of the breath. 
 
 But, having followed it thus far, let us go clear 
 through to the churn, whether the alcohol keeps up with 
 us or not. 
 
 From the lungs the blood is returned to the heart, 
 which by the contraction of the left ventricle forces it all 
 through the system. A large amount of blood is carried 
 to the milk-glands. The milk-glands' office is to secrete 
 milk. They secrete nothing else which is in the blood 
 excepting those elements which constitute milk, — pro- 
 viding the animal is in a healthy condition. 
 
♦ ALCOHOL ON BUTTER. jon 
 
 But wc will suppose, for the sake of the argument, that 
 the alcohol is secreted by the milk-glands, and is drawn 
 from the udder mingled with the milk. A portion of it 
 rises with the cream, and is churned. Of course a larcre 
 portion of this alcohol, which has got thus far, must 
 remain in the buttermilk : the remainder must be so 
 infinitesimally small that it could have no perceptible 
 effect upon the butter. 
 
 It is evident that the professor means, when he says 
 that the " fine flavor and texture " will be injured by the 
 alcohol, that this injury is accomplished by the bodily 
 presence of alcohol in such a quantity as to destroy the 
 integrity of the butter globules ; in other words, to 
 " cut" the butter as oil is " cut" when it is shaken in a 
 bottle with strong alcohol. 
 
 Now, this alcohol, which goes all the way through the 
 various organs of the cow until it is found in the butter, 
 — be the amount greater or smaller, — certainly cannot 
 be very high ''proof; " and dilute alcohol has no power 
 to disintegrate butter, for you cannot "cut" ever so 
 small an amount of any kind of oil with alcohol the 
 strength of which, at once small, grows beautifully less 
 by being subjected to unlimited dilution every time the 
 cow drinks, and to evaporation every time she breathes. 
 
 There are millions of exrrctory ducts, organs, and 
 glands, in the animal organism, whose office it is to 
 remove from the system the waste tissue and such use- 
 less substances (alcohol for instance) from the system 
 as may have been taken up by the absorbents. Does 
 Professor Arnold expect he can run alcohol through a 
 cow with these millions of leaks for it to escape by, and 
 catch it in the milk-pail strong enough to disintegrate 
 butter? 
 
 But the milk-glands are not excretory, but secretory 
 
I lo THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 organs, whose office it is to secrete milk, not to remove 
 useless matters from the organism. Even if an infinitely 
 small amount of alcohol could get into the milk (which is 
 absurd), and if it had the power to disintegrate or " cut" 
 (in a measure) butter (which it would not) , I fail to see 
 how it could injure the flavor (and every thing but the 
 pure alcohol would be there anyway). Why, alcohol is 
 the vehicle in which the most delicate flavors are pre- 
 served, while the sweetest odors of the roses of June are 
 saved by incorporating them into alcohol. 
 
 I think I have demonstrated, first, that if the pure 
 alcohol gets into the milk it could do no harm to the 
 flavor of the butter ; second, that it would be infinitely 
 diluted, so as to be powerless to aff"ect the texture ; 
 third, that the amount would be infinitesimally small, 
 that it could not be detected ; and, fourth, that none 
 could get there at all. 
 
 Now, my friend Rice, let us prove this thing by actual 
 experiment. Give to each of your cows daily a table- 
 spoonful of alcohol (which is more than there is in a 
 cow's daily ration of Ensilage) ; sprinkle it upon their 
 food ; examine the butter critically which is made while 
 the alcohol is being administered : if it is injured in 
 flavor or texture in the least, the professor is right, 
 and I am wrong; if, on the other hand, it is uninjured, 
 why, for once he is mistaken. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MODEL DAIRY STABLE ADAPTED TO THE SYSTEM OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Fig. No. i (see next page) shows the ground-plan 
 of a dairy estabHshment 76 feet wide, 127 feet long, 
 capable of accommodating 1 18 cows, the necessary young 
 cattle if dairy stock is to be raised, or, if cows are bought, 
 ample room for a flock of 100 sheep, together with their 
 year's supply of forage. There is an engine-room at the 
 right-hand corner, 12 x 18 feet ; next, a 12 x 14 feet milk 
 and butter room, small shaft enters to attach churn to. 
 Next, three box-stalls, 8 X 12 feet, opening out of a 
 passage-way six feet wide, which leads from the principal 
 feedinor-floor to the milk and enorine room. The milk 
 and butter room is sheathed up on the outside with well- 
 seasoned, planed, and matched lumber, and plastered on 
 the inside, with double doors to prevent any odors from 
 entering. The floor of the engine and butter rooms, and 
 of the entire establishment, is cement. 
 
 A, A, A, represent an elevated track, upon which a 
 box holding Ensilage enough to feed 25 cows is sus- 
 pended. This track is overhead in the centre of the 
 feed- floors. 
 
 The first floor into which the Silos open is 12 feet 
 wide ; next to this is a manger 2^ feet wide ; next is the 
 lintel floor, four feet ten inches wide ; next, gutter, one 
 
112 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
MODEL DAIRY STABLE. 
 
 I I 
 
 
1 14 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 foot ; next, passage-way, four feet ; next, gutter, one foot ; 
 then another lintel, five feet ten inches ; next, a manger, 
 2! feet (by mistake it is drawn as two feet: the lintel 
 floors are also drawn 5! feet wide, they should be 4 feet 
 10 inches to 5 feet wide) ; now comes feed-floor from 
 which two rows of cows are fed ; between this floor and 
 the next are two lintels, with mangers, gutters, and pas- 
 sage-way as above ; then comes the last passage-way or 
 feed-floor ; upon one side of this floor the lintel extends 
 clear across the structure. The space 18 X 56 feet on 
 the left of the Silos may be used as a sheep-shed, or be 
 subdivided to suit for the keeping of calves, &c. 
 
 Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, showing the general 
 shape of the superstructure, also position and an end 
 view of the mangers, position of the gutters, which 
 should be about six inches deep ; also sloping floor upon 
 which the cows stand ; this floor should incline towards 
 the gutter, one inch at least to the foot. On this side 
 of the stable there should be three sliding doors, one at 
 the corner, the others in centres of the double lintels. 
 They should be nine feet wide, so that the manure can be 
 loaded upon a manure-spreader or cart, and be hauled 
 directly to the fields, and spread upon the land. 
 
 The dotted line at the left hand shows that portion 
 of the Silos which is under ground. This figure is 
 drawn with the posts 16 feet high, which is higher than 
 is necessary: 10 feet is ample. The Silos are 18 X 48 
 feet inside, and 23 feet deep: they will hold 1,000 tons 
 of Ensilage, which is. sufficient to feed 100 cows one 
 year. The rye Ensilage, which can be raised upon the 
 same land as the 1,000 tons of corn Ensilage, will furnish 
 plenty of feed to keep the other 18 cows, the calves 
 and young stock, or 100 to 150 sheep. 
 
 Fig. 3 shows how the travelling feed-box may be 
 
MODEL DAIRY STABLE. 
 
 115 
 
 constructed. The bottom is sloped up at the end ; 
 the head-boards can be taken out. A 12 to 16 tined 
 fork, such as is used to handle charcoal, may be used 
 to feed with. A litde experience will enable the feeder 
 to measure upon the fork the necessary amount of 
 Ensilage to each cow. If the Improved Ensilage is 
 
 Fig. -5. 
 
 used, it will not take one man more than one hour to 
 feed the whole 1 18 cows. If the grain be fed separatel)-, 
 it will take at least an hour to feed the grain alone. 
 This feed-box is made four feet long, 2.] feet wide, and 
 2 J feet high. 
 
Il6 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 This dairy establishment can be built, Silos and all, 
 for less than one-half the cost of the necessary storage 
 and stable room, when the same amount of stock are 
 kept upon hay and grain. 
 
 The corn-fodder and green rye necessary to keep the 
 ii8 cows, calves, and yearlings or sheep, can be raised 
 upon 30 acres of good land, while upon a hay and grain 
 diet it would require at least 1 18 acres of the very best 
 land to keep the cows alone. 
 
 Ensilage will re-people and restore the old deserted 
 farms of New England. Thousands of these farms, with 
 comfortable buildings, can be bought for less than half 
 the improvements would cost. 
 
 The hitherto insurmountable difnculty has been to get 
 a stock of manure to begin with, there being none for 
 sale in the back counties, and the transportation from the 
 cities would make it cost too much. I propose to show 
 how that obstacle can be overcome. Let the purchaser 
 of one of these old farms commence operations in the 
 spring. He will require a pair of good strong horses, and 
 need a couple of cows, a dozen or two of fowls, and ought 
 to have four good breeding-sows and a Berkshire boar. 
 Turn the cows and the hogs out to pasture ; cut down 
 and burn the bushes upon the best of the old grass-fields ; 
 the last of May and the first of June break up 15 acres, 
 turning under the green growth ; \{ there is a good thick 
 sod, it would pay to sow broadcast 100 pounds of nitrate 
 of soda to the acre about the 20th of April : this will 
 stimulate the grass to grow, and give a much larger 
 green crop to turn under. After breaking, harrow twice 
 with the Randall disk-harrow, then with the smoothing- 
 harrow. Flant in drills four feet apart, using half a 
 bushel of Mammoth Ensilage seed-corn to the acre, 
 and distribute in the drills 200 to 300 pounds of Bradley's 
 
//Oir TO RESTORE THE OLD FARM. 
 
 117 
 
 X L phosphate, or any other eq^ually good and rehable 
 fertilizer, if you can obtain it. I have used the X L 
 phosphate for many years, and it has never disappointed 
 me. On land where there is but little erass to turn 
 under, better broadcast from 200 to 300 pounds of phos- 
 phate, and harrow it in before planting. The corn 
 comes up large and strong, with a dark, healthy green 
 color : it soon carries it out of the way of the cut-worm, 
 and is sufficient for its rapid growth until the rootlets 
 reach the mass of decaying vegetable matter turned 
 under, which is one of the best fertilizers to make an im- 
 mense growth of corn. The corn will be ten days earlier, 
 and twice as large, for the phosphate. In short, about 
 200 pounds of standard fertilizer to the acre in the drill 
 w^ill pay, no matter how much stable-manure you may 
 have. The labor saved of preparing, composting, and 
 distributing the stable manure will pay for and apply the 
 phosphate, so that whatever fertilizing material there is 
 in the phosphate actually costs nothing. 
 
 15 acres, planted and fertilized as above, will produce 
 at least 300 tons of corn-fodder. After planting is 
 finished, build two Silos after the plan on page J2)y but 
 larger, say 15 feet wide, 12 or 15 feet high, and 30 to 35 
 feet long: they will cost about $80 to ^100 for cement, 
 lumber, and extra labor in laying the wall, besides the 
 labor of the farmer and his team. Now the man who has 
 followed my plan thus far, and Ensilaged his corn-fodder, 
 will find himself, at the approach of winter, with ample 
 forage to keep 30 cows the year round, or to winter 60 
 head, or five cows and 250 to 300 sheep. If he has 
 money enough, and his wife is a strong and able help- 
 mate, and they fancy dairying, let him buy 25 good new- 
 milch cows, sell butter, and follow the advice given Syl- 
 vester with swine. 
 
Il8 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 If he has but httle money, or does not Hke dairying, 
 let him take sheep to keep upon shares, saving the best 
 ewe lambs. The sale of wool and ram lambs will give 
 him a good revenue. In the spring, if he has used, as 
 he should, plenty of dry muck or loam for absorbents, he 
 will have a pile of manure which will make the old field 
 smile. Thereafter pursue the course laid down (see 
 page ■})"]^, — sow winter rye (applying the stable-manure 
 broadcast during the fall and winter), to cut and Ensilage 
 in May or the first of June, then plough at once, and drill 
 in the corn with phosphate. Every year will witness 
 increased fertility, more stock, larger crops, and greater 
 prosperity. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 In conclusion, fellow- farmers, let me tell you why I 
 have written this book. In the first place, I am actuated 
 by an earnest desire to do all I can to improve the con- 
 dition of the American farmer. His life has been too 
 long a life of toil and drudgery. He has had little if 
 any time for social enjoyment or intellectual improve- 
 ment. Hard work continuously, accompanied by the 
 most parsimonious economy, has been the only way by 
 which he could hope to acquire a competence for his old 
 age. In this fierce struggle oftentimes the farmer's wife 
 has had the hardest lot of the two ; working from early 
 morn until late at night, the slave of a horde of hired 
 men the profit on whose labor, by the old systems, was 
 so slender that the expense of a hired girl would have 
 put the balance on the wrong side, till at last, weary and 
 worn, too often she lies down to her last sleep when but 
 half way on the journey of life ; leaving a family of 
 children to grow up as best they may, without any of 
 those tender and hallowed influences which ought to 
 surround every fireside, and make its bright and happy 
 memories in after life a golden shield of protection to 
 keep them from straying from the right way wherein 
 there is happiness, joy, and peace. 
 
 The boys grow up. They hate farming : they go to 
 
 119 
 
I20 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 the city, and join the already crowded trades, professions, 
 or occupations ; and, in ninety cases out of one hundred, 
 their Hves are failures. 
 
 The girls declare they "won't marry a farmer!" 
 (That is one reason why " the boys leave the farm.") 
 They go into the factories, shops, and to — God knows 
 where ! let us hope he will watch over them, and guide 
 their footsteps to something better than that which 
 awaits too many who go to the city fresh and pure as 
 the air on their native hills, to meet disappointment and 
 privation, till at last they sink out of sight, ruined, — 
 lost ! 
 
 What is necessary to change all this, is larger crops, 
 more and better stock, and consequently greater profits. 
 This will give the necessary leisure for improvement, for 
 rest, and recreation. 
 
 By adopting the system of " Ensilage," the labor of a 
 farm can be so systemized that these opportunities can 
 be improved, and the farmer's life become in fact, what it 
 has always been in theory, and sometimes in practice, — 
 the most independent and honorable of any class. 
 
 Secondly, Since I opened my Silo, and the papers all 
 gave more or less accurate and detailed accounts of my 
 success in preserving corn-fodder in its green state, I 
 have received an immense number of letters from all 
 parts of the country, asking me to " please give them a 
 little more information ' how ' I did it," &c. Well, I 
 have answered several hundred ; I hated to refuse or 
 neglect so civil a request from so large a number of the 
 very men whom I most respect ; but it had come to this 
 pass, that I had got to employ an amanuensis, and devote 
 my whole time to diffusing information through the mails, 
 or refuse to answer nine-tenths of the inquiries. 
 
 Several hundred years ago they used to diffuse know!- 
 
CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 121 
 
 edge by the means of manuscript sent to parties desiring 
 it ; but it soon struck me that in this present enlightened 
 Ensil-age it was not exactly " up to the times ! " I have 
 therefore jotted down, as I have had leisure, what I know 
 about the system. I feel diffident in thus giving in- 
 struction how to proceed, for I know I have much yet to 
 learn ; but the farmer who carefully studies this book 
 will know a great deal better how to go to work than I 
 did when I began ; and my cattle and sheep all told me 
 to-day (May 25) that it " was the greatest kind of a suc- 
 cess ! " But then, my stock like me, and are doubtless 
 partial. 
 
 Next in importance to having the best and cheapest 
 food for our animals, is having the best breeds of animals 
 to feed it to, so as to obtain the greatest returns. There- 
 fore I have added a short description of the herds and 
 flocks of "Winning Farm" and "Virginia Stock Farm," 
 together with more or less concerning the different 
 breeds. I confess that my object is not alto get Jicr a 
 benevolent desire to benefit others solely, but is partly 
 for the purpose of advertising my horses, cattle, sheep, 
 and swine. I have fine stock to sell for breeding-pur- 
 poses, — I make a business of raising them. Now, if 
 any have followed me thus far through the Book of 
 Ensilage, and do not care to read any thing more about 
 the animals which are so grateful for the Ensilage the}- 
 have eaten and grown fat upon the past winter, to them I 
 will say, that, as far as I know, there is no law which will 
 compel them to read a single line further than they care 
 to. 
 
PERCHERON HORSES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE. 
 
 For some time I have been very much interested in con- 
 sidering how the common horses of our country might be 
 improved. For several years past a mania has seemed to 
 possess the American farmer on the subject of horse-racing. 
 Speed, not endurance, a lively spurt on the road, not strength 
 at the plough and ability to pull a heavy load at a good fast walk, 
 have ruled. What the farmers need has been, and is, power- 
 ful horses, with sufficient action to take them fifty miles a day 
 and return the next, without being knocked up for a week, and 
 haul a comfortable carriage, with two or four persons in it, — 
 horses that can take a load of produce to market, and come 
 home bright and cheerful, and ready for their feed, and a day's 
 work on the morrow. There is a surplus of stallions with a 
 trotting or running pedigree, and also of those who can trot to 
 harness a mile or two quite lively. Horses that can trot in 
 forty, or even in thirty, are very nice toys for gentlemen of 
 wealth whose fancy is for a fast team, or of leisure, who want 
 something with which to kill time ; but for real service and 
 practical utility they are of about as much use as the New-York 
 Coaching Club's turnouts. 
 
 Therefore, on my way to Elkhart Park, the home of J. D. 
 
PERCHERON HORSES. i o . 
 
 Gillett, the noted short-horn-cattlc-raiser, of which I shall say 
 more hereafter, I stopped one day at Oakland, the home of 
 M. W. Dunham, the great Percheron-Norman-horse-importer. 
 
 Mr. Dunham's farm comprises six hundred acres of very 
 fertile and beautifully-lying land, in Wayne, 111. I left Chicago 
 on an early train, and, after a pleasant ride of thirty-four miles, 
 arrived at Wayne. Upon inquiring, I was directed to Oakland 
 Stud Farm, distant just one mile, over a beautiful broad avenue 
 ornamented by a fine hedge and rows of shade-trees on either 
 side. As I was walking along, admiring the broad fields spread 
 out before me upon every hand, suddenly I heard the sound of 
 a horse's footsteps rapidly approaching. I had hardly time to 
 look around before a man passed me, his horse a magnificent- 
 looking animal, weighing over 1,500 pounds, and trotting con- 
 siderably better than a four-minute gait. I instinctively knew 
 that I had seen one of Mr. Dunham's Pcrcherons. I had 
 examined his catalogue, filled as it is with beautiful pictures 
 of Percheron horses, and, in common with many others, had 
 thought the great animal artist, Dewey, had flattered the animals 
 he portrayed ; but when that horse so grandly swept by me at 
 such tremendous speed, — for a horse of his size, — I mentally 
 asked to be forgiven for wronging, in such an ungenerous 
 manner, Mr. Dunham, the artist, and the horses themselves. 
 This little incident had prepared me, in a measure, for what 
 I was to see. 
 
 I found Mr. Dunham superintending the building of a large 
 cistern upon a high hill about a quarter of a mile beyond his 
 house. Although the hill is at least one hundred feet higher 
 than his house, upon the top of it he finds an unfailing supply 
 of water, by digging thirty-five or forty feet. The water is 
 pumped into the reservoir by a large pump, operated by a 
 powerful wind-engine. From the reservoir a two-inch pipe is 
 laid to the farm buildings, and distributed in smaller pipes to 
 every stable and almost every stall. Mr. Dunham greeted me 
 cordially, and at once returned to the stables. While the 
 "boys " were getting the horses ready to show, he led the way to 
 his new barn, then nearly completed. It is 160 feet long, 52 
 feet wide, with 20-feet posts, and contains 10 box-stalls 16 feet 
 
rERClIERON HORSES. 125 
 
 square, and 10 stalls 16 feet wide by 32 feet long. Each stall 
 is sheathed up all around, about six feet high. Above that, to 
 the ceiling overhead, the partitions arc made of two-by-two-inch 
 pickets, set two inches apart. The object of this i.s, as Mr. 
 Dunham expressed it, "for sociability : a horse loves company 
 as well as you do, and without it he will not be happy. If he is 
 not happy he will not do well ; neither will he behave as well 
 when taken out if kept in solitude, for then he is easily excited 
 b}'^ other horses." Mr. Dunham has nearly two hundred horses ; 
 and all of them, excepting the yearling colts, are kept in box- 
 stalls, and only one horse in a stall. The stalls are all from 14 
 to 16 feet square, with straw for bedding up to the horses' 
 knees. This will give the reader some idea of the immensity 
 of the establishment. 
 
 By this time the boys were ready to show some colts. I 
 cannot particularize ; but I saw pure-bred two-year-old colts by 
 the score, that were as handsome as any picture could be ; clean 
 heads, bright, large, intelligent eyes, ears like a thoroughbred, 
 and with limbs as clean, yet weighing all the way from 1,300 to 
 1,650 pounds each, and, notwithstanding their weight, as quick 
 and trappy in their movements as any 900-pound horse. I was 
 next shown a number of half and three-quarter bloods ; that is, 
 their sires were imported, while their dams or grand-dams were 
 common native mares, weighing from 900 to 1,100 pounds each. 
 These grades — if I may call them so — were, if possible, mere 
 beautiful than the pure-bred colts we had just seen. They 
 (two-year-olds) would weigh from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds each, 
 being rather lighter in the bone than the pure-bred, but with 
 legs as broad and fiat as your hand, with the back tendon 
 almost as large as the bone in front, and each cord and sinew 
 showing as distinctly as though no hair or skin covered them. 
 I was convinced that in these half and three-quarter blood Per- 
 cherons I saw the "horse of the future." They have all the 
 attributes which a man could ask for in a horse, unless he is a 
 fast-horse man, and wants a trotter : they have size and strength, 
 plenty of action, beautiful figures, and speed enough for all road 
 purposes. Next I was shown a large number of stallions, from 
 three-year-olds up to "Success," aged 15 years. I cannot 
 
126 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 describe them. The illustrations in Mr. Dunham's catalogue, 
 and in "The National Stock Journal," do not do them justice. 
 They are massive! They are magnificent ! Their weights (and 
 no guess-work ; I saw them weighed by the score) ranged from 
 1, 600 to 2,160 pounds, and for action they are as quick as 
 cats. I must name one, however, " Vidocq " (see cut on oppo- 
 site page). He weighs 1,850 pounds ; can trot a mile in four 
 minutes ; has as clean a head and ear as any thoroughbred ; 
 his feet hardly seem to touch the ground, he picks them up 
 so lightly. He fairly divides the honors with " Success," the 
 king of the stud. He is a beautiful dapple-gray. Such a back ! 
 Such a breast ! Such a neck ! Although only i6\ hands high, 
 his head seems almost in the clouds, he carries it so grandly. 
 
 Time for the return train would only allow me a hurried look 
 at the yearling colts, brood-mares and their sucking colts. 
 Gray is the prevailing color, black comes next, though there 
 are occasionally bays and chestnuts. Of course I saw the mare 
 " Mignonette," the prize-winner at the Centennial. Her picture 
 does not do her justice. Her head is a study ; she weighs over 
 2,100 pounds, and moves as lightly and easily as if she weighed 
 but half that much. Suffice it to say, that I saw sucking colts 
 that would weigh from 800 to 1,000 pounds, and yearling colts 
 that would weigh up to 1,460 pounds, and not a clumsy, 
 awkward, or mean one in the whole establishment. A man 
 to appreciate Mr. Dunham's stud ought to spend at least a 
 week with him. I was prepossessed, I confess, in favor of 
 Percherons ; but I had no idea I should see such horses, they 
 were so much better than I had ever imagined horses of their 
 size could be. 
 
 In accordance with the impression received at this visit, I 
 resolved to possess at least one thorough-bred Percheron. 
 Therefore early this spring I directed my agent in France to 
 purchase for me the best Percheron stallion he could procure, 
 regardless of price. I have the satisfaction of being able to 
 state that my agent writes me that he has secured a prodigy for 
 me. I only regret that this book goes to press before he will 
 arrive, so that in this edition I am unable to present his por- 
 trait. 
 
I2(S THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 He will make the season this spring at "Winning Farm." 
 In the fall he will go to " Virginia Stock Farm," where I have 
 thirty-five Canada-bred mares to be served by him, which I 
 imported expressly for breeders. (See cut on opposite page.) 
 
 He arrived on the 25th of May, 1880; and to say that I am 
 perfectly satisfied with my purchase, is doing him but simple 
 justice. He is four years old, i6i hands high, and although 
 thin in flesh weighs 1,600 pounds; will easily make an 1,850- 
 pound horse when fully matured. He reminds me very much 
 of Mr. Dunham's "Vidocq;" his color is a very dark iron- 
 gray (slightly showing the dapple), with white mane and tail; 
 his ears are as fine as a thoroughbred, and not larger than the 
 average 900-pound horse. He carries his head high with beau- 
 tiful crest ; his lofty carriage would attract attention anywhere. 
 His arm and quarters are unequalled, hood-back, long level 
 haunch, extraordinary flank : these are points of excellence, of 
 vital importance, which he possesses to a remarkable degree. 
 His legs are very clean and free from hair, upon which he 
 stands squarely and perfectly. His feet are of the best : when 
 in motion the lightness and elasticity of his step, the ease and 
 style of his movements, are such as are rarely surpassed in light 
 horses. 
 
 In all his attributes, especially his muscular development, 
 spirit, and energy, he bears unmistakable evidence of purity of 
 blood, through which for untold generations his Arab character- 
 istics, improved and adapted to modern wants, have descended. 
 
 He will be allowed to serve a limited number of mares at 
 ^40, half forfeit. 
 
 Mares from a distance will be kept and carefully cared for at 
 %l per week. All accidents and escapes at owner's risk. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ORIGIN, HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PERFORMANCES OF 
 PERCHERON-NORMAN HORSES. 
 
 The following information in regard to the origin, charac- 
 teristics, and performances of Percheron-Norman horses has 
 been kindly furnished by Mr. Dunham : — 
 
 Being extensively engaged in the importation and breeding 
 of the Percheron-Norman horse, and a zealous advocate of the 
 breed as a means of improving the horses of our country, I feel 
 it incumbent upon me to place at the disposal of the public 
 what information upon the subject I have obtained through my 
 experience, or have been able to glean from historical research. 
 In pursuance of that object, I will give some facts in a con- 
 densed form, bearing upon their characteristics, origin, breeding, 
 tests of speed, bottom ; also their introduction into this coun- 
 try, with the success they have attained as a cross upon our 
 common mares. 
 
 For the facts relating to the early history of the race, I have 
 drawn largely upon the justly-famed works of M. Huys, a cele- 
 brated French author (unquestioned authority), which I trust 
 may be read with interest and prove of value to those interested 
 in the improvement and production of a better class of large 
 horses. 
 
 The question of the necessity of improvement in that direc- 
 tion is now rapidly becoming apparent to everybody. But years 
 ago, when the country was flooded with small stallions of every 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PERCIIERON. 131 
 
 breed and under every name ; when the trotting fever was at 
 its height, and thousands of farmers were pursuing, with an 
 eagerness amounting to a passion, the vain fantasy of becom- 
 ing successful breeders of fast trotters ; when, under the baleful 
 influences of the popular mania, the draught breeds were wholly 
 ignored, — I entered into business, and became a firm advocate 
 and a breeder in a small way, of the draught stock, believing 
 that a re-action in public sentiment must take place ; that the 
 country must recover from this general intoxication ; that the 
 farmers would become disgusted by constant failure, and, aban- 
 doning the delusive idea of breeding fast trotters, would regain 
 their senses ; and, with the recovery of their wonted judgment, 
 the agricultural and draught horse would succeed to their right- 
 ful supremacy. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PERCHERON-NORMAN HORSE. 
 
 They are usually fifteen and a half to sixteen and a half hands 
 high ; but some of the largest varieties are occasionally seven- 
 teen hands. In temperament they are sanguine, mixed in vari- 
 able proportions with the musco-lymphatic. In color they are 
 nearly always varying from white through all the different 
 shades to black, of which color there are a few. In proportion 
 to their predominance, these temperaments constitute types 
 which may be classed as follows : — 
 
 First, The light or smaller type, in which the sanguine tem- 
 perament predominates. This type is used exclusively for the 
 road and saddle. 
 
 Second, The draught type, in which the lymphatic tempera- 
 ment prevails, and which are used for draught alone. 
 
 Third, The intermediate, between these two classes, are 
 greatly in excess in numbers of either one of the two preced- 
 ing, and in a great degree combine the qualities of the other 
 two ; the nervous, sanguine temperament of one, with increased 
 weight and physical development of the other. The more per- 
 fect animals of the breed may be described as follows : — 
 
 With fine style ; nostrils large and well dilated ; eye good 
 size, mild and expressive ; forehead broad and full ; car short 
 and fine ; neck rather short, but nicely filled out ; withers usu- 
 
132 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 ally high ; shoulders long and nicely sloped ; breast broad and 
 deep ; body well rounded ; croup horizontal, broad, and flat on 
 the best varieties; tail attached high; joints short and firm; 
 feet always good ; skin very thin, and hair of the finest quality ; 
 mane abundant and usually fine and silky. To remarkable 
 strength, to vigor which does not degenerate, to a conforma- 
 tion that does not exclude elegance, it joins docility, mildness, 
 patience, honesty, great kindness, excellent health, and hardy 
 and elastic temperament. Its movements are rapid and easy ; 
 it possesses uncommon endurance, both when worked hard or 
 when forced, for unusual time, to maintain any of its natural 
 gaits. // possesses the inestimable quality of moving fast with 
 heavy loads ; and in its native country it is particularly valued 
 for its remarkable precocity, producing more by its work at two 
 years old than the cost of its keeping. By its nature, it inherits 
 a real aptness for labor ; and its mild disposition and well-bal- 
 anced brain makes it always reliable, and seldom subject to 
 nervous excitement. Their excellent temper is the result of 
 ages of kindness and gentle familiarity of those in whose hands 
 they have been bred. (See cut of Eldorado opposite.) 
 
 Their remarkable soundness (a cause of lasting jealousy 
 among the breeders of other races) has been established by the 
 greatest care in breeding for many generations, until defects, 
 such as ring-bone, curb, and spavin, are not even known by 
 name in the country where they are raised. 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE PERCHERON HORSE. 
 
 Some attribute to him an Arabian ancestry; while others, 
 without positively assigning to him so noble an origin, hold him 
 to be deeply impregnated with Arabian blood. 
 
 Eugene Perrault, one of the most extensive and skilful deal- 
 ers in all Europe, has frequently remarked, that, of all the races 
 of horses, none were so interesting to him as the Percheron ; 
 and that, judging from his appearance and quality, he was 
 convinced he is a genuine Arab, modified in form by cli- 
 mate and the peculiar labor that he has been for ages obliged 
 to perform. There is not, however, in any written history posi- 
 tive evidence that the Percheron is a pure Arab, but it is easy 
 
134 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 by fair historical deduction to prove they are in fact. It is well 
 known, that after the defeat of the famous Saracen chief Abde- 
 rame by Charles Martel on the plains of Vouille, the magnifi- 
 cent cavalry of the enemy fell into the hands of the victors, 
 and the horses upon which they were mounted were, like them- 
 selves, from the East. In a division of the spoils a large num- 
 ber fell to the men of La Perche, Orleans, and Normandy, who 
 composed a greater portion of the French forces. These 
 horses must of necessity have left in their progeny indelible 
 traces of their blood. La Perche also furnished her contingent 
 of fighting men for the crusades ; and the chronicles cite sev- 
 eral counts of Bellesme, Mortagne, and Nogent, barons and 
 gentlemen of that province, with many of their vassals, who 
 made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The Abbe Fait, in a let- 
 ter directed to the Congress Mortagne, July i6, 1843, and in his 
 great work upon La Perche, cites in this connection a Lord 
 of Montdoubleau, Geoffroy IV., and Rotrou, Count of La 
 Perche, as having brought back from Palestine several stallions, 
 which were used, and their progeny most carefully preserved. 
 The limited number of sires, their incomparable beauty and 
 great superiority, must have led to the in-and-in breeding so 
 much deprecated by most breeders of our time, and by which 
 the qualities of the sires became indelibly fixed upon their 
 progeny. It is doubtless a fact that the crusaders from France 
 brought back with them on their return more or less of the 
 Eastern blood, which they had learned to appreciate on the 
 plains of Palestine. It has not, however, been preserved else- 
 where ; and that Perche is so fortunate as to be able to show 
 visible traces of it after so long a time has elapsed, should 
 stimulate them to its careful preservation. We therefore see 
 that for antiquity the Percheron yields to no other French race ; 
 and it is conceded beyond question that the soil that has nour- 
 ished them for so many generations is one of the best in France 
 for developing to their highest state of perfection their physical 
 forces. 
 
 Under the feudal rule Perche must have been an equestrian 
 country, in those times of continued war and surprises, and 
 horses suited to that purpose were an absolute necessity. The 
 
HOW THE PERCHERON WAS MODIFIED. 135 
 
 horses at that time must of course have been light, but still j^os- 
 sessing within themselves the same characteristics which tlicv 
 now present. The universal tradition of the whole country 
 goes to prove this fact. 
 
 HOW THE PERCHERON OF FORMER TIMES WAS MODIFIED. 
 
 As we have said, the race doubtless comes from the Arab ; 
 but how has it been separated from its original type, and how 
 has it lost its Arabian character } All equine races have been 
 greatly changed by climatic effects, — by the condition of the 
 country, at different periods, in which they were bred. The 
 inav.guration of peaceful habits made an agricultural and draught 
 horse of the horse formerly used for the saddle and war. But 
 the Percherons have been greatly modified by other causes than 
 this. The contact with the breeds of Western and Northern 
 France has modified them in a great degree. This intrusion 
 of the heavy draught type has been vigorously opposed by many 
 of the nobles of the country, who have continued to introduce 
 and use numerous of the Arabian stallions at different times. 
 We see towards 1760, under the administration of the Marquis 
 of Briddges, manager of the stables of Pin, all the large num- 
 ber of Arab stallions that this establishment owned were 
 put at the disposition of the Count of Mallart, for use at his 
 mare-stables of Coesme, near Bellesme ; and years after we 
 find, at the same chateau of Coesme, the grandsons of those old 
 admirers of the Arabian, with two Arab stallions, " Godolphin " 
 and " Gallipoli," both of which proved valuable stock-getters, 
 — both gray, — which once more gave tone and ardor to the 
 Percheron race in that vicinity. Yet these efforts on the part 
 of the nobles of this district, to perpetuate and improve the 
 Percheron by the introduction of stallions whose tendency was 
 to decrease the size, met with decided opposition by the peas- 
 antry farmers of the country, who were using all means within 
 their power to increase the size of their stock, to meet the 
 demands that were springing up under the impulses of the new 
 civilization. They not only resorted to the use of the largest 
 stallions to be found in Perche to secure that object, but brought 
 many from neighboring departments, which hastened the desired 
 
136 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 development of the draught varieties of Perche, thus establishing 
 a complete modification of the primitive horses of ancient 
 Perche, and giving to the world a breed of horses that, for rapid 
 draught, have no equal. 
 
 HOW THE PERCHERON HORSES ARE BRED AND REARED. 
 
 There is probably no country in the world where the same 
 method of breeding is adopted that is practised in the Percheron 
 district. The division of the sexes is the greatest peculiarity. 
 One portion of the country contains the mares, and produces 
 the colts, while another section buys and rears them. 
 
 To whatever class the mares belong, whether small or large 
 or medium, they are expected to breed every year : failing to do 
 so, they are sold. During gestation they work constantly. A 
 few days' rest before and after foaling is the only time lost. 
 Her work pays a large percentage above her keep and the 
 interest on her cost. At five or six months old the colts are 
 weaned and sold, and taken into the interior upon the rich pas- 
 ture-lands of Mauves, Pin, Regmalard, Carbon, Lougny, Reveil- 
 lore, Courgeron, St. Langis, Villiers, Courgeoust, &c., and for 
 one year remain unproductive. In the winter time they are 
 provided with hay, and well stabled, and during the fine weather 
 are turned out to graze. In fact, they are rather poorly fed, for 
 the cause that they are yet unproductive, and they feel the effect. 
 Their hardest time is soon gone by, and work softens their lot. 
 They are kept in this manner until they are about a year and a 
 half old, and then put to work ; four or five colts usually put 
 together to do the work of two good horses. They are now 
 better fed and better taken care of, and the improvement is very 
 perceptible. Their owners seem to enjoy viewing the progress 
 of their development. There is probably no place where the 
 people as a whole take such deep interest, and appear to have 
 so much love for horses, as in this small district of Perche. In 
 travelling through the country, one cannot but admire the skill 
 and patience used in working the young animals, and is aston- 
 ished at the vigor and power they display for colts of their age. 
 When they are three years old, there is a ready market for them 
 on the plains of Beauce, to work the soft, light soil. They have 
 
BREEDING THE PERCH ERON. 137 
 
 thus been worked one year, fed but little grain, and doing enough 
 light work to pay for their keeping. This early work, which 
 would be injurious under bad management, proves decidedly 
 beneficial in the hands of good horsemen. 
 
 As we have remarked, the Beauce farmer is a ready buyer, 
 when they arrive at three years of age. On the plains there is 
 a large amount of work to be performed, but the nature of the 
 soil renders it very easy. The people live mostly in villages ; 
 and the fields are distant from one another, making a rapid gait 
 absolutely necessary. They must be quick, active horses, for 
 the acreage of land to be tilled is very great, and the work must 
 be done promptly. The labor is very severe ; but they are well 
 fed, and the best of care is taken of them. They are used in 
 this way one or two years, when they are sold to the express 
 and omnibus companies, or to the contractors, wagoners, or 
 builders of Paris, according as they seem fit for the different 
 kinds of work. Thus we see a breed of horses of the highest 
 economical and practical utility, the colts of which are raised 
 at a moderate cost, their work paying for their keeping. The 
 system practised in rearing them gives to them the most per- 
 fect physical development, and makes the Percheron what he 
 always has been, the best rapid draught-horse in the world, 
 and will always continue to be, unless the admirable qualities 
 they possess lead to their future degenei"ation. 
 
 The success of the Percheron race has been remarkable. All 
 departments and all nations w4sh to procure it. The prices of 
 the choicest stallions have increased so rapidly in the past few 
 years, that they have doubled and trebled in value. The author- 
 ities have attempted to hinder emigration of their best stallions, 
 by offering large annual prizes for the choicest animals that 
 were retained for service in that country. The project, how- 
 ever, had a contrary effect from what was expected. The prizes 
 served as signs to the foreign buyers, who came to France 
 to purchase the choicest animals, and no surer guaranty than 
 the prize could be had. The owners of such horses cannot 
 resist the almost fabulous prices offered for their stallions ; 
 and thus disappears, year by year, the flower of their stallions 
 and brood-mares. The Percheron breeders are reaping the 
 
138 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 benefits of the present, without thinking what will be the 
 effect in the future. 
 
 SPEED AND ENDURANCE OF THE PERCIIERON. 
 
 One of the qualities of this breed of horses, and which has 
 acquired for it a universal reputation, is fast trotting while 
 drawing a heavy load ; but it would be an error to suppose that 
 this ability to trot fast makes it an equal in every respect to 
 the trotting breeds of the present day. The trotters draw very 
 little, but have a long stride ; and, as regards mere speed, there is 
 no comparison. The specialty of the Percheron — rapid draught 
 — has its limits ; and it is these limits that I wish to make known 
 by numerous examples officially reported. What the Percherons 
 do in the diligences, mail and post coaches, is known to every 
 foreign traveller, and it is useless to enlarge upon it. From one 
 relay to another, drawing not less than two and often three 
 thousand pounds, in all kinds of weather, over hilly roads, they 
 make their three leagues an hour and sometimes four ; but this 
 is 7ie plus ultra. What they do in the omnibuses, the world that 
 visits Paris sees only to admire, and forms one of the greatest 
 attractions of the Percheron horse to the observing stranger. 
 
 We will now turn our attention to the trials made upon their 
 trotting tracks. The places most frequented are those of Illiers, 
 Courtalain, Montdoubleau, and Mortagne ; and in order to be 
 impartial it is necessary to state that the tracks, all but the one 
 at Mortagne, are ploughed fields, hard in dry weather but cut 
 up in wet times, and that the track at Mortagne is badly located, 
 having three steep inclines up and down inside of the mile, and 
 the horses that have done best elsewhere have failed on this 
 track, and it has taken a longer time to go the distance. To 
 this circumstance is attributed the low averages made upon that 
 track, but it also shows the courage of the animals. When a 
 colt of two and a half years of age — there were several of this 
 age — can accomplish his task by going two or three times 
 around this track, there is a reasonable certainty of there being 
 the elements in him for the making of a valuable horse. The 
 most of the horses are trotted under the saddle, as their vehicles 
 are of the most cumbersome character, and utterly unfitted to 
 trot a horse in. 
 
SPEED AND ENDURANCE OF THE PERCHERON. 139 
 
 The following shows the results of one hundred and eighty- 
 nine matches officially reported, and two trials to prove bottom, 
 likewise certified to, and will give an average of what the best 
 Percherons arc capable of doing. 
 
 In order to be strictly impartial, the slowest and fastest time 
 made is given. 
 
 UNDER THE SADDLE ONE MILE AND A QUARTER TWENTY- 
 NINE RESULTS. 
 
 The best two are those of "Julie" at Montdoubleau ; time, 3 
 min. 50 sec. 
 
 The poorest two results are those of "Vidocq" at Mortagne ; 
 time, 7 min. and 37 sec. : and of *' Lansquernet," same place ; 
 time, 7 min. 48 sec. 
 
 The average time of twenty-nine recorded trials is 4 min. 12 
 sec. 
 
 ONE AND FIVE-SIXTHS MILES THIRTY-ONE RESULTS. 
 
 The best two are those of " Valliante " at Mortagne ; 4 min. 
 38 sec: and "Julie" at Montdoubleau; 6 min. and 14 sec. 
 
 The poorest two are those of "Mouche" at Mortagne; time, 
 9 min. 18 sec: and of " Biche," same place ; 8 min. 30 sec. 
 
 The average time of thirty-one trials, 6 min. 40 sec. 
 
 TWO MILES FORTY RESULTS. 
 
 The best two are those of "Cocotte," at Illiers ; time, 6 min. 
 5-2 sec: and "Sarah," same place; time, 6 min. 2 sec. 
 
 The two poorest are those of "Balzane" at Illiers; time, 9 
 min. 40 sec: and of "Renaud," same place; time, 10 min. 30 
 sec 
 
 The average time of forty trials is about 7 min. 20 sec. 
 
 TWO AND A HALF MILES SIXTY-FIVE RESULTS. 
 
 The best two are those of "Sarah " at Langou ; time, 7 min. 
 35 sec: and same at Mortagne ; time, 7 min. and 40 sec. 
 
 The poorest are those of " Marmotte " at Mortagne ; time, 13 
 min. 26 sec: and of "Julie," at Courtalain ; time, 11 min. 30 
 sec. 
 
140 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Average time of sixty-five trials, 9 min, 15 sec. 
 
 Two and three-fifths miles were made at Illiers by "Bichette," 
 in 12 min. 15 sec. 
 
 Two and five-sixths miles were made by same, at same place, 
 and gave an average of 11 min. 30 sec, in three successive 
 heats. 
 
 Three and two-fifths miles were made by " Champion," at 
 Illiers, in 12 min. 
 
 HORSES TO HARNESS TWO MILES — EIGHT RESULTS. 
 
 The best two are those of " Achille," at Illiers ; time, 7 min. 
 17 sec: and "Julie," same place ; time, 7 min. 40J sec 
 
 The poorest two are those of " Campionette," at Illiers ; time, 
 7 min. 53 sec: and "Bichette," same place ; time, 8 min. 13 sec. 
 
 The average of eight trials is about 7 min. and 36 sec 
 
 TWO AND A HALF MILES FOURTEEN RESULTS. 
 
 The best two are those of " Vigoreux," at Illiers ; time, 8 min. 
 30 sec: and "Bibe," at Mortagne ; time, 9 min. 54 sec. 
 
 The poorest two are those of "Bichette," at Courtalain, in 11 
 min. 30 sec, and of " Artagan," at Mortagne, in 11 min. 55 sec. 
 
 TWO AND THREE-FIFTHS MILES LOADED. 
 
 Two trials were made at Rouen, by "Decidee," the first 
 drawing 386 pounds in 9 min. 21 sec, the second time drawing 
 408 pounds in 10 min. 49 sec. 
 
 TRIALS OF ENDURANCE AND SPEED. 
 
 A gray mare, bred by M. Boulavois, at Almenasches (Ormc), 
 and belonging to M. Montreauil, horse-dealer at Alengon, per- 
 formed the following match : Harnessed to a travelling-tilbury, 
 she started from Bernay to go to Alengon, a distance of fifty- 
 five and three-fifths miles, over a hilly and difficult road, reach- 
 ing there in 4 h. 24 min. This mare is still living, and now 
 belongs to M. Biuson, hotel-keeper at Lees (Orne), where she 
 still draws the omnibus plying between the hotel and station. 
 
 A gray mare seven years old, belonging to M. Cousturur, at 
 Fleury sur Andelle (Eure), harnessed to a tilbury, travelled 
 
THE PERCH E RON IN AMERICA. 141 
 
 fifty-eight miles and back, on two consecutive days, going at a 
 trot and witiiout being touched with a whip. This was over the 
 road from Lyons la Fosette to Point Andmere and back through 
 a hilly country. The following time was made: The first day 
 the distance was trotted in 4 h. i min. 35 sec; the second day, 
 4 h. I min. 30 sec. The last thirteen and three-fourths milcs^ 
 were made in one hour, although the mare was obliged to pass 
 her stable, at the forty-first mile, to finish the distance. 
 
 THE PERCHERON IN AMERICA. 
 
 The preceding pages give a fair idea of the Percheron horse 
 in his native country, — his value as a draught-horse, and his 
 capabilities upon the road. 
 
 But what is more necessary for us to know is, whether it is 
 adapted to ^?/r wants; whether it can reproduce with a certainty 
 its own valuable qualities in its progeny, when bred to the com- 
 mon mares of the country. 
 
 For evidence upon this point we can only look to the past, 
 and base our judgment upon the results obtained by actual 
 trial. For that purpose I invited attention to the following 
 brief retrospect of their history in America : 
 
 The settlement of Canada by the French is the date at which 
 the introduction of the French race into North America can be 
 placed. In seeking homes in the New World, they brought 
 with them their own domestic animals, foremost among which 
 were their horses, they being a prime necessity for the cultiva- 
 tion of the soil upon which they were in the future to depend 
 for their support and prosperity. The change from the salu- 
 brious climate of sunny France to the cold, bleak hills of the 
 lower St. Lawrence, must have been a severe one. But their 
 natural constitutional vigor and hardihood sustained them ; 
 although the rigor of the winters, their scanty fare, and the 
 innumerable hardships they were forced to endure, tended to 
 greatly reduce their size, and increase their hardiness, establish- 
 ing for them the reputation as the toughest of all breeds, until 
 ''tough as a Canadian pony'' became a common term all over 
 the country in expressing the superiative of hardiness. They 
 were no doubt for many years kept pure ; but the conquest by 
 
142 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 the English, and the consequent introduction of the EngHsh 
 horse, soon led to a fusion of the two breeds to some extent, — 
 with the most happy results, — and many of the most famous 
 horses of our day are traceable to that cross. In fact, the great- 
 grandsire of "Lulu," acknowledged the fastest trotting mare 
 now living, was an imported French horse, and many other 
 famous ones of the same origin. 
 
 I find the following in regard to the Canadian horse, written 
 in 1850 by Henry S. Randall, a well-known American agricul- 
 turist : — 
 
 "Found in the Canadian Provinces, and somewhat in the 
 Northern United States, he is mainly of French descent. They 
 are long-lived, easily kept, and an exceedingly Jiardy race, making 
 good farm and draught horses when sufficiently large. 
 
 " In form they display in a marked manner the characteristics 
 of the Norman race. So, too, in their general qualities, though 
 considerably smaller. Stallions of this breed have, in various 
 instances of late, been introduced into New York and other 
 Northern States, to cross upon our common mares. The results 
 have been decidedly satisfactory, particularly in giving compact- 
 ness and vigor of constitution where the dam does not excel in 
 those particulars. A stallion imported a few years since from 
 Canada, by Mr. John Legg, has got several hundred colts, 
 which, when broken and sold, averaged considerably above the 
 prices of the horses of the country. They are almost invariably 
 fair roadsters and excellent farm-horses. This cross is more 
 and more finding favor among our farmers." 
 
 Though many stallions were brought from Canada to the 
 United States at early dates, yet their importation direct from 
 France did not begin until 1839, when Mr. Harris, of Morris- 
 town, N.J., introduced the breed. From a letter bearing date 
 April 6, 1850, written by Mr. Harris to a friend who made some 
 inquiries regarding the success of his enterprise, I extract the 
 following : — 
 
 "These horses first came under my observation on a journey 
 through France in 183 1. I was struck by the immense power 
 
BENEFIT OF THE PERCHERON-CROSS. 143 
 
 displayed by them in drawing the heavy diligences of the 
 country at a pace which, although not as rapid as the stage- 
 coach travelling of England, yet such a pace — say from five to 
 nine miles per hour — the lowest rate of which, I do not hesitate 
 to say, would in a short time kill the English horse if placed 
 before the same load. In confirmation of this opinion, I refer 
 you to an article upon the Norman horse, written by an 
 Englishman, and published in * The British Quarterly Journal 
 of Agriculture,' in which the writer, in giving an account of the 
 origin of the horse, which agrees in tracing it to Arabian 
 ancestry, says: — 
 
 " ' The horses of Normandy are a capital race for hard work 
 and scanty fare. I have never seen such horses at the collar, 
 under the diligence, the post-carriage, the cumbrous and heavy 
 voiture or cabriolet for one or two horses, or on the farm. They 
 are enduring and energetic beyond description ; with their neck 
 cut to the bone, they flinch not. They put forth all their efforts 
 at the voice of their driver or at the dread sound of the whip. 
 They keep their condition tvJien other horses ivoiild die of neglect 
 and hard tjratment. A better cross for some of our horses 
 cannot be imagined than those of Normandy.' 
 
 " My own impression being fortified by such authority, from 
 such a source, where we look for little praise of any thing 
 French, and also from various other authorities, both written 
 and verbal, I made up my mind to return to France at an early 
 day and select a stallion at least, as an experiment in crossing 
 upon the light mares of New Jersey. My intentions were un- 
 avoidably delayed until 1839, when I went seriously to work to 
 purchase one stallion and two mares. The stallion and one 
 mare died before reaching home. I at once returned, and 
 bought two stallions and one more mare, and reached home 
 with them in safety. One of the stallions I got only one 
 season's service from. The other one has now made ten sea- 
 sons, with an average of about eighty mares the season. And, 
 if their success is any evidence of the value of the breed, I can 
 state that, of over four hundred colts produced, I have never yet 
 heard of one that would not readily bring one hundred dollars, 
 and many of them much higher prices. You can therefore 
 
J 44 BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 judge ot the benefits that have accrued from their service. I 
 have yet to learn of one worthless colt ; nor have I heard of 
 one that is spavined, ringboned, curbed, or that has any of those 
 defects which render utterly useless so many of the fine-bred 
 colts of the present day. 
 
 " In reply to your query as to how they cross with thorough- 
 bred mares, I will say I have never bred to strictly pure thor- 
 oughbreds, there being none here ; but those mares nearest 
 approaching it have produced the cleanest, neatest, and hand- 
 somest colts, though hardly large enough to bring the highest 
 prices. Those I know of that cross are excellent performers. 
 
 "To the question, 'What is the result of the cross with differ- 
 ent styles of marcs, as regards shape } ' As regards shape, you 
 may depend upon the predominance of the form of the horse 
 in nine cases out of ten. Indeed, I have seen only one colt I 
 could not instantly recognize from the form. 
 
 " I still hold to the opinion I expressed to you years ago, that 
 our common horses will be materially improved by this cross. 
 The colts have higher action than their dams, and generally 
 keep their feet better under them. 
 
 " I may safely say they are universally docile and kind, at 
 the same time spirited and lively. They break in without any 
 difficulty. 
 
 " As regards their speed, I do not know of any that can be 
 called fast horses, though many smart ones among ordinary 
 road-horses. 
 
 " I am decidedly of the opinion that we cannot do better, if 
 we wish to produce, in reasonable time, a most valuable race 
 of horses for the farm and road, than to breed from a full-sized 
 Percheron stallion." (See cut on opposite page of half-bred 
 stallion "Napoleon III.") 
 
 This importation by Mr. Harris was not at once followed by 
 many others. Not until 185 1 do we have any record of any 
 other; when Mr. Fullington, from Ohio, while travelling in 
 France for his health, became so favorably impressed by their 
 valuable qualities exhibited upon the diligence and in the mam- 
 moth carts of Paris, that he determined to secure one before 
 
|iii|.]ili||i|i|lll!!llllllll!ll!ll!llll!l)ll)llllllih 
 'Uik' I ill 
 
PERCHERONS IN AMERICA. 1 47 
 
 his return home, and try the experiment of the cross upon the 
 common mares used by him upon his own farm. He made 
 a purchase of a gray three-year-old, compactly built, deep 
 shoulders, long quarters, rump flat and square, back short, 
 body round, head medium size, good eyes, ears small and erect, 
 neck rather short, with heavy crest. He was heavy built, with 
 considerable hair on his legs, fiery, muscular, with action one 
 would scarce expect to see in a horse of his build and weight. 
 He named him "Louis Napoleon." When matured, his height 
 was sixteen hands; weight 1,650 pounds. He shipped him 
 upon a sail-vessel ; and in the usual time, without material acci- 
 dent, he was landed in New York, and arrived safely at Mr. 
 Fullington's farm. He attracted very little attention at first, 
 being in bad plight from the effect of the voyage. Being only 
 partially developed and poor, with mane and tail almost all 
 rubbed off, he no doubt presented a decidedly rough appearance. 
 At least, Mr. Fullington and his horse became the subjects for 
 many jokes. 
 
 He, however, had faith in his value, and at once set about 
 proving it. He served all his own mares and a few others, and 
 then impatiently awaited the results ; for he knew that the 
 impression made by the colts was the hinge upon which the 
 reputation of his horse would turn. The results proved more 
 satisfactory than his most sanguine expectations had conceived. 
 They were remarkably uniform in build, blocky and active, and 
 at four months old were complete little horses, just filling the 
 eyes of the people. His mark was made. He soon sold a half 
 interest in " Louis Napoleon " to Mr. Cushman for one thousand 
 dollars, who afterwards bought the other half for a like amount, 
 and brought him to Illinois in 1856, where he was afterwards 
 purchased by the Messrs. Dillon, — the present importers and 
 breeders of the stock, — to whom the people of the West are 
 greatly indebted for the very energetic manner in which they 
 brought before them the value of this breed, by the continued 
 exhibition of the stock at the fairs throughout the country. 
 From the very first "Louis Napoleon" established a reputation 
 for himself as a remarkable breeder; demonstrated the value of 
 the French cross beyond a cavil, and laid the foundation of the 
 fame to which that breed has since attained. 
 
" St. Lawrence." 
 
 Sire, Percheron Stallion, imported by the Vercheres Co. Stock Co., Canada. 
 
 Dam, St. Lawrence and Clydesdale. Age, 5 years; weight, 1540 lbs; color, dark 
 brown. 
 
 He will stand permanently at "Virginia Stock Farm," Sussex Co., Va. Terms, 
 $20.00, payable in cash or secured notes at time of service. 
 
PERCHERONS IN AMERICA. 14c) 
 
 The colts of "Louis Napoleon " gave such unbounded satis- 
 faction in Ohio, — being very uniform in build, so gentle and 
 
 tractable, yet spirited and active, so hardy and easily kept, 
 
 that they determined to secure more of the same breed ; and 
 within a short time several stallions were imported from France 
 into that locality, all of which proved excellent breeders. One 
 of them, belonging to Dr. Brown, known as " Pleasant Valley 
 Bill," and another belonging to a company, and called " None- 
 such," or " Old Bob," strongly contested the laurels of " Louis 
 Napoleon " for the supremacy as breeders. 
 
 Another stallion, named " Rollin," imported by Gordon & 
 Martin in 1856, was purchased by James L. Owen and others, 
 of Illinois, for their own use. He died in his prime, but left a 
 lasting impression upon the horses of that locality. Although 
 Illinois had become renowned for her fine cattle, and had made 
 rapid strides toward the improvement of her work-horses by 
 the introduction of such horses as "Louis Napoleon," "Rollin," 
 and many other large horses of different varieties, — among 
 which were "Oakley Samson " and "John Bull," both imported 
 English draught-horses, — no importations of Percheron horses 
 from France had taken place prior to the spring of 1868, when 
 the initiatory step was taken by the importation of "Success"* 
 and " French Emperor," and a new field of enterprise was 
 opened which has since assumed such grand proportions, and 
 placed the State of Illinois so far in advance of every other 
 section of this country in the breeding of draught-horses. 
 
 These two horses were imported by W. J. Edwards, and pur- 
 chased at a cost of six thousand dollars (;$6,ooo) by the Fletcher 
 Norman Horse Company, organized by M. W. Fletcher, one of 
 the earliest advocates and breeders of large horses in Illinois. 
 
 The company consisted of farmers of this vicinity, — myself 
 among the number, — who were determined to secure for their 
 own breeding the very best stallions that could be obtained. 
 The plan proved a success ; and for several years the members 
 of the company were enabled to breed to two as good imported 
 stallions as there were in Illinois, for about the same price 
 charged for common scrub horses of the country, allowing them 
 ten per cent interest on their investment. As the prices 
 
Success." 
 
PERCHERONS IN AMERICA. 
 
 I^ I 
 
 realized upon the colts were more than double (at the same age) 
 of colts from any stallion ever before owned in the county, the 
 benefits were too apparent to be disputed, even by those invet- 
 erate "croakers" with which every community is encumbered. 
 
 The many advantages of this plan are obvious. With a 
 small outlay by each individual member, the stallions are pur- 
 chased, cheap service of valuable animals secured, and in case 
 of accident or death the loss falls so light upon each that it is 
 not felt. Besides this, the united influence of the neighborhood 
 insures general patronage and success from the start. For com- 
 munities that are inclined to do something for themselves in 
 the way of improvement, there is no better method. 
 
 "SUCCESS " 
 
 was purchased by me at a cost of $3,300, and took the place at 
 the head of my stud that he now occupies, — a position that his 
 incomparable breeding qualities eminently entitled him to fill, 
 and which he has successfully held against more than a hundred 
 imported rivals, the flower of the best stud-stables of France, 
 many, very many of them, larger, finer, and more perfect ani- 
 mals than himself. But those broad, flat quarters ; deep, mass- 
 ive shoulders ; that nicely-rounded body ; those clean, flat, 
 powerfully-muscled legs ; that beautiful head and lofty crest 
 from which falls that mass of silky mane reaching to the knee ; 
 that spirit and mildness of temper, — could not be forgotten. 
 And the unerring certainty with which he transmitted those 
 qualities to his progeny has earned for him a place in the popu- 
 lar favor which i;0 untried horse, of however fine form, powerful 
 build, or general perfection, can dispossess him of. 
 
 The stallions I have mentioned are the ones upon whose 
 success the popularity of the breed was established ; which has 
 caused the rapid development of the importing business, which 
 would be difficult to follow ; which will be understood upon 
 perusal of the list of animals on the following pages, imported 
 by me since 1872. 
 
 My object in thus tracing the importations of the Percheron 
 horse into the United States, and noticing the results of their 
 breeding, has been for the purpose of aiding us in determining 
 
''SUCCESS.' 
 
 153 
 
 that its success rests upon the absolute merit demonstrated by 
 years of actual trial without a single failure. As, step by step, 
 they have merged from the obscurity of a single importation, 
 each succeeding one placing new evidence of its merit as a 
 breeder upon record, until, with a steady advance from county 
 to county, from State to State, from ocean to ocean, its fame has 
 been heralded, its success admitted, and to-day it stands before 
 the country the most popular of all breeds of heavy horses, and 
 will remain so, too, as long as a large, active horse, combining 
 spirit, energy, hardiness, with the greatest docility, capable of 
 performing whatever work may be placed upon him as a gen- 
 eral-purpose horse or one for draught, shall be prized. 
 
 I have often been attacked, and even ridiculed, through the 
 columns of the press, for the stress I place upon the actioji of 
 my horses. I have no sympathy with those gentlemen of ex- 
 treme views, who think a horse must trot in 2.25 or 2.30, or 
 weigh from 2,000 to 2,500 lbs., and not be able to move off a 
 walk. I value a horse, of whatever weight he may be, whether 
 1,000 lbs. or twice that, for what of horse there may be in him ; 
 and if he cannot show a good, easy trotting action as well as a 
 good walk, and that, too, in a good, lively, spirited manner, he 
 has no attractions for me. I want no automatons, no wooden 
 horses. 
 
 And to all who may chance to visit Oaklawn, I will say, that, 
 without encroaching on the prerogatives of the trotters, I will 
 show large horses whoso, performances as well as appearance will 
 please. 
 
COTSWOLD SHEEP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WINNING FLOCK, LATE MAPLESHADE FLOCK. 
 
 I HAVE long been an admirer of Cotswold sheep, and have 
 been anxious to possess the best flock in America. It had long 
 been conceded that the Mapleshade flock of Moreton Farm, 
 Rochester, N.Y., belonging to Joseph Harris, was superior to 
 any other flock of Cotswold sheep in America ; and Mr. Harris 
 says they are better than any imported Cotswolds he has ever 
 seen. They have repeatedly taken the first prizes at the New- 
 York State fairs when there was great competition. 
 
 Mr. Harris is the well-known author of "Walks and Talks," 
 " Harris on the Pig," " Talks on Manures ; " and his last, and I 
 had almost said best, work is his unique and original "Seed 
 Catalogue," which everybody ought to send for on account of 
 the useful and practical suggestions which are thickly strewn 
 upon every page. He would, however, rather you would order 
 a few seeds ^\\h which to try his suggestions, than to ask for 
 the catalogue solely for the valuable advice, " How to Make 
 Good Crops," which it contains. I have read the catalogue, 
 and tried his seeds, and they are both good. 
 
 When his catalogue came out last year, offering every sheep 
 in the flock, I decided that the "Mapleshade flock," or rather 
 all the cream of it, was coming east. "Westward the star of 
 
 >54 
 
WINNING FLOCK, LATE MAPLESIIADE FLOCK. 155 
 
 empire takes its way;" but eastward the champion Cotswold 
 flock has come, and now they are the "Winning flock." 
 
 The following history of this remarkable flock of sheep is 
 from the pen of Joseph Harris himself. 
 
 COTSWOLD SHEEP. — MAPLESHADE FLOCK. 
 
 This justly celebrated flock of high-bred Cotswold sheep was 
 brought to Moreton Farm, seven miles west of Rochester, 
 N.Y., on the Buffalo road, in 1869. It was imported by J. D. 
 Wing, of Dutchess County, N.Y., from the best breeders in 
 England. 
 
 A careful record has been kept, and a complete history and 
 pedigree of every sheep in the flock can be given. It is 
 believed that there is no Cotswold flock of sheep in the world 
 that is better bred, and certainly no Cotswold sheep whose 
 pedigree is more complete or more thoroughly established. 
 Every sheep in the flock has a pedigree tracing back, on the 
 side of both sire and dam, to the best and most distinguished 
 and reliable breeders in England. 
 
 Large prices were paid, and great pains taken to select the 
 very best and purest-bred Cotswold sheep that could be found 
 in England ; and, as stated before, a perfect record has been 
 kept of each individual sheep since they were brought to this 
 country. The sheep are all numbered with C. H. Dana's 
 metallic tags in the ear. The date of service is kept ; the date 
 of birth, and the zveight of each lamb at birth, and at different 
 times afterwards, are all systematically kept ; also the weight 
 of every sheep every year at shearing time, and the weight of 
 the wool. 
 
 The wool has also at several times been examined by experts, 
 and their opinion of the relative value of the fleece obtained as 
 a guide. 
 
 The sheep are not bred merely for "fancy points," but for 
 really intrinsic merit in form, early maturity, vigorous constitu- 
 tion, fattening properties, and qjiality of wool. The flock is in 
 perfect health. The sheep are thoroughly acclimated ; they 
 have not been forced ; they arc kept for use, for real value, and 
 not for show ; they are not housed in winter ; they have sheds 
 
156 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 to run under, but spend most of the time in the open air. If 
 well fed, and provided with dry quarters under foot, there are 
 no sheep that will stand exposure to our severe winters better 
 than the Cotswolds. 
 
 The Cotswold ewes are good breeders and good nurses. 
 They frequently have two strong lambs, and occasionally three, 
 at a birth. I have never had a pure-bred Cotswold ewe in the 
 flock that would not breed. We let the ewes have their first 
 lambs when two years old, and they frequently continue to be 
 good breeders till ten years old. 
 
 The Cotswolds are the hardiest of all the English breeds of 
 sheep. 
 
 Of all well-established breeds, the Cotswolds are the largest. 
 
 The celebrated experiments of Lawes and Gilbert proved 
 beyond all question that the Cotswolds produced more mutton 
 and more wool than any other breed. In other words, they 
 gained more rapidly both in fleece and carcass than any other 
 breed ; and not only this, but they gained more in proportion to 
 the food consumed than any other breed. 
 
 There is a great demand for Cotswold rams, and it is rapidly 
 on the increase from year to year. Last year a Cotswold 
 breeder wrote me that the demand in the Southern States was 
 so large that he had not been able to fill more than half his 
 orders. 
 
 The fact is, there are very few breeders of pui-e-hred Cots- 
 wold sheep, either in England, Canada, or the United States. 
 
 Last spring Gen. Horace Capron of Washington received an 
 order from the Japanese Government for a hundred and thirty- 
 eight Cotswold ewes and four rams, and for fifty-six merino 
 ewes and two rams. He found no difficulty in getting merinos, 
 but it was by no means an easy matter to find Cotswolds. He 
 took all the yearling ewes I had to offer him, and two yearling 
 rams. 
 
 If you doubt that pure-bred Cotswold sheep are scarce, see 
 how many flocks you can find in England or in Canada or in 
 the United States, where the sheep are numbered, and a record 
 kept of their breeding. 
 
 Now that we have in this country a Cotswold record, we may 
 
WIXNING FLOCK, LATE MAPLESHADE FLOCK. 157 
 
 expect that more attention will be given to the pedigree of Cots- 
 wold sheep. The weak point in regard to it is, that the Eng- 
 lish breeders are not placed on the same footing as the Ameri- 
 can breeders. 
 
 An English sheep with no number in his ear, or any other 
 mark to designate him, is accepted at once, simply because he is 
 "■ imported," while we know nothing in regard to his pedigree, 
 
 I make these remarks in justice to those American breeders 
 of Cotswolds who take pains to number all their sheep, and give 
 an accurate record of their breedino-. 
 
 o 
 
 We are expected to exhibit at the fairs none but pure-bred 
 sheep, while we may have to compete with imported sheep that 
 are merely splendid-looking " cross-breds " or " grades." 
 
 Knowing the breeding of my pure-bred Cotswold sheep, I feel 
 justified in saying that they are far more valuable than the 
 general run of imported sheep. I think one of my high-bred 
 Cotswold rams will prove a more potent sire than one of these 
 promiscuously bred rams, whose only pedigree consists of the 
 one word " imported." 
 
 I have no objection to an imported sheep. In fact, I should 
 be glad to use one in my flock, if I could find one that had as 
 good a pedigree as those I now use ; but I have never yet hap- 
 pened to meet with such a sheep ! Look at the pedigree fur- 
 nished with the next imported Cotswold sheep you hear of. 
 Possibly it will tell you that it was sired by such a ram ; but 
 what the ram was, or what the dam or grand-dam was, it would 
 be useless to inquire. 
 
 MoRETON Farm. 
 
 , , , „ ^ Rochester, N.Y., Feb. 13, 18S0. 
 
 John M. Bailey, Esq. 
 
 Dear ^/r, — Your favor of the nth has just reached me. I am in 
 Rocliester, and have not access to my books to refer to the numbers you 
 quote. But I will say this, that, if there is a single sheep in the flock that 
 you prefer to those sent you, I will gladly exchange. 
 
 I can assure you upon honor that you have got all the best sheep ; that 
 you have not a pure-bred Cotswold ewe in your flock that is not better than 
 any pure-bred Cotswold ewe (except lambs) I have. 
 
 I feel badly enough that you have got all my best ewes. My only chance 
 lies in my last-year lambs. With them I still hope to compete with you ; 
 but that will not be till the fall of 1881. Next year you will have the field 
 to yourself. 
 
158 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 But I have no objection to your publishing the fact that you have pur- 
 chased all the (5^j/ ewes in the Mapleshade flock. In point of fact, there is 
 no choice about it. You have all the best sheep in the flock. 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 Joseph Harris. 
 
 The foregoing history, with this letter from Mr. Joseph Har- 
 ris which I pubHsh by permission, proves beyond question that 
 the "Winning flock " is without a peer. 
 
 WINNING ANNA 
 
Three years old. Weight, 302 lbs. 
 First fleece, r2-J lbs.; second, 18^ lbs.; third, 17^ lbs. 
 
 
 
 Weight, 195 lbs. Sheared, 13 lbs. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE " WINNING FLOCK." 
 
 The heliotype from a photograph is a capital representation 
 of " Prince," who is monarch of the flock. 
 
 "Prince," No. 630, was born March 2, 1877, and is conse- 
 quently three years old. His first fleece weighed 12^ pounds, 
 second fleece 18^ pounds, third fleece. May i, 1880, 17^ pounds ; 
 his weight at shearing time last year was 230 pounds. He has 
 grown a great deal since then ; and now, although only in 
 breeding condition, he weighs 302 pounds. The many hundred 
 visitors who have come to Winning Farm to see the Ensilage 
 have without exception declared him to be the best Cots wold 
 buck they have ever seen, and that his fleece is the heaviest, 
 the finest, the most lustrous, and the most desirable they had 
 ever met with. 
 
 He is handsome, remarkably good form, stylish head, strong 
 constitution, and has a perfect pedigree. He is not for sale, 
 but will remain at his post the chief of Winning-Farm Cotswold 
 flock. I shall have a few of his ram lambs for sale this fall. 
 Those who have 25 or 30 ewes which they desire served the 
 last of October next will find a good strong ram lamb will give 
 them the best of satisfaction. 
 
 Among my breeding ewes, there are none I prize higher than 
 •'Lady Brutus," No. 30. She is a noble ewe, weighs 211 
 pounds, shears 12I pounds. On the 21st of February she had a 
 pair of ewe Iambs which weighed when dropped 21 pounds. 
 When three weeks old they weighed 48 pounds. When five 
 weeks old their weight was 32 and 34 pounds, — 66 pounds 
 
 x6i 
 
1 62 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 the pair. When eight weeks old they weighed 92 pounds, and 
 are as " like " as two peas. 
 
 No. 675, "Princess 2d," is not as large as some; but she 
 yields to none as a breeder. She weighs 165 pounds. Sire, 
 "Victor;" dam, "Princess." She had a ewe lamb April 2, 
 which weighed \^\ pounds when dropped. Weight, when six 
 days old, 21 pounds. 
 
 No. 201, " Winning Anna," is one of the best ewes in the 
 flock, and very handsome. Her pedigree is absolutely perfect. 
 Sire, " Young Gloster ; " dam. No. 48, by imported " Golden 
 Fleece." Grand-dam imported. 
 
 She had on March 24, a magnificent ewe lamb, weighing, 
 when dropped, 14I pounds. I paid Mr. Harris, before the ad- 
 vance in sheep and wool, $60 for "Winning Anna." I would 
 not sell her lamb for that and ;^io added to it, for I believe 
 it will make one of the finest ewes in the world. I shall have 
 no ewe lambs for sale, as I want to increase my flock, and shall 
 therefore keep all the fine ewe lambs, and the poor ones, if 
 there chance to be any, I will not sell for breeders. I am re- 
 solved that no animal shall leave Winning Farm as a breeder 
 that is not superior. Persons from a distance can order just as 
 well by mail as in person : describe what you want; if I have it, 
 and it is for sale, I will write you, giving you the lowest cash 
 price. If I have not got what you want, I shall not try to 
 persuade you that an inferior animal will answer. Of course 
 there will be degrees of excellence in the stock I shall offer ; 
 but what I mean is, that no inferior animals will be sold for 
 breeders from Winning Farm. They will be castrated, or sent 
 to the shambles. 
 
 I wish I could describe every ewe in "Winning flock." I 
 spend hours every day with my sheep, cattle, horses, colts, and 
 pigs. I believe I get more enjoyment from seeing them happy 
 and comfortable, their wants all supplied, the most suitable 
 food fed to them at suitable intervals, than is offered by all the 
 pleasures of metropolitan life. 
 
 By the way, the correspondent of "The National Live Stock 
 Journal " called upon me a few weeks ago : I told him the story 
 of Ensilage, and later took him to the barn to prove what I 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE ''WINNING FLOCK:' 1 63 
 
 had said. In one pen were four Cotswold ewes. I first put 
 into their feed-troughs some oats and bran mixed : they began 
 eating greedily. I then put some Swede turnips in : two of 
 them left the grain, and took hold of the roots. I then took a 
 double handful of Ensilage, and threw it into the trough : every 
 one left their grain or turnips, and all crowded and fought each 
 other for the Ensilage. The young lambs eat it before they 
 are two weeks old. I do not believe there is any thing equal to 
 it for young calves. 
 
 Let me say right here, that, judging from the growth which 
 young cattle make in winter, when fed upon Ensilage and wheat 
 bran, colts can be raised upon improved Ensilage at one- 
 quarter the cost of raising them upon hay, grain, and roots. 
 My horses prefer corn Ensilage to carrots. The growth they 
 will make in the winter will exceed the summer's growth upon 
 the best of pasturage. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 COTSWOLD-MERINOS. 
 
 I BELIEVE that the great forte of pure Cotswold rams is to be 
 used on merino ewes. Joseph Harris was the the first to syste- 
 matically try this cross. I will let him tell the story himself. 
 He can write better than I can anyway. 
 
 "I am decidedly of the opinion that the 'coming sheep' of 
 this country will be what I take the liberty to call American 
 Cotswolds. I have hitherto called these sheep " Cotswold- 
 merinos : " this designates their origin. But the time has now 
 arrived when the name loses its significance. For instance, 
 I have Cotswold-merino lambs with three and four crosses of 
 pure Cotswold blood in them, and only 6\ per cent of the na- 
 tive or merino sheep. The next cross will have only 3^ per 
 cent of native or merino blood, and the next only a little over 
 i^ per cent. A few years hence American Cotswold sheep 
 will be shipped by thousands and tens of thousands every week 
 to the English markets. There is no reason why they are 
 not now shipped in large numbers, except the fact that they 
 cannot be found : we do not raise enough of them, or feed them 
 well enough. 
 
 "In the autumn of 1869 I went to the cattle-yards in Buffalo. 
 I bought a, lot of common merino sheep that were brought in 
 from Michigan. They were intended for the butchers. I did 
 not select them. I took the whole lot of 205 sheep. I gave 
 three cents per pound for them, live weight. On running them 
 to the scales they averaged exactly 80 pounds each, so that the 
 sheep cost me ^2.40 per head in Buffalo. I put them in the 
 
 164 
 
* COTSIVOLD-MERINOS. 1 65 
 
 cars, and brought them home. I selected out 145 wethers to 
 fat. The remaining 60 ewes I put to a pure-bred Mapleshadc 
 Cotswold ram. 
 
 " These ewes were well fed during the winter, and in the 
 spring produced 73 lambs, and we raised 72 of them. Stronger, 
 healthier, and thriftier lambs could not be desired. I had 
 feared that by using a large Cotswold ram on such small ewes, 
 we should have trouble in lambing. I had been told, ' You can 
 use a small South-down ram on merino ewes, but the Cotswolds 
 are too large. The cross is too violent.' I may say, however, 
 that not only the first year, but in all my subsequent experience, 
 there has never been the least difficulty. One reason for this 
 is, that a well-bred Cotswold, though such a large sheep, has a 
 remarkably small head. It is very narrow between the eyes. 
 
 " The ram lambs I sold to the butchers at a good price. The 
 ewe lambs I kept to breed from ; and the next fall twelve 
 months, when about eighteen months old, I put these one-cross 
 Cotswold-merino ewes to a pure-bred Cotswold ram. These 
 second-cross lambs were large, strong, and healthy. We had no 
 trouble in lambing, and the ewes were capital mothers. 
 
 "These second-cross lambs, when about eighteen months old, 
 were bred to a pure-bred Cotswold ram. 
 
 " Many farmers told me that I was carrying the thing too far. 
 But it is not so. The lambs from these two-cross ewes were 
 remarkably good, many of them as large and handsome as any 
 pure-bred Cotswolds I ever saw. 
 
 "The third and fourth crosses were equally good. 
 
 "The first-cross sheep have 50 per cent of pure Cotswold 
 blood in them. 
 
 " The second-cross sheep have 75 per cent of pure Cotswold 
 blood in them. 
 
 "The third-cross sheep have 87|- per cent of pure Cotswold 
 blood in them. 
 
 "The fourth-cross sheep have 93I per cent of pure Cotswold 
 blood in them. 
 
 " In 1877 I showed at the fair 'for exhibition only :' — 
 
 " 1st, a common merino ewe with a lamb by her side. The 
 merino ewe weighed 75 pounds. Her lamb was born March 
 
1 66 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 29 : he weighed, July 6, when less than three and one-half 
 months old, 74 pounds ; Aug. 8, ^"j pounds ; Sept, 6, loi 
 pounds. 
 
 " 2d, No. 6, a daughter of the above merino ewe, and her two 
 lambs, Nos. 672 and 673. 
 
 "3d, No. 16, a daughter of No. 6, and her two lambs, Nos. 
 617 and 618. 
 
 "4th, a pen of three-cross lambs averaging 128I pounds each. 
 
 " 5th, a pen of three-cross ewe lambs. 
 
 "6th, a pen of two three-year-old ewes with two and three 
 crosses. 
 
 " These sheep attracted much attention, and were greatly 
 admired. 
 
 "I again exhibited this class of sheep at the New-York State 
 Fair last year, and also at the Western New-York Fair. I feel 
 sure that those who saw them will not be surprised at my 
 enthusiasm. They are just the very sheep that are needed for 
 the production of good mutton and good wool. 
 
 "The wool from one of these Cotswold-merinos, or American 
 Cotswolds, brings a higher price than the wool from the pure- 
 bred Cotswolds ; and the mutton is of finer grain and of better 
 quality." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WEIGHTS OF COTSWOLD MERINOS. 
 
 I HAVE at "Winning Farm" Cotsvvold-merino or American 
 Cotswold ram lambs for sale. I recommend them to farmers 
 who wish to raise sheep for mutton and wool. They are a 
 hardy sheep; in the Southern States they stand the climate 
 better than the pure-bred Cotswolds. 
 
 As proof that the ptire Cotswold ram is the ram to use on 
 merino ewes, let me cite the weights of a few cross-bred 
 Cotswold merinos. 
 
 Ram No. 636, one-half Cotswold, one-half merino, dam 
 weighing less than 80 pounds ; two years old, and sheared 16 
 pounds of good wool, weighs 210^ pounds. 
 
 Ram No. 51, one-half Cotswold, one-half merino, sheared 
 15! pounds, weighed 205^ pounds when two years old. 
 
 No. 628, two-cross ram two years old, three-quarters Cots- 
 wold, one-quarter merino; sheared 14 pounds, weighs 238 
 pounds. 
 
 No. 909, yearling ram, three-cross, seven-eighths Cotswold, 
 weighed at birth 14^ pounds, at one year old 197 pounds. 
 
 No. 954, yearling ram, two-cross, three-quarters Cotswold ; 
 sire, " Lord Moreton," dam No. 6, grand-dam a merino weigh- 
 ing less than 80 pounds. 
 
 No. 509, a three-cross ram lamb, sire a pure Cotswold, dam 
 No. 591, grand-dam No. 6, great-grand-dam a merino ; weighed 
 at birth 14! pounds, when three months and two weeks old, 
 91 pounds ; sheared when one year old, 15^ pounds. 
 
 No. 2, Cotsvvold-merino breeding ewe at Winning Farm, 
 
 167 
 
i68 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 one-cross, half Cotsvvold, half merino, weighs i6o pounds; 
 shears a very heavy fleece of very fine medium-length wool. A 
 very handsome ewe, one which I am proud to show as a 
 
 THREE-CROSS COTSW OLD MERINO RAM, "ALEXANDER," ONE YEAR OLD. 
 
 Weight 173 lbs.; sheared. May ig, 15.J lbs. 
 
 specimen of what can be produced by the use of a pure Cots- 
 wold ram upon a little merino ewe. 
 
 No. 963, one-cross, very handsome, same blood as No. 2, 
 weighs 185 pounds, shears 9 pounds. 
 
 No. 673, a two-cross ewe, a twin, weighs 200 pounds, shears 
 15 pounds of fine lustrous wool over twelve inches in length. 
 Last spring she had for her first offspring a fine pair of twins, 
 this spring she has another fine pair. She is a remarkable ewe, 
 and attracts attention even in a flock of as fine pure-bred Cots- 
 wolds as the "Winning flock." 
 
 There are millions of merino ewes in the United States. If 
 pure Cotswold rams were used for two crosses, their value and 
 the value of their clip would be doubled. There are only two 
 things that prevent its being done : first, the owners of the 
 merinos do not know the great advantages of the cross; and the 
 next is, that there are but very i^^^ pure flocks of Cotswolds in 
 America to obtain rams from. I shall have a number of ram 
 lambs (pure Cotswolds) for sale in the fall. A good, strong, vig- 
 orous lamb is just as good as an older ram for 20 to 30 ewes. I 
 shall also have quite a number of Cotswold-merino one-cross 
 ram lambs : they are worth more than pure Cotswold rams 
 to use upon the common bare-bellied sheep of the South. They 
 are large, short-legged, and covered all over with a dense fleece 
 
WEIGHTS OF COTSWOLD-MERINOS. 
 
 169 
 
 of fine wool of the best quality ; characteristics that cannot fail 
 to improve Southern sheep. 
 
 Correspondence solicited in regard to sheep and other stock. 
 
 WEIGHT OF PURE COTSWOLDS AND THKIR FLEECES. 
 
 No. 
 
 Description. 
 
 Pounds of 
 Wool. 
 
 Weight of 
 Sheep. 
 
 630 
 509 
 
 30 
 64s 
 605 
 296 
 290 
 588 
 629 
 124 
 638 
 427 
 201 
 654 
 67s 
 962 
 683 
 676 
 274 
 622 
 
 32 
 680 
 2 
 270 
 502 
 241 
 685 
 673 
 
 Prince 
 
 "Alexander," 3-cross ram, i year old 
 •' Lady Brutus " 
 
 8 years old 
 
 " Winning Anna " 
 " Princess " . . 
 " Princess 2d " . 
 
 " Lady Lawson " 
 " Lady Hill " . . 
 
 One-cross . 
 2-cross ewe 
 
 I7i 
 ^S\ 
 iH 
 
 "i 
 II 
 
 n\ 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 9 
 II 
 
 13 
 12 
 12 
 
 9 
 12 
 10 
 16 
 10 
 II 
 II 
 12 
 12 
 
 14 
 8 
 
 •5? 
 
 302 
 173 
 
 205i 
 
 180 
 159 
 
 i95i 
 150 
 
 ^55 
 
 165 
 
 166 
 
 184 
 
 217 
 
 i8r 
 
 195 
 
 175 
 
 155 
 
 115 
 
 135 
 
 176 
 
 198 
 
 181 
 
 145 
 
 I48i 
 
 17H 
 
 143 
 
 165 
 
 155 
 
 190 
 
 Average weight of Cotswold sheep, May 19 
 " " fleece 
 
 171 lbs. 
 II lbs. 7 oz. 
 
I/O 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 OXFORDSHIRE-DOWNS. 
 
 Last fall Mr. Theodore M. Norton visited " Red-Gate " 
 Farm, Newton, N.J., owned by Henry C. Kilsey, Secretary of 
 the State of New Jersey, and purchased for me all the ewe 
 lambs he had, also a very fine yearling ram, "Grand Duke of 
 Oxford." 
 
 The Red-Gate Oxfordshire-down flock originated as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 The ram "Duke of Oxfordshire," and two ewes bred by Mr. 
 A. J. Milton Druce, of Twelve Acre Eyresham, England, and 
 twelve ewes bred by Mr. John Treadwell, of Upper Winchen- 
 don, Aylesbury, England. They were imported by Mr. T. S. 
 Cooper, and purchased from him by Mr. Kelsey in 1875, for 
 $1,800. Their produce of 1876 and 1877 has also been re- 
 tained. 
 
 In England the Oxfordshires were first exhibited at the royal 
 show at Windsor, in 1851, by Mr. John Gillct, of Brize Norton, 
 but were shown at the local shows for some years previous to 
 that; and they have steadily gained in favor from that time. 
 They were first known in America about the year 1859, ^ few 
 of them being then imported by Mr. Thomas Motley of Massa- 
 chusetts. They have been gradually improved in England by 
 the careful and judicious breeding and management of the Duke 
 of Marlborough, the Messrs. Druce, Gillet, Howard, Treadwell, 
 and others, and are believed to combine more good qualities for 
 American breeders than any other sheep hitherto known here. 
 
 Mr. George Gardner, now of Canada, an intelligent English 
 
172 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 farmer of large experience, wrote to "The Country Gentleman" 
 in 1870 in regard to the Oxford-downs as follows : — 
 
 " Having a thorough knowledge of the Oxford-downs, from 
 living within a few miles of the part where this breed was 
 originated, I can state positively that there is not a more profit- 
 able variety in existence. These sheep are a complete answer 
 to all those who will not allow that good ever arises from cross- 
 ing, as they were a direct cross between the Cotswold on one 
 side and the Hampshire-down on the other ; and the Oxford- 
 downs are now an established breed, and continue to be distinct, 
 and follow true to parentage without any uneven look in the 
 flock which will occur at the commencement of a direct cross 
 between two pure breeds. . . . The Oxfordshire-down is decid- 
 edly the largest of all the Down species, and cuts more wool. 
 And the reason that they continue to gain favor in England is 
 that the mutton from any kind of Down sheep makes more per 
 pound, and is always more readily sold ; and the Oxford-down 
 lies better within hurdles, and comes to very early maturity, — 
 also cuts a heavy fleece, as well as being of superior quality. 
 Any one may depend upon them for being a very profitable 
 breed if well fed; for they will cut 10 or 12 pounds of wool 
 at 14 months old, and weigh 120 pounds, dressed weight, on tur- 
 nips and hay, if the hay is cut when the grass is coming into 
 bloom." 
 
 In a letter by Mr. Gardner in December, 1876, he reiterates 
 his commendation of these sheep, and says, "They certainly 
 combine all the best qualities of wool and mutton in existence ; 
 as there is the desirable dark flesh of the original Down, with 
 the bulk of the Cotswold, and there is the weight of the wool 
 with the finest quality possible." 
 
 The prices for Oxford-downs have advanced from year to 
 year in England. At Mr. Howard's first sale in 1865, 57 
 rams made £^\2 each ; in 1873 his average for 6^ rams reached 
 nearly ;^ 1 6 each, — about 1^85 currency. In 1875 his average 
 for 60 head was ^17 6s. 6d., or over ^95 each. In July, 1876, 
 at Mr. Druce's annual sale and letting, 46 yearlings averaged 
 , ;^i6 each, single rams fetching 51, 44, 30, and 26 guineas, &c., 
 while Mr. Cooper paid 85 guineas, or nearly $^00 currency, fo> 
 
OXFORDSHIRE-DOWNS. 
 
 17: 
 
 the use for the season of iSjO of the two-year-old ram " Free- 
 land," and all expenses of passage to and from America, insur- 
 ance, &c. 
 
 At the annual show in December, 1876, of the Smithficld 
 Club, of fat cattle in London, a pen of Oxford-down wethers 
 won the £,4.0 cup for the best pen of sheep of any breed in the 
 show, beating the South-downs, Shropshires, Lincolns, and all 
 others. They were sold to the butcher at ^9 each. 
 
 I have no pure Oxfordshire-down sheep or lambs for sale, 
 but I shall have this fall Oxford-merino ram lambs for sale. 
 These Oxford merinos are the progeny of 60 heavy-wooled 
 Vermont merino ewes by my Oxfordshire-down ram. 
 
 "grand duke of oxford.' 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IMPROVING SOUTHERN SHEEP. HOW TO USE OXFORDS AND 
 
 MERINOS. 
 
 The following written for "The Country Gentleman," and 
 copied quite extensively by the agricultural press of the South, 
 gives my idea of the special use for which this cross is pre- 
 eminently adapted : — 
 
 Editors " Country Gentleman," — I enclose a sample of 
 wool from my Mapleshade Cotswold ram "Prince." He is two 
 years old ; sheared i8i pounds last spring, and in breeding con- 
 dition weighs 300 pounds. I have just examined this sample 
 under a microscope magnifying 600 diameters. It is 92 inches 
 long and q^q of an inch in diameter. I also send a sample 
 (from a wether lamb dropped May i, 1879; sired by a pure 
 Oxford-down ram and out of a common coarse- wooled native 
 Kentucky ewe), which is eight inches long and j-^o of an inch 
 in diameter. Sheared May 19, 1880, 11 pounds, and weighed 
 128 pounds. 
 
 I believe the Oxford-down is the best ram of all the pure 
 breeds to use on those long-legged, bare-bellied sheep of the 
 South. He will cover them with long and fine wool of the best 
 quality, and improve their size and the quality of the mutton. 
 Still I think they will be a little too leggy. I am trying an 
 experiment to obviate that, and at the same time lessen the ex- 
 pense of improving a flock. Last fall I bought 84 of the best 
 Vermont merino ewes I could find. I have bred 60 of these to 
 my Oxford-down ram, the " Grand Duke of Oxford." By this 
 cross I expect to get a sheep of strong constitution, covered 
 
HOW TO USE OXFORDS AND AfEAVA'OS. I 75 
 
 with a dense fleece of fine silky wool of medium length. I 
 hope to get a sheep which will be exactly acla[)ted to improve 
 both the fleece and the carcass of the common mountain sheep 
 of the South. These mountain sheep (the common sheep of 
 the South) are long-legged, and shear about i ^- to 2^ pounds of 
 coarse, dry, harsh wool, which grows only upon their sides and 
 backs. By the use of an Oxford-merino ram (as I will term 
 this cross-bred animal) upon a flock of the above common 
 sheep, I expect to get a sheep with a fleece worth more money 
 than that of the merino grand-dam, and at the same time mut- 
 ton will be produced, instead of the superabundant yolk and 
 oil with which the fleece of the merino is filled. What the 
 South needs is a mutton as well as a wool-bearing sheep. They 
 now have neither. 
 
 The demand for mutton is rapidly and steadily increasing, 
 both for home use and foreign consumption. Choice mutton 
 sheep are quoted in the London markets at 65-. 4^. to 6s. 6d. for 
 eight pounds. This is equivalent to 18 to 20 cents per pound. 
 The common sheep of the South can be improved so as to 
 shear from six to ten pounds of first-class wool, and weigh 150 
 pounds at two years old, as my Oxford-down grade lamb proves. 
 The two fleeces would then pay handsomely for his keeping ; 
 and the breeder would have at the end of two years — costing 
 him less than nothing — a sheep worth from $12.50 to $15 in 
 the English markets. European steamers run direct from 
 Norfolk, so that the sheep-raisers of the South Atlantic States 
 have advantages shared by those of no other section. In no 
 other way can so much money be made upon the investment, 
 and at the same time the fertility of the soil be restored and 
 improved, as by keeping sheep. I am by no means certain in 
 my own mind, but that it would be a better plan (and I intend 
 to try it on my Virginia Stock Farm) to breed these mountain 
 sheep once to a pure Vermont merino. This would cover the 
 lambs with wool, shorten their legs, and double the value of 
 the fleece. Then breed these cross-bred merino ewes to a pure 
 Oxford-down ram to get the mutton carcass. 
 
 The difficulty in getting the Southern sheep-owners to try 
 this way to any considerable extent will be the expense of pro- 
 
176 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 curing pure merino and Oxford-down rams, and the necessity 
 of keeping both kinds until all the old native ewes have been 
 replaced by improved ones. If the first plan will accomplish as 
 good, or nearly as good, results as the latter, many will adopt 
 it. The cost of an Oxford-merino ram, in whom the two pure 
 bloods are blended, will be no greater than that of a pure me- 
 rino ram ; and if through his use the good qualities of both the 
 merino and Oxford-down can be made to take the place in his 
 lambs of the inferior qualities of their dams, time will be 
 gained (the old stock will answer to breed from until displaced 
 by a large number of grades), and the expense for a pure Oxford- 
 down ram saved. 
 
 An Oxford-merino ram (a cross between the two pure breeds) 
 can be sold so as to cost the purchaser somewhere from $10 to 
 ;^20, according to age, size, quality, and transportation charges. 
 A pure merino ram would cost as much or more. Then, in 
 order to get a first-class mutton carcass underneath the wool 
 which the merino cross would give, a pure-bred Oxford-down 
 ram will be necessary; and he will cost from ;^50 to ;^ioo. 
 This expense can be saved if my Oxford-merino cross possesses 
 sufficient prepotency to stamp the good qualities which it must 
 possess upon the progeny. There are thousands of sheep-own- 
 ers in the Southern States who would try to improve their 
 flocks if it involved no greater expense than ^10 to ;^20. They 
 well know that a Cotswold cross will do no good upon their 
 sheep. The South-down improves the carcass, but does not 
 increase the value of the fleece much ; and pure Oxford-downs 
 are too scarce and too high-priced. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CRITICISM UPON THE OXFORD-MERINO CROSS, BY A VIRGINIA 
 
 FARMER. 
 
 In your issue of March 6, you publish a communication from 
 Mr. J. M. Bailey, which, to some extent, is very commendable, 
 in regard to improving Southern sheep. I am very glad that 
 he has undertaken to do on a large scale the same thing that I 
 have been doing, successfully too, though on a small scale, for 
 a number of years ; and I have been doing it in the very same 
 way that Mr. Bailey intimated by saying " the people know 
 that it cannot be done." I do not wish to enter into a contro- 
 versy with Mr. Bailey in regard to a cross between the Cots- 
 wold and our native sheep ; for I wield the plough and hoe much 
 better than the pen, and I reckon he would do better with the 
 latter. Theory is good, but practice is better ; and if Mr. Bai- 
 ley, or any other man that has got the idea into his head that 
 the Cotswold is not a good cross on our native Southern sheep, 
 will visit me, or some of my neighbors that I have furnished 
 rams, they will be satisfied that it is a good cross, and, if I am 
 not mistaken, a better one than Mr. Bailey's Oxford-merino will 
 be, for the reason that his merino has the same fault that our 
 native sheep have ; and that is, they do not give milk enough 
 for their offspring ; and this fault the Cotswold remedies, and 
 possibly the Oxford-down may. As I have had no experience 
 with the Oxfords, I cannot say they will not ; but with my lim- 
 ited knowledge, having seen quite a number of them, I judge 
 they are too closely allied to the South-down, which are the 
 poorest milkers known, not excepting our native sheep, to rem- 
 
178 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 edy this great fault ; for, without plenty of milk, it is impossible 
 to make a good lamb or sheep. This fact has been too much 
 overlooked by sheep-raisers, for if a lamb once gets poor when 
 young it rarely ever makes the sheep it would had it not been 
 stinted ; and it is a fact that is conceded by all sheep-raisers 
 that know the different breeds, that the Cotswold excels all 
 others in nursing their young. In fact, they take the place 
 among.sheep that the Ayrshire does among cattle. 
 
 So I would advise all of my brother-farmers that keep sheep 
 (and those that do not, to get some), to cross a Cotswold ram 
 with their common ewes, save the best ewe lambs ; then in the 
 fall after they are one year old (for if put to breeding young 
 it will hurt their growth, and hinder them from maturing as they 
 should), cross them with a Cotswold ram, and save the ewe 
 lamb. Cross another Cotswold ram with them, one that is no 
 kin (for in-breeding is ruinous), and you will have a sheep that 
 you will be proud of ; for they will give milk for their lambs, and 
 will give you from six to nine pounds of wool each (not yolk or 
 grease.) 
 
 [To get some sheep is good advice, but to try this cross will 
 require six years, two years for each cross. A far better cross 
 would be to use a pure merino ram, then breed the ewe lambs 
 when about eighteen months old to a pure Cotswold. By this 
 I think better lambs than Mr. Burgess's three-cross native Cots- 
 wolds could be obtained. I am certain they would be as heavy, 
 shorter-legged, and shear more and better wool : besides, two 
 years' time will be saved. While I do not think the Cotswold 
 a good cross to use upon Southern sheep, the poorest of all 
 crosses would be to use a grade Cotswold buck out of a com- 
 mon Southern ewe ; without extra care the progeny would be 
 meaner than the original ewes. — J. M. B.] 
 
 Then, after grading your ewes up to three-fourths Cotswold, 
 use a South-down ram, and you will get a fine fat lamb, such as 
 the butchers covet, and will pay you a good price for when three 
 or four months old ; or if you prefer to castrate your ram lambs, 
 and keep them until two years old, and feed well, you will have 
 wethers that will weigh from 150 to 200 pounds each, and at 
 the present low price of mutton will bring from eight to ten 
 
CRITICISM UPON THE OXFORD-MERINO CROSS. I 79 
 
 dollars each in our own little market of Petersburg. Their 
 wool will amply pay for keeping until they will do this. 
 
 Now, I must say a few words in regard to Mr. Bailey's Cots- 
 wold ram " Prince " (I am satisfied that he is a good one) ; but 
 Mr. Bailey says he is two years old, and sheared i8| pounds 
 wool last spring. He does not say how many years' growth it 
 was, but probably it was all that he had made up to the time 
 he was sheared ; and if so, he would improve our native sheep ; 
 but my Cotswold ram, " Dick of Linden," would improve them 
 more, for he has done better than " Prince." " Dick " is four 
 years old; and when one year old sheared 13^ pounds, and had 
 wool that measured 1 1 inches long. When two years old, he 
 sheared \2\ pounds, making 26 pounds of wool in two years 
 (not dirt and wool). When between two and three years old he 
 got hurt, so that last year he did not shear as heavy as he should ; 
 but he is all right now, and bids fair to do the right thing next 
 shearing. Last year I also sheared eight ewe lambs less than a 
 year old that gave me 6% pounds of wool, or an average of 8i 
 pounds each ; and I now have eight more that will be a year old 
 in May that I am satisfied some of them will give me over 10 
 pounds each next shearing time ; and all of these are a cross 
 between Cotswold and native Southern sheep. I have some 
 lambs that arc a cross between a South-down ram and my 
 Cotswold native ewes, which are very fine, of which I will report 
 hereafter. Meanwhile let us wish Mr. Bailey much success in 
 his laudable effort to improve the sheep in the South. 
 
 C. Burgess. 
 
 DmwiDDiE County, Va. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 IMPROVING SOUTHERN SHEEP. 
 
 Mr. C. Burgess is a good farmer. He is lately from New- 
 York State. He, like myself and hundreds of others, see the 
 advantages which Virginia offers for an improved agriculture. 
 Here is my reply to his remonstrance : — 
 
 I am truly glad that Mr. C. Burgess has got such fine sheep 
 as he has ; and I am free to confess that when I said, " the 
 Southern sheep-owners know that a Cotswold cross will do them 
 no good," I stated it a little too strong. I should have said that 
 it was by no means the best cross for them. I know from the 
 way Mr. Burgess writes, that he takes good care of his sheep, 
 that he raises clover and tame grasses, that they are sheltered 
 from cold and driving rain-storms, or else fed an extra ration of 
 grain at such times to enable them to withstand the inclemencies. 
 
 Now, I will say that for the average Southern sheep-owner 
 who raises little if any tame grass or clover, whose sheep have 
 got to get their living on the commons, and which receive but 
 very little care, which get. no feed during the winter except a 
 few corn-shucks or pea-vines when the weather is unusually 
 severe, or when snow covers the ground, a Cotswold cross 
 would be about the worst cross he could make. The progeny 
 of a Cotswold buck and the ordinary sheep of the South would 
 have longer legs and longer wool, and perhaps a little more of 
 it. They would be tall, raw-boned walking skeletons ; and I 
 very much doubt if many of them survived the first winter's 
 neglect which their dams have been subjected to for generations. 
 
 I do not say but what Mr. Burgess's sheep are good ones, and 
 
IMPROVING SOUTHERN SHEEP. 
 
 I«I 
 
 that his neighbors who follow his example and take good care 
 of their sheep have profited by the use of rams obtained from 
 him. My article was not written for such as he, but for the 
 average Southern sheep-owner, whose sheep I wish to improve, 
 whether he takes better care of them in the future than in the 
 past, or not. When I have improved them, perhaps he will take 
 pride in them, and care for and feed them better. Then he will 
 be ready for a further improvement, compatible with the changed 
 conditions in which his sheep find themselves. 
 
 TWO-CROSS COTSWOLD-MERINO RAM. 
 
 Weight 2105 lbs. ; sheared i5 lbs. ; two years old. 
 
 Mr. Burgess says that he wields the plough and hoe better 
 than the pen. That may be, but I will say this : that, if he does, 
 he is a mighty good ploughman. He says, " Theory is good, 
 but practice is better." I agree with him ; and he intimates 
 that if I will come and see him he can show me some Cotswolds 
 and Cotswold crosses that will rather astonish me. Perhaps 
 so : of one thing, however, I am certain, — that I should like to 
 visit him anyway. 
 
 Now, I have as yet only a theory as to the desirableness of 
 crossing the Oxford-merino rams upon the common sheep of 
 the South. I think it would be a very desirable cross. I am 
 trying it as he tried his Cotswold cross. He and his neighbors 
 have done well. I think my Oxford-merino cross will be better. 
 Time will show. 
 
 I, as well as my esteemed brother farmer (by the way, I have 
 held the plough many a day, as well as wielded the hoe), like 
 
1 82 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 facts better than theory : therefore I will quit theorizing, and 
 deal in facts, narrating a few that have caused me to have faith 
 in the Oxford-merino cross for the purpose above stated. 
 
 First, as to my Cotswold ram "Prince." He sheared, when 
 he was two years old, i84 pounds of fine, long, lustrous wool, 
 which was his second fleece ; the weight of his fleece when he 
 was one year old was 12J pounds. (Sheared May i, 1880, 17^ 
 pounds : 48-^ pounds in 3 years.) He now weighs 302 pounds 
 in breeding condition, and has no better feed than a flock of 90 
 merinos with which he has run since they were all safely with 
 lamb. So much for " Prince." 
 
 As much as Mr. Burgess likes practice or facts, he is evi- 
 dently theorizing when he talks about merinos. He says "the 
 merino has the same fault our native sheep have, and that is, 
 they do not give milk enough for their offspring." I will give 
 a few facts upon this point, and then we can see how his state- 
 ment tallies with the facts. 
 
 I have a ewe (see No. 2, in table of Cotswold weights and 
 fleeces, p. 169) three years old this spring, whose mother was 
 a merino weighing less than 80 pounds, and whose sire was a 
 pure Cotswold. This ewe weighed when two years old 160 
 pounds, and sheared for her second fleece 6\ pounds of fine 
 washed wool about four inches long. This is the first cross. 
 
 I have also a two-cross ewe (see No. 6'ji, p. 169) of the same 
 age, which weighed when two years old 179 pounds, and 
 sheared for her second fleece 1 5 pounds of long, lustrous wool. 
 I measured her wool to-day, and it is 14^ inches long. I enclose 
 a sample for Mr. Burgess's inspection. She is the grand- 
 daughter of a little merino ewe weighing less than 80 pounds. 
 
 I have also a three-cross ram lamb (see No. 509) which weighs 
 173 pounds; his wool is 13^ inches long. He weighed 14^ 
 pounds when born ; when two months and fourteen days old 
 he weighed 91 pounds. He is the great-grandson of a little 
 merino ewe weighing less than 80 pounds. 
 
 Now, let me ask how these weights could be obtained if the 
 original merino ancestors gave but little milk? For what your 
 correspondent from Dinwiddle says about stinting the lamb is 
 true : they will never be the sheep thev would have been had 
 they been well nourished when young. 
 
IMPROVnXG SOUTHERN SHEEP. 183 
 
 The fact is, there is no breed of sheep so useful to use on 
 merino ciues as the pure Cotswold. But the native sheep of the 
 South are the very opposite of a merino. 
 
 Now a few words as to Oxford-downs, concerni-ng which Mr. 
 Burgess says his knowledge is limited. I do not wish to be 
 understood as intimating that my knowledge is by any means 
 unlimited. 
 
 From the name of his Cotswold ram (and he is a good one), 
 "Dick of Linden," I infer that he came from T. S. Cooper, of 
 " Linden Grove," Coopersburg, Penn. (This is a theory.) And 
 I will say that Mr. Cooper sold all his Cotswolds some time 
 ago, and replaced them with Oxford-downs. Mr. Cooper says in 
 regard to changing his breed of sheep as follows: "When in 
 England in 1875 I could not decide which to buy, — • Oxfords,' 
 ' Shropshires,' or 'South-downs;' and upon asking Mr. John 
 Thornton, the noted short-horn auctioneer, which to try, he 
 advised me to buy a few of each, and keep them together in 
 pasture for one year, giving them all the same attention, and 
 by the end of the season I could tell which I liked best. I fol- 
 lowed his advice ; and not only did I give one, but two years' 
 trial. As expected, the Oxfords were the favorites of every 
 breeder." 
 
 About this time Mr. Cooper disposed of his Cotswolds ; and 
 whether "Dick of Linden" came from "Linden Grove," or 
 not, the above proves that one of the most noted breeders in 
 America was dissatisfied, and wanted something better, and 
 thinks he has secured it. 
 
 I do not agree with him exactly. I think for breeding in 
 their purity, or for crossing on merinos, the Cotswold has no 
 superior. 
 
 I have pure Oxford-downs, the progeny of fourteen ewes bred 
 by John Tread well and A. J. Milton Druce, England, and a 
 ram by the Duke of Oxfordshire, which were imported by T. S. 
 Cooper, and sold to Henry C. Kelscy, Secretary of State of 
 New Jersey, for $1,800. They are all last May ewe lambs, ex- 
 cepting one yearling ram, "Grand Duke of Oxford," who is 
 now at "Virginia Stock Farm." 
 
 Mr. Cooper's flock of Oxfords sheared, in the spring of 1876, 
 
184 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 \2\ pounds on an average. Robert C. Estil, of Lexington, Ky., 
 proprietor of the Elmhurst flock of Cotswolcls, one of the best 
 flocks in the country, writes as follows : " My Oxford yearling 
 ewes sheared me on an average i/i pounds of good wool, bring- 
 ing me the highest market prices. They are, without excep- 
 tion, the finest milkers I ever saw. They are extraordinarily 
 prolific, having twins as a rule, and often triplets : they can 
 raise three lambs as well other breeds can raise one." 
 
 I could give many more facts and statements of distinguished 
 breeders, but think enough is shown to convince any one that 
 my critic's theory as to the Oxfordshire-downs being poor 
 milkers is hardly in accordance with the facts. 
 
 The Oxford-down ram, " Freeland," which I had the pleasure 
 of seeing last January, weighed when imported 425 pounds ; 
 and thirteen ewes, imported in 1879, weighed on an average 
 250 pounds. 
 
 To return to the Cotswolds, " Lady Brutus," No. 30, a pure 
 Cotswold ewe in '' Winning flock," had a pair of twin ewe lambs 
 on the 2 1 St of February; weight when born 21 pounds; when 
 three weeks old they weighed 48 pounds ; when five weeks old 
 66 pounds ; when eight weeks old, 92 pounds; when 12 weeks 
 old, no pounds. 
 
 In conclusion, I will say, if Mr. Burgess will visit me I will 
 show him some Cotswolds, also Oxford-downs, as well as 
 merinos, that will be worth looking at. 
 
 And next fall I will show at the Richmond and Petersburg 
 fairs some Oxford-merino lambs, with their merino dams, 
 agfainst his first-cross Cotswold lambs with their native mothers 
 — and may the best win ! 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW I PROPOSE TO RESTORE THE FERTILITY OF AN OLD COTTON- 
 PLANTATION. 
 
 In May, 1879, ^ purchased an old cotton-plantation in Vir- 
 ginia, and have been engaged in stocking it with short-horn 
 and Jersey cattle, Oxfordshire-down and merino sheep, Berk- 
 shire swine, and imported French horses. 
 
 The first thing to be always borne in mind is the permanent 
 improvement of the land. 
 
 My experience with commercial fertilizers is not such as to 
 encourage me to continue to use them on a large scale. Home- 
 made manures will be manufactured and saved from every 
 source. The stock will be yarded nights where plenty of leaves 
 and wood-mould will be kept to absorb all liquid droppings, and 
 to prevent the loss of valuable elements by fermentation or 
 evaporation. In addition to this we must depend chiefly upon 
 turning under green crops, a proper rotation of crops, and the 
 cultivation of clover. No other grass is worthy to be named 
 beside it. 
 
 In relating what we are doing and propose to do at "Virginia 
 Stock Farm," I will first say, that, if our plans commend them- 
 selves to the judgment of Southern readers, they can adopt 
 them and do likewise. If not, they can wait and see the re- 
 sults ; and, if they are what we expect, they can follow our 
 example. 
 
 The plantation which I have christened " Virginia Stock 
 Farm " is situated in the southern part of Sussex County, 
 about six miles from Waverly, a station on the Norfolk and 
 
 i8s 
 
1 86 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Petersburg division of the Ohio, Atlantic and Mississippi Rail- 
 road. 
 
 It comprises about 2,500 acres, about 400 of which have 
 been in cultivation by tenants for several years, about 1,000 
 acres in old fields, more or less grown up to pines and covered 
 with a sod of broom serge (andropogon), balance in original 
 forest. 
 
 Winter being the best time to bring stock from the North 
 to a warmer climate like Virginia, I procured 54 heifers and 
 two bulls selected in person from the herds of J. D. Gillett of 
 " Elkhart Park," Logan Co., 111. 
 
 A short description of hrs herds will doubtless interest the 
 readers of this book. 
 
 " Elkhart Park " comprises about 10,000 acres of rich prairie- 
 land. Mr. Gillett has upon it over 3,000 head of short-horn 
 cattle. He commenced raising cattle over forty years ago, 
 procuring the best short-horn stock he could. Since then, 
 whenever he has found a bull better than his own, he has 
 bought him, and used him upon his herds. His aim has been 
 to produce short-legged, broad, heavy-quartered, blocky animals, 
 that were hardy and would mature early. He has succeeded 
 in producing an almost perfect beef animal, vastly superior 
 to the pampered, delicate, but highly pedigreed short-horns of 
 fashionable breeding. His calves, yearlings, two and three 
 year-olds, are uniform in size and build, much more so 
 than any herd of pedigreed short-horns that can be found in 
 America. 
 
 By the English rule, all of his stock would be eligible for 
 record, but for the fact that he has paid no attention to re- 
 cording, devoting all his time and thought to producing, not 
 individual animals of high merit, but a race of beef animals 
 superior to all others. A glance at the premium list of the 
 Chicago fat-stock shows for 1878 and 1879, when he competed 
 with thoroughbred stock of all breeds, as well as their grades, 
 winning over $2,500 in prizes in the two years, is sufficient to 
 convince any impartial observer. 
 
 In fact, it was all one way, so much so that last year he made 
 a public announcement that he would hereafter make but one 
 
PREMIUM SIIORT-IIORNS. I 8/ 
 
 entry in a class, so that other breeders might have some chance 
 to win the second prizes at least. 
 
 He exhibited two car-loads of four-year-olds, two car-loads of 
 three-year-olds, two car-loads of two-year-olds, and received 
 first and second prizes upon each, and one car-load of yearlings 
 upon which he received first prize. Year before last he took 
 first prize for best three-year-olds, first and second prizes for 
 two-year-olds ; first and second prizes were also won upon 
 steers one year old and under two. 
 
 He also took first prize in sweepstakes, both pure and grade 
 (all breeds), competing for the best steer, three years old. 
 Sweepstakes also for best two-year-old. 
 
 The chief interest was in the contest for the grand sweep- 
 stakes of $200, cash, and " Stock-Journal Challenge Cup," 
 valued at $125, open to all breeds and ages for the best beast 
 in the show\ 
 
 Twenty-one animals of all breeds and ages were, entered, em- 
 bracing the choicest animals in the show. The unanimous 
 award was that J. D. Gillctt's short-horn steer was the best ; 
 this being the third prize this steer received at the show. 
 
 "This award appeared to give universal satisfaction; for so 
 perfect was the conformation, and so fine the condition, of this 
 steer, that he was by common consent voted the champion from 
 the opening of the exhibition." {National Live-Stock Journal.) 
 See cut, p. 188. 
 
 Nor were these all the honors which Mr. Gillett's short-horns 
 received. The grand prize of $300, as well as the second 
 prize for best car-load of not less than ten head, was awarded 
 the Gillett short-horns. Forty pure and grade short-horns were 
 entered for this prize. 
 
 In no case when the grades (so called) were allowed to com- 
 pete, did a pedigreed animal bear off the prize. 
 
 I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. J. D. Gillett at his home, 
 Elkhart Park, last November. A few days before my arrival 
 he had sold 292 head of three-year-olds, whose average weight 
 was 1,850 pounds, at $5.65 per cwt., weighed upon his 
 scales at home. He had a lot of 90 steers, all three-year- 
 olds but eight, which were two-year-olds, in a lot which I ex- 
 
i88 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
SH0R7-H0RNS FOR VIRGINIA. 1 89 
 
 amined critically, for I had conic 1,500 miles to buy breeding 
 stock for "Virginia Stock Farm." All these animals possessed 
 the same characteristics. Their backs were straight and broad 
 from shoulder to loin, with flesh deep and even as a cushion. 
 The ribs were well back, long and well covered, chests deep and 
 wide, shoulders broad and well rounded, short neat necks, heads 
 small, with mild, contented expressions. 
 
 Concerning this bunch of steers, Mr. Gillett on the 9th of 
 December, 1879, wrote me as follows: "The cattle you saw, I 
 have sold for $5.85 per hundredweight. Their weight in Chicago 
 was, first lot, 23 head, 1,985 pounds ; second lot of 24 head, 
 1,988 pounds ; third lot of 24 head, 2,036 pounds. This will 
 make the lot of 71 head average a trifle over 2,000 pounds. I 
 kept out 19 head of the best ones, for which I have refused $6 
 per hundredweight. They are a splendid, extra lot, and I 
 want $7 per hundredweight for them." 
 
 We then rode to another pasture, and examined his two-year- 
 old and yearling steers. They had never eaten any grain, nor 
 been under a shelter. The next day we inspected the cows and 
 bulls, and last the yearling heifers and heifer calves. Out of 
 about 800 animals I selected 20 of the choicest yearlings, and 
 34 of the best heifer calves, and two yearling bulls. 
 
 They were weighed after they had been on the route two 
 days. The yearlings weighed 850 pounds each, and the calves 
 500 pounds each. 
 
 This lot of short-horns are at "Virginia Stock Farm." I say 
 they are the best lot of short-horns in America ! that J. D, 
 Gillett has built up a breed, or family, of short-horn cattle, by 
 paying no attention to any thing but merit, that for beef, for 
 hardiness, for power to reproduce the same characteristics in 
 their progeny, exceeds any breed of cattle in existence. 
 
 As to pedigree, all I want to know is that an animal is one of 
 J. D. Gillett's good ones. He never saves any but good ones, 
 either male or female, for breeding purposes. All his cows are 
 proved breeders. If one proves a poor breeder, she is fed for 
 beef. By thus for more than forty years weeding out all animals 
 of inferior or mediocre qualities, he has achieved this result. 
 
 The reason why his stock is better than pedigreed short- 
 
IQO 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 horns is, that every pedigreed calf is raised and kept for breed- 
 ing ; his pedigree sells him for more than he is worth at the 
 shambles, the purchaser trusting that he will transmit the 
 good qualities of his ancestors instead of his own inferior qual- 
 ities. If pedigreed stock had been as mercilessly weeded out as 
 Mr. Gillett has weeded his herd, they would not have to take 
 back seats whenever they have to compete with his grades. 
 
 In all the attributes which render pedigreed short-horns desira- 
 able, J. D. Gillett's stock are immeasurably their superiors ; and I 
 consider them to be a distinct and superior breed, and, to distin- 
 guish them from the ordinary pampered and degenerated short- 
 horns, christen them " Gillett's short-horns." We shall have bull 
 calves of this famous breed for sale at "Virginia Stock Farm" 
 this fall. They are the kind to use on the native stock of the 
 South. Purchasers will run no risk of acclimation : these calves 
 are born in Virginia, and can be taken with safety to any part of 
 the South in the fall and winter. We have also a fine lot of 
 young thoroughbred Jersey or Alderney bulls descended from 
 such noted cows as Motley's " Flora," No. 923, A. J. H. B. (rec- 
 ord, 5 1 1 pounds of butter in one year), " Europa," No. 74, A. J. 
 H. B. (record, 19 J pounds of butter in seven days upon pasture 
 and two quarts corn-meal daily). We shall keep constantly on 
 hand choice breeding stock from the best strains. 
 
 For beef no bull would be as potent as one of the Gillet 
 short-horns to use upon native cows. For milk-like cream and 
 gilt-edged butter, use the Jersey bull of well-known butter-yield- 
 ing strains. 
 
 We also have pedigreed short-horns of the purest blood. 
 " Duke of Summerfield " was bred by the Massachusetts Agri- 
 cultural College ; was dropped Nov. 7, 1878, Sired by "Baron 
 of Grass Hill," No. 18,975, American Herd Book. Dam, "Yu- 
 catella," No. 914, American Herd Book; granddam, "Yarico 
 57th;" great-grand-dam, "Yarico nth," by " Kirkleavington." 
 There is no better-bred bull in the United States. He was 
 bought, when a calf, by John M. Bailey of "Winning Farm," 
 Billerica, Mass., and "Virginia Stock Farm," Sussex County, 
 Va., and raised at "Winning Farm." Was shipped to Virginia 
 in the fall of 1879. (See opposite page.) 
 
AMERICAN HERD-BOOK SHORT-HORNS. 
 
 191 
 
192 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 It may be asked what all this has to do with restoring the 
 fertility of an old cotton plantation. I reply, it has every 
 thing to do with it. Keep plenty of good stock-cattle, horses, 
 hogs, and sheep, — especially the last two ; feed them in win- 
 ter, and in summer, when severe droughts prevail, upon Ensil- 
 age ; yard them nights ; save all the manure ; and the old 
 plantation will grow fertile, and the long-cropped soil blossom 
 as the rose. 
 
BERKSHIRE SWINE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE "WINNING HERD." 
 
 "Othello's Sambo V." was placed at the head of the "Win- 
 ning Farm" Berkshire breed, in March, 1879, and in his breed- 
 ing qualities bids fair to rival his famous grandsire "Othello." 
 He has all the characteristics of the Berkshires in a marked de- 
 gree, — grand style, fine head and ears, long, broad and level back, 
 very heavy deep hams, and is in all respects a model. His 
 grandam's sister, Mr. Cooper sold for $1,000. I have the great- 
 est difficulty to keep him from getting too fat. In fact, they are 
 all alike in this respect. I am satisfied from careful experi- 
 ments that it costs no more to make three pounds of pork with 
 Berkshires than it does to make two pounds with any other 
 breed I am acquainted with. The ham of the well-bred Berk- 
 shire is at least fifteen per cent heavier in proportion to his 
 weight than other breeds, with a much larger proportion of 
 lean meat. The meat is fine-grained and of excellent flavor. 
 There is, in some sections of New England, a prejudice against 
 their color. That is an objection which is not skin deep, for 
 after they are dressed they are whiter than the white breeds. 
 
 He was imported May 14, 1877, farrowed March 8, 1877. 
 His pedigree runs directly back through six generations of pure 
 Sallies, to the famous "Sallie I." On the male line we find such 
 
194 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
IMPORTED BERKSHIRES. 195 
 
 illustrious ancestors as "Othello's Sambo," "Othello," — the sire 
 of all the "Sallic" and "Sambo" families, — " Dewe Boar," 
 " Second Duke of Gloucester," " King Tomb's Boar," and the 
 "First Duke of Gloucester." 
 
 This magnificent boar was placed at the head of the " Sallic" 
 family in the "Linden Grove" herd of T. S. Cooper, a place he 
 occupied with' honor to the herd as well as himself, until he was 
 drafted to occupy the highest place in the "Winning-Farm" 
 herd. 
 
 The imported sows which have contributed to the "Winning 
 Farm" herd consist of "Sallic XX. 's" sister, the largest "Sallic" 
 sow in America : at the same time she is of remarkably fine 
 form and carriage. She will weigh, in breeding condition, about 
 550 pounds; if fat, would easily weigh between 800 and 900 
 pounds. She raised a fine litter this season, and since they 
 were weaned, July 30, until the cold weather came on, had 
 nothing but grass. She was bred by Russell Swanwick, Eng- 
 land, and imported May 25, 1876. 
 
 Next comes " Presbury," of whom Mr. Cooper wrote me, when 
 she came to " Winning Farm " last March, as follows : " I have 
 sold over $1,200 worth of pigs from ' Presbury,' since I imported 
 her, May 14, 1877." 
 
 "Sallie VIII.'s" daughter was got by a Stumpy boar, who won 
 the first prize at Berks and Hants show, England. " Sallie 
 VIII.'s" daughter was one of three in a prize pen at the Ccnten- 
 
196 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 ■nial. Mr. Cooper states in his catalogue, "'Sallie VIII.' never 
 had a better pig than this magnificent daughter, and ' Lady 
 Liverpool ' has reason to be proud of her granddaughter." " Lady- 
 Liverpool " has the finest pedigree and record of any " Sallie " 
 sow in the world. She took the first prize at Gailford, 1871 ; the 
 
 
 •■^48 
 
 JM^.-^ 
 
 •^i^ 
 
 ' PKESBURY. 
 
 reserve number at the Royal at Wolverhampton, 1871 ; first 
 prize and silver cup at Liverpool, 1871. Her sire, the " Hebcr 
 Boar," took the first prize at Gloucester, 1868. She won more 
 prizes, and bred more prize-winners, than any sow in England. 
 She was imported in 1876 by T. S. Cooper. 
 
 ^^ J^'- 
 
 -.^^^jrt-'^^'-C^-^*^^*^ -^ 
 
 'U 
 
 "stumpy viii.'s daughter." 
 
 " Stumpy VIII." is a remarkable sow, — great in size, perfect 
 in form, with the finest Berkshire head I ever saw. Her sister 
 
HIGH- CLASS BKRKSIirRES. 
 
 197 
 
 " Stumpy X.," Russell Swanwick sold for ^90 ($450) in ^o\(\. 
 Her progeny are remarkably fine specimens, and occupy a con- 
 spicuous place in the " Winning-Farm " herd. 
 
 "Stumpy VIII. 's Daughter" is pronounced by all who have 
 seen her, as the finest Berkshire sow. As one breeder e.xclainietl 
 upon inspecting her, " I don't know where to take off a quarter 
 of an inch, or where to add an ounce." 
 
 She is perfectly marked, has an exceedingly short dished 
 face, very heavy hams, in short, cannot be excelled at either end, 
 and her middle is as good. 
 
 She is in farrow by "Belladonna's Smithereen," a promising 
 young boar out of "Linden Belladonna" by " Stumpy's Smith- 
 ereen." 
 
 i««fc«»'''«T)«T?:?"ttr^'- '/-.B^~'_v-^-^ 1 
 
 
 
 LADY ALICE SWINEVH.LE. 
 
 "Lady Alice Swineville " is one of my most fashionably- 
 marked sows. She was bred by IMr. Hebcr liumfrey, Eng- 
 land. She has nine little " Sambos " following her, which, for 
 true Berkshire style, cannot be equalled. 
 
 This young sow was amongst the best of the 1877 importa- 
 tions, and for real merit, handsome style, and fashionable mark- 
 ings, cannot be beaten. As a breeder she is without an equal. 
 "Virginia Sambo" is a son of "Lady Alice" by Othello's 
 " Sambo V." 
 
 "Virginia Sambo " was selected to take the place at the head 
 of the "Virginia Stock Farm :" he is a perfect reproduction of 
 his sire, "Othello's Sambo V." 
 
igS 
 
 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
BERKSHIRES AT '^ VIRGINIA STOCK FARMr 199 
 
 "Frozen Ear," a full brother to "Virginia Sambo," and 
 equally well formed, is also at "Virginia Stock Farm." 
 
 The sows at " Virginia Stock Farm " consist of 
 "College Lass " No. i has a litter by Othello's " Sambo V." 
 Nos. 2, 3, and 4, are due in May by "Winning Chief," another 
 of " Lady Alice's " sons, who is sure to make his mark. 
 
 "College Lass " No. i was bred by the Massachusetts Agri- 
 cultural College, farrowed Sept. 5, 1878, sired by "Sambo, 
 jun.," No. 2,247 American Berkshire Record. Dam, "Pride of 
 Autumn," imported by Sawyer, of Easthampton, Mass. "Col- 
 lege Lasses," Nos. 2, 3, and 4, by "Sambo, jun.," out of 
 "Electra." "Pride of Autumn" dressed 425 pounds, right 
 from pasture, without being fed any grain. 
 
 "Winning Sambo" is another brother to "Virginia Sambo," 
 for whose remarkable qualities we must give Othello's " Sambo 
 V." and " Lady Alice " credit. 
 
 " Lady Alice's daughter," "Winning Alice," "Winning Ada," 
 "Winning Agnes," "Winning Achsa," and "Winning Aurora,'" 
 are six daughters of "Lady Alice Swineville " by "Othello's 
 Sambo v.," farrowed Nov. 2, 1879. They form a pen that I 
 delight to look at: they are perfect miniatures of their sire 
 and dam ; they combine all the good qualities to be found in 
 the Berkshire. They will be bred to the "Duke of Presbury," 
 son of imported "Presbury" mentioned above, whose breed- 
 ing qualities are second to no sow in the world. "Duke of 
 Presbury" is sired by "Earl of St. Bridge." 
 
 The "Earl of St. Bridge" won first prize at the Royal, held 
 at Liverpool, Eng., July, 1877, besides three other first prizes 
 at different shows in the same county. He also won general 
 sweepstakes for the best boar and two sows ("Belladonna's" 
 niece, and "Stumpy IX.") of any age or breed, at St. Louis, 1877. 
 He inherits in an unusual degree several marked characteristics 
 of his progenitrix " Lady Liverpool." 
 
 " Earl of St. Bridge " is also the sire of " Dynasty," a very 
 stylish boar out of "Sweet Diana," a remarkably fine sow of 
 the " Sweet Seventeen " strain. There are none better. 
 
 "Sweet Diana" was imported by T. S. Cooper, bred by 
 Heber Humfrcy, England. 
 
200 777^ BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 Another son of the "Earl of St. Bridge" is a remarkably well- 
 built young boar out of " Sweet Janet," a full sister of " Sweet 
 Diana." He has but one fault, — his head is a little coarse; and 
 on that account I will sell him very low, $25 boxed and delivered 
 on board cars. He was farrowed April 7. Dam, " Sweet Janet," 
 got by son of " Sweet Seventeen's " sister, by " Sir Dorchester 
 Cardiff;" 2d dam, "Sweet Lucretia," by " Smithereen ; " 3d 
 dam, "Sweet Desdemona," by " Maple Grove ; " 4th dam, " Sweet 
 Seventeen's" sister by "Lagrange." His unexceptionable pedi- 
 gree would make him a valuable addition to any herd requiring 
 an infusion of fresh blood from a different strain. 
 
 "Winning Belladonna," imported Aug. 22, 1877, is one of 
 the finest Berkshires in America. She has an unexampled pedi- 
 gree. She was bred by Mr. Heber Humfrey. Her dam, " Bella- 
 donna's" niece, and her great-aunt "Belladonna," have taken 
 more prizes than any two sows in the United States and Cana- 
 das. "Belladonna's" niece, as follows: First prize and sweep- 
 stakes at Paris, Ky., 1877 ; sweepstakes at Lexington, Ky., as 
 best sow of all breeds, 1877; at Indianapolis, Ind., first prize; 
 also, first as best sow and pigs, 1877. To crown all, at St. 
 Louis she secured the sweepstakes as the best Berkshire on the 
 ground ; also sweepstakes as the best sow of any breed or age, 
 and the general sweepstakes (with " Earl of St. Bridge " and 
 " Stumpy IX.)" as best boar and two sows of any age or breed. 
 
 "Belladonna," "Winning Belladonna's" great-aunt, won the 
 first prize in her class at the Centennial, and was there awarded 
 
PRIZE- WINNING HERKSIIIRES. 
 
 20 1 
 
 the grand sweepstakes prize of $50 and medal, as the best sow 
 of any age or breed. She weighed 770 pounds. Mr. T. S. Cooper 
 was offered $1,600 for her while on exhibition, but refused the 
 tempting offer, believing her to be worth more to him as a 
 breeder. These sweepstake prizes for the best of any age or 
 brrcd Q,\\^^l to settle the question of the Berkshire's superiority. 
 
 "Winning Smithereen " and " Ik-lladonna's Smithereen " are 
 two very fine young boars, partaking in a marked degree of the 
 excellent characteristics of the justly celebrated "Belladonna" 
 family. 
 
 They have very short dished faces, good bodies, hams, and 
 shoulders, and are covered with a plentiful coat of fine jet-black 
 
 SMITHEREEN. 
 
 hair. ' They were so fine that I bred "Stumpy VIII.'s Daughter" 
 to "Belladonna's Smithereen," and I could not pay him a greater 
 compliment. I do not know which is the best. One of them 
 will go in the fall to "Virginia Stock Farm;" the other will 
 remain here to represent the " Belladonna-Smithereen " strain. 
 
 There are three more sows bred by Heber Humfrey of the 
 " Sweet Seventeen " family, which have added another choice 
 strain to the "Winning-Farm" Berkshire herd. 
 
 To sum up their merits, all must admit their extreme hardi- 
 ness. They are more active than other improved breeds, which 
 enables them to graze and do well when others would perish. 
 They are wonderfully prolific, often having 12 to 16 fine pigs at 
 
202 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 
 
 a litter ; good mothers, and docile to handle at all times. They 
 are especially adapted to cross upon the common swine of the 
 country, their strong constitutional origin marking the grade 
 pigs so strongly that they would deceive a connoisseur unless 
 he knew their breeding. 
 
 Berkshire pork, I am credibly informed, brings a penny a 
 pound more in the markets of England than other breeds. 
 
 The boars who have sired the "Winning-Farm" herd com- 
 prise "Sambo XVI.," "Othello's Sambo V.," "Earl of St. 
 Bridge," and " Stumpy's Smithereen ; " thus giving three 
 entirely different strains, so that all in-breeding is avoided, 
 which is absolutely necessary if the constitutional vigor of a 
 herd is to be maintained. 
 
 Young pigs of the above strains for sale at reasonable prices. 
 No charge for delivery on board of the cars or to express com- 
 panies. When possible I will get a through rate, and save pur- 
 chasers all unnecessary expense. All orders received at "Win- 
 ning Farm" from the South delivered at Norfolk to railroads 
 centring there, free of charge. Orders received at "Virginia 
 Stock Farm " delivered to the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio 
 Railroad, /(?.^. 
 
M. W. DUNHAM'S 
 
 OAKLAND STUD 
 
 nan Horses. 
 
 The Largest and Most Complete Establishment of the kind in the World. 
 
 JRXore -tlian. T^vo XTiiiidlretl Stallions and ^Xaross 
 
 Iinj>ox*tccl fi-om tlio I>t-«t. f?stiicl-S^tal:»le!-» 
 
 in iri-jiii<i-4^. 
 
 Winners of the First Prizes in Europe and America. 
 
 Pirst Prizes and Gold Medals at Universal Exposition at Paris, over all. 
 Pirst Prizes and Grand Medals at the Centennial Exhibition, 1876. 
 
 Nothing has been si^ared in the development of an establishment that, in 
 its systematic appointments, its practical and common-sense management, its 
 acciimvilation of the choicest animals of the breed, combining the highest ele- 
 ments of value in draught-horses, — size, symmetry, style, action and quality, 
 — has no equal in the luorld. 
 
 The public appreciation of its merits is indicated by the great demand for 
 stock from every part of the country. During the past twelve months the 
 Provinces of New Erunswick, Canada, and the States of New York, Pennsyl- 
 vania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebras- 
 ka, Kansas, Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Nevada, California, and Oregon, and 
 Utah, Washington, and Idaho Territories, have drawn supplies from its stables. 
 By the aid of large annual importations, selected personally from the best 
 breeding districts of Franco, I am determined to sustain its prestige, and be 
 prejjared at all times to afford purchasers an opportunity of selection from 
 animals of the most undoubted quality, and at terms and prices that cannot 
 but be satisfactory. 
 
 One-hundred-page Catalogue now ready. The finest thing of the kind 
 ever issued. Twenty-five pictures of stallions and mares sent fbee on ajapli- 
 cation. 
 
 M. W. DUNHAM, 
 
 WAYNE, BTJ PAGE COUNTY, ILI,. 
 
 A fresh importation of these horses arrived April 15. 
 
 N. B.— Every pure-bred animal recorded in PEUCHEKON-l^OK- 
 MA^ STUD-BOOK. 
 
--_;5'^^' wrM'''"[':'';':i'''l(|i|p''(['[ifViir'[f|I'l ;"'T'''iW™«f''»W)^i'i 
 
 I 
 
BRADLEY'S PHOSPHATE, 
 
 FOR ALL CROPS. 
 
 This phosphate was introduced twenty years ago, and 
 from the first year of its use the demand has stead- 
 ily increased until its sales have reached enormous pro- 
 portions. Its unparalleled success is due to the fact 
 that its uniformly high standard has always been main- 
 tained, every shipment being analyzed by competent 
 chemists before leaving the factories. 
 
 It is a high-grade bone phosphate, and contains all the 
 elements of plant food in the most approved proportions, 
 to meet the requirements of the various crops, based on 
 the experience and demonstrations of the oldest and 
 largest manufacturers, and on the experiments of the 
 best agricultural chemists in the world. 
 
 It is finely ground and dry, and in its mechanical con- 
 dition, as well as in its chemical composition, defies com- 
 petition. 
 
 It has been used from Nova Scotia to Louisiana, and 
 from Maine to Illinois, in growing all the various crops 
 in the different sections, and has always given the most 
 satisfactory results. 
 
 This fertilizer is especially recommended for growing 
 fodder-corn and other green crops, for the new curing 
 process of Ensilage, and for raising Hungarian grass, 
 millet, and all root crops. 
 
 It is put up in barrels or bags to suit the purchaser. 
 
 Pamphlets, giving testimonals, directions for use &c., 
 sent free on application. 
 
 Address all communications to 
 
 BRADLEY FERTILIZER CO., 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OP STANDARD FERTILIZERS AND IMPORTERS OF AGRICULTURAL 
 
 CHEMICALS. 
 
 OFFICE AND SALESROOMS, - - 27 KILBY STREET, BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 SEE TESTIMONIALS ON IIRADLEY's PHOSPHATE ON THE NEXT PAGE. 
 
TESTIMONIAL LETTERS 
 
 ON THE USE OF 
 
 BRADLEY'S STANDARD PHOSPHATE. 
 
 FKOM THE PEESIDENT OF THE HUBBARDSTON FARMESS' CLUB. 
 
 Huui;ardston, MAbS., Nov. 25, 1879. 
 liRADLEY Fertilizer Co. 
 
 Gents, — I h.nve used commercial fertilizers for the last two years quite extensively. In 1878 I con- 
 trasted Bradley's Phosphate with another noted special fertilizer for corn. 1 used them in the same field, 
 side by side with like culture, and Bradley's Phosphate gave me the most /odder, the most corn, and 
 an earlier crop. During the same year I raised excellent beans and potatoes on liradley's Phosphate 
 alone: this year I planted nothing without using your fertilizer. As an experiment I took one acre of 
 my poorest land, which two years ago was more or less covered with brush, and on which in 1878 I cut 
 a crop of r>'e. This land had never been fertilized with barn-yard manure. I planted it with potatoes, 
 using nearly four hundred pounds of your fertilizer. The field was planted late, but yielded a hundred 
 and fifty bushels of very nice and smooth potatoes. The crop was hoed only once. From two years' 
 experience I am convinced that paying crops of potatoes can be raised on your fertilizer alone. I am 
 further convinced that it will hurry forward all garden crops as well as field crops, and will greatly 
 increase their amount. Yours truly, HENRY A. FARWELL. 
 
 FROM ONE OF THE LEADING FARMERS OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY. 
 
 CoRlNNA, Mil., Aug. 2, 1879 
 
 Bradley Fertilizer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — I have used your Phosphate for the past twelve years, and always with satisfactory results. 
 I have given many other commercial fertilizers a trial, but find tiiat I'.radley's goes ahead of them all. 
 Last spring I used your Phosphate on all my corn, with tlie exception of ten rows where I used a special 
 formula manure, using it at the same rate that I did your Fertilizer, and 1 find that there is double tlie 
 corn on tlic same area of land where I used the Phosphate; and my neighbors agree with me in ihis 
 statement. Truly yours, J. L. JONES. 
 
 FP.OM THE CHAMPION CORN GROWER OF THE STATE OF MAINE. 
 
 Skowuegan, Me., Oct. iS, 1879. 
 Bradley Fertilizer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — Some five years ago I commenced using Bradley's Phosphate. Since that time I have 
 tested all the different commercial fertilizers brought into this county. Last spring I planted sugar-beets 
 with Bradley's Phosphate, and tried alongside of it another brand of Super-phosphate, and also a special 
 sugar-beet fertilizer. 1 find that Bradley" s Phosphate leads on sugar-beets as luell as corn and 
 grain, and 1 am more convinced than ever that it is the cheapest, best, and tnost reliable of any com- 
 mercial fertilizer ever brought into the State of Maine. Respectfully, R. B. S.A.VAGE. 
 
 FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHESHIRE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL 
 
 SOCIETY. 
 
 Keene, N.H., Nov. 18, 1879. 
 Bradley FERTiuziiK Co.: 
 
 Gctits, — I have been experimenting a little with fertilizers during the past season. I planted corn 
 with three different kinds of commercial fertilizers, Bradley's Phosphate, an animal fertilizer which was 
 offered for sale about here, and a somewhat noted special manure for corn. I made the trial just as 
 fairly as possible, using them side by side on the same land, and giving the same chance to all. 1 could 
 not see any difference between the animal fertilizer and special manure neither at harvest time nor dur- 
 ing the season; but where I used Uradley's Phosphate the crirn was :\houl ten days ahead and all oj" 
 one-third hea^iier than either 0/ the others. I have used Bradley's Phosphate for fifteen years, and it 
 always gives me good returns. 1 have tried almost every other kind of fertilizer sokl about here, but I 
 prefer Br.adley's Phosphate. I raise my corn crop with it every year, and I have taken first premiums 
 for several years at the Cheshire County Fair for the best corn. Sometimes I leave five or six rows 
 through my field without putting in any Phosphate, and it always looks as if there was a deep ditch 
 running through the piece. The trouble about here with the corn crop is, we can't get it out of the way 
 of early frosts. I find no trouble when I use Bradley's Phosphate. 
 
 Truly yours, CHARLES ABBOIT. 
 
 INCREASES WHEAT CROP SIXTEEN BUSHELS PER ACRE, AND DOUBLES 
 CLOVER CROP NEXT YEAR. 
 
 Penn Yan, N.Y., June 16, 1879. 
 Br.-\dley Fertilizer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — I vised four hundred pounds of your Super-phosphate in the fall of 1875 upon two acres of 
 a six-acre field. The yield of wheat was sixteen bushels per acre more than on the portion where no 
 Phosphate w.as applied. The growth of clover has also been much larger. Have used it on nearly all 
 the wheat I have sown since the fall of 7875, ^"d >' h-"' increased the yield from ten to twenty bushels 
 per acre. This vear the growth of clover is more than double on that portion of the field where Phos- 
 phate w.as u.sed. " Yours truly, SAMUEL PERRY. 
 
ASTONISHING RESULTS FROM THE USE OF BRADLEY'S FERTILIZER Oil 
 
 GRASS. 
 [FROM HON. JAMES S. GRINNELL.] 
 
 Greenfield, Mass. 
 Wm. L. Bradley, Esq., Bostom, Mass. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Pursuant to my promise, I will give you an account of my trial of your " Grass Ferti- 
 lizer " on a lot then belonging to my late father. It was a low-lying tract supposed to contain ten acres, 
 but proving to be but eight and one-half acres, and inclined to be wet, smooth, and level old sod, and full 
 of all manner of foul stuff, from which we did not cut over five hundred pounds to the acre, not having 
 been ploughed or manured for twenty years. In August, 1877, I put in two drains of stone across the 
 piece, and ploughed it with a Michigan and an Ellis plow, from seven to nine inches deep; it was then 
 sowed with your " Grass Fertilizer," at the rate of about four hundred pounds to the acre, and no other 
 manure used; it was then harrowed, then sowed with herdsgrass and redtop, eight quarts of each to 
 the acre, and rolled. It passed the winter well, and gave great promise through the spring, which did 
 not fail me in the cutting. In April I sowed five pounds of clover to the acre. The grass was cut and 
 hayed between July i and 6, and yielded a little over two tons to the acre of as good hay as was ever 
 put into a barn. The grass came up so thickly and evenly that it was very fine and perfectly clean. I 
 purpose seeding five acres this fall, the remaining portion of the old meadow, and shall want enough of 
 the same compound for that amount of land. Very truly yours, JAMES S. GRINNELL. 
 
 OATS RAISED WITH NO OTHER MANURE BUT BRADLEY'S PHOSPHATE. 
 
 SotJTH Peacham, Vt., Nov. 23. 
 Bradley Fertilizer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — I have raised, the past season, four hundred and fifty bushels of oats on nine acres of land. 
 I used about two hundred pounds of Bradley's Phosphate to the acre, with no other fertilizer. 
 
 HARRIS LYNDS. 
 
 BIG YIELD OF POTATOES WITH NO OTHER MANURE BUT BRADLEY'S 
 
 PHOSPHATE. 
 
 [FROM THE HAVERHILL DAILY BULLETIN OF SEPT. ig, 1879.] 
 
 Mr. Samuel Fellows has proved the efficacy of Bradley's Phosphate as a fertilizer for potatoes. This 
 season he has raised over six hundred bushels oix two and one-half acres of land, using nothing but 
 Bradley's Phosphate. 
 
 POTATO CROP MORE THAN DOUBLED BY THE USE OF BRADLEY'S PHOS- 
 PHATE. 
 
 Peru, Me., Oct. 14, 1879. 
 Bradley Fertilizer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — I find by careful experiment this season that two hundred pounds to the acre of Bradley's 
 Phosphate has more than doubled my potato crop. GEOllGE H. DAVIS. 
 
 SIXTEEN DOLLARS' WORTH OF BARLEY FOR FOUR DOLLARS' WORTH OF 
 
 PHOSPHATE. 
 
 Starkey, N.Y., June 16, 1879. 
 Bradley Fertilizer Co. 
 
 I have used quite a quantity of your Fertilizer on my crops with paying results. I cannot afford to 
 sow a crop without using Phosphate. Yours has given the best results of any used. I used two htm- 
 dred pounds per acre on five acres of barley last season, and it produced two hundred and eighty bushels 
 of si.x-rowed barley, that would weigh fifty pounds to the bushel, giving me sixteen dollars for every 
 four dollars' worth of Phosphate. Respectfully yours, STOUT SMITH. 
 
 FORTY PER CENT MORE CORN ON PHOSPHATE WITHOUT MANURE 
 ^ THAN ON MANURE WITHOUT PHOSPHATE. 
 
 Potsdam, N.Y., June 17, 1879. 
 Bradley Fertilizer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — Wherever I have used your Phosphate I have received a very marked benefit on com, 
 potatoes, and wheat. On corn, last year, on heavy clay and loam soil, I got forty per cent more corn 
 without any manure where I used your Phosphate than where I used manure. 
 
 Yours truly, F. V. ELLIS. 
 
 IT PAYS FOUR HUNDRED PER CENT ON WHEAT, AND THEN INCREASES 
 CLOVER CROP FOR TWO YEARS. 
 
 McLean, N.Y., Feb. i, 1879. 
 Bradley Fertn-izer Co.: 
 
 Gents, — I have used your Phosphate on corn where it made an increase of twenty-five bushels of 
 corn per acre; on wheat, where it paid me four hundred per cent by actual measurement, and also 
 made a marked difference in the clover for two years. 
 
 Yours respectfullY, ED. PER LEE. 
 
THE 
 
 "Casaday" Sulky Plow. 
 
 No Landside. Light Draft. Easily Managed. 
 
 Move and Intter work with the same jjower 
 than can he done ht/ ani/ plow hi use. 
 
 Address, for circulars, terms, &c., 
 
 OLIVER CHILLED PLOW MILLS, 
 
 SoxTtli 13eiifl, Tncl. 
 
NO ROYALTY 
 
 THE AMEEICAN SHEARER M'F'G 00. 
 
 Manufacturers of Power and Hand 
 
 HORSE CLIPPING MACHINES, 
 
 Also the Only Reliable and Successful 
 
 SHEEP SHEARING MACHINE 
 
 That has ever been put ypon the Market. 
 SHEEP SHEARING MACHINE. 
 
 This is the only reliable sheep shearer that has ever been thrown upon 
 the market. It gives great satisfaction to all who have used it enough to 
 become familiar with it. 
 
 An expert will shear ten sheep an ^lour, easily, as sheep are shorn in New 
 England. Of course the question of speed in shearing involves the condition 
 of tiie sheep and the experience of the shearer. 
 
 This machine is also used for shearing pelts, both fresh and dry. It cuts 
 the wool of equal length, and if properly used never clips the wool the second 
 time. Indeed, prominent manufacturers say that the wool is worth at least one 
 cent a pound more if cut by this machine than it is when cut by common shears. 
 
 The Centennial Award was given us at the Philadelphia Exposition; also, 
 awards from the "New York Institute," ''New York State Fair," the "Ohio 
 State Fair," "New Hampshire State Fair," &c. 
 
 NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U. S. A. 
 r». o. BOX srs. 
 
 Also manufacturers of a fine variety of 
 
 "Winning Faum," Bii.lerica. Mass., May 24, 1880. 
 American Shearer M'f'g Co.— I am veil satisfied with the working of the Sheep 
 Shearer upon my Cotswolds and Oxfordshire ]>owns. We sheared one tine ewe in five 
 minutes; weight of fleece 11 pounds. It sliears them smoother and better than can be done 
 by hand. Yours respectfully, JOHN M. BAILEY. 
 
 A complete line of our Goods can te seen at C. M. MOSEMAN & BROTHER, 
 128 Chamber St., N. Y.; B. A. EARL, 857 No. Fifth St., Philadelphia, Penn.; 
 and L. C. CHASE Si CO., Washington St., Boston, Mass. 
 
 SEND FOR OUR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE. 
 
 AMEEICAN SHEAHEH MANF'G CO. 
 
 WATER ST., NASHUA, N. H. 
 
COOLEY CREAMER. 
 
 Hold Mfilal, Paris, 1879. Butter niaile by tliis process 
 awaitieil .bi'vc/^ji/a/.vs at Iiuernational l>aiiy Fair, ISTti, iiiitl (Jot<l 
 Medal nwA First J'teviium at the gaiue fair, 1879 ; I-'irst Premium at 
 Koyal Agricultural Kxhibiiion, Londou, ISTti. 
 
 ll requires no inilk-rooin ; it raises all of cream between milkings , 
 Tt alTorcls better veiuilalioii ; it requires less labor ; it is nmre tlior- 
 oMj^'hly made ; it is dieaper, and K'ves belter satisfaction iliau any 
 iillicr way of setting milk. 7'/te liutter made by this system is unex- 
 celled in its keepiiiji (/iialilies. 
 
 Over eigbt tliousand of tbese Creamers are now in use, and give 
 the best of satisfaction, 'i'bo best dairymen of the country use and 
 recommend tbem, includinj; (tgden Kami, Newjiorl, 11. I., Kclio 
 Kami, 1-itclitielJ, Conn., Winning Kami, Hill> rica. Mass., Lawrence 
 Farm, (iroton, IMass., T. J. Cooper, Coopersburg, I'enn., Hiram 
 smith, Slieboygau Falls, Wisconsin, llolley (irove Farm, I'laiulleld, N. J., and many others. 
 
 DAVIS S"WI1TC CHTTRIT. 
 
 Aiffinh'tl First I'reiniinn overall competitors at onlj' prac- 
 tical testever held at International Dairy Fair. The box contains 
 no lioais or inside gear, which mash the butter-globules ; no 
 corners in which the cream can lodge to be washed into tlie 
 buttermilk and lojt when the butter separates. 'Ibe butter 
 gathers iii beautiful granules, in the best possible comlition 
 for washing in the churn with cold water and brine. This Churn 
 needs only to be seen to be appreciated. Is easiest to work ; 
 easiest to clean. Sales are increasing fast where they have been 
 introduced. 
 
 THE EUREKA BUTTER WORKER. 
 
 Miffhest A.wnrtl at the Interttatioiial Dnirij 
 Fair at yetv York, I>ec<-nil>cr, 1H7S. 
 
 The "Eureka Worker" is so constructed that all por- 
 tions of the butter are equally worked with even pressure ; 
 works faster and leaves the;/rniii of butter in much better 
 condition than the workers with corrugated rollers, au<l 
 is acknowledged by the best dairymen to be superior to all 
 others. 
 
 TEE IMPROVED EVAPORATOR 
 
 3la1:es better Siiffar than any ajtparatiis iu use, 
 tvith one-ltatf the fuel and labor. 
 
 INIakes sugar that will sell several cents above that 
 made in pans. No sugar iiiuker should be wiihout them, 
 at the extremely low im!k;k at which they are now 
 olfered. These Kvaporators are extensively used for 
 evHpiiiating IMaple Sap, Cane and Sorghum Juice, and 
 for making .Telly from Sweet Cider without sugar or any 
 foreigu matter. 
 
 ALL OF ABOVE GOODS MANUFACTURED BY THE 
 
 Vermont Farm Machine Co. 
 
 Illustrated Circulars sent on apjiUcalion. 
 
ERICAN FODDER CUTTER. 
 
 ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ENSILAGE. 
 
 W'Uh a one or two-liorso tread power or a small engine to drive it, 25 to 50 tons of green 
 curu fodder cau easily be cut in oue day, % of aii inch long. 
 
 Tlie above cut represents onr Cutter with the Safety Flv 'SVliee], by wliich perfect safety 
 is secured to the machine while in motion, and also to the operator. In case any hard 
 subst<ance, such as iron, stone or bone comes in contact with the knives, bein^ fed into the 
 machine with the fodder when the machine is running at its highest speed, there is no 
 danger of breaking. 
 
 In presenting our Nkw Improved Baldwin's American Fodder Cutter to the 
 dealers and farmers of the country, we wish to call their attention to a few of the ililferent 
 points of tlie machine which makes it the leading and by far the best Fodder Cutter in 
 the market. 
 
 1st. Tlie wood work is made of the best timber, thoroughly seasoned, and bolted 
 together so it cau always be kept tirm. It is not pinned together with wood pins like most 
 Cutters In the market, which soon become loose and makes the Cutter shaky, 
 
 2d. The iron work is made of the best wrought and c.nst iron, the boxes in which the 
 journ.als run are bablieted, thus avoiding any possibility of their wearing out; the knives 
 are made of the best .steel, thoroughly tempered. 
 
 3d. Hy a .-iuiple device the top feed roller is so arranged that it rises and f.Tlls according 
 to the thickness of the fodder fed into the machine, and at the same time is kept parallel 
 with the lower feed roller, which relieves all strain from other parts of the machine, 
 
 4th. 'I'he feeding arrangement is the simplest and best in use, having only three feed 
 gears, while other machines in the market are a perfect ntass of gears, which anyone 
 acquainted with machinery would see at a glance would be liable to get out of order and 
 make the Cutter run hard. 
 
 5th. Each machine cuts four lengths— %, 14, 1 and \\{, inches. The length of cut can be 
 easily and speedily changed, and is so simple that anyone'can understand it. 
 
 No. 13 has two knives 13 inches long, and is large enough for cutting for Ensilage for 
 the majority of farms. 
 
 No. 1.5 has two knives 18 inches long. It is the largest Cutter we make and is especially 
 adapted for large siables, paper mills, and for cutting green forage for Ensilage. 
 Manufactured for and for .Sale by 
 
AlbaAy Com id M Fbt ers. 
 
 (See cut on opposite pdije.) 
 
 Awarded the Highest Medal at the Centennial, as being the Best Planter. 
 
 SAVKS ITS COST IN PLANTING FIFTEEN ACRES (W CORN. One man an.l ,i 
 horse can plant from seven to ten acres of corn in one day, with the Planter, at a cost of 
 from $3.50 to $;j.00. 
 
 COST TO PLANT riPTEEN ACRES BY HAND: 
 
 Marking botli waya, one man and liorse, two days, at S3 S6.00 
 
 Planting, twelve "men, at .If 1 ... . 12 00 
 
 Roard for ten extra men, two meals each, at 2.5 cents 5.00 
 
 Wasted, one bushel of corn 1.00 
 
 Total cost by hand ?24.00 
 
 Plant your garden with the Planter in drills, and cultivate close to the rows by horse 
 instead ofhand. Its value for this purpose alone is more than its cost. 
 
 This PLANTER, at one process, opens its furrow, gauges, drops, covers the seeds and 
 rolls them down. Also measures and marks oil the distance for the next row or drill to be 
 jilanted. 
 
 It will plant all kinds of Seeds, from Corn, T^eans, Peas, etc., to the smallest and varied 
 forms of (^iarden Seeds, in Hills or Drills, at any distance between the seeds or hills from 
 one to seventy-two inches. Also measures the Quantity of >eeds lo Ihe Hill, Drill or Acre. 
 
 Any of these changes may be made in tive minutes' time to adapt it to the work re- 
 quired, and the seeding action may be instantly thrown i>ut of gear and stopped, in turning 
 at headliinds, or for moving from iield to field. Hy being careful about throwing out of and 
 in gear, at the end of the rows, the hills may be made to row both ways. 
 
 Willi recent improvements in strength and workmanship, the manufacturer is enabled 
 to offer this machine as the nearest perfect Planter extant. 
 
 There have been more than twenty thousand of these Planters made, sold and put in 
 use, and ipliich are f/irhi;/ uiir/ualijied salla/nclion, aud the demand for them is constantly 
 increasing. It may be worked by horse or hand. 
 
 Price §20.00 
 
 " with Fertilizer or Horse Hoe 23.00 
 
 " with both 25.00 
 
 Address, O. H. P. CORNELL, Albany, N. Y. 
 
 SELF-OPERATING SULKY RAKE. 
 
 Best Rake Made in the World. 
 
 POINTS OF SUPERIORITY. 
 
 SIJUPZICITY.— The mechanism for elevating the teeth of this rake consists simply 
 of a double crank and two independently acting clutches. 
 
 2>rj?^j;/ZJTr. — The lifting device is sufficiently strong to withstand the severest 
 strain, and is subjected to HO jrear jr/(a^fyer, except when lifting the teeth. Nor can it be 
 injured by accidentally or otherwise throwing clutches into gear while the teeth are falling. 
 This is an objectionable feature found in most self-dump rakes, but which is fully overcome 
 iu the construction of the LION. 
 
 EASE AND NICETY IN OPERATING. — To Aisrharge a gathered load, the 
 operator has to merely put the right foot npon a conveniently placed pedal and press d«)wn- 
 wards, which locks the lifting device, thus requiring no further care from the driver, as the 
 forward motion of the horse completes the operation. 
 
 GUAR ANTEE . — Every rake is guaranteed to give satisfaction if properly managed, 
 to be made of good material and in a workmanlike manner, and to do good work in all 
 kinds of hay and grain. 
 
 Examine our Rake before Buying;. 
 
 Address, O. M. F. COItl^TELlL., All>aiiy, iV. Y. 
 
PLANET, JR. 
 
 B 
 
 Is Invaluable for Horse Cultivation of all Garden and Field Crops. 
 
 
 It is constructed in the most thorough manner, of the best materials, in elegant style 
 and with extra tinish. Tlie frame and standards are of wrought iron, hol pki) together; the 
 teeth are tempered and polished steel; the handles are adjustable in lieiglit and the fran.e 
 in width. It has our Improved Patent Clevis, having neither loose pin nor bolt, to regulate 
 
 furnished with a wheel in front when so ordered, and two extra teeth supplied at small 
 additional e.xpense form an attachment which converts the tool into the celebrated 'Iron 
 Age" Cultivator. "When used with wheel and an adjustable concave roller in the rear, it 
 makes a tool which covers corn without tearing up the sod, and in the most thorough and 
 expeditious manner possible. 
 
 No Sugar Beet grower or Ensilagist can 
 afford to be without one. 
 
 NET RETAIL PRICE LIST. 
 
 Planet, Jr., Horse Hoe, Plain, --------- $9.75 
 
 " " " with wheel, 10.75 
 
 '' ■ " " with Wheel and Cultivator Attachment, - - 10.75 
 
 " " " complete with Wheel and Cultivator Attachment, 12.00 
 
 Corn Covering Roller with Irons Add - - - - - - - 3.50 
 
 JOSEPH BRECK & SONS, 
 
 51, 52 and 53 North Market Street, - - - Boston. 
 
CHEAP COHXT CX7LTT7IIS. 
 
 THOMAS PATENT 
 
 sibHa;;;;^BS^Wi 
 
 WITH 48, 72 OR 96 ROUND SLANTING TEETH 
 
 OF TEMPERED STEEL. 
 
 The Frame of Carefully-Selected, Well-Seasoned White 
 Oak Timber, Thoroughly Painted. 
 
 Patented September 22, 1868; October 24, 1871; January 16, 1872. 
 PUOPRIETORS AND MANUFACTURERS, 
 
 THE THOMAS SMOOTHING HARROW CO. 
 
 Office and Manufactory, 241 and 243 Exchange St., 
 
 AGENTS FOR NEW ENGLAND: 
 
 JOSEPH BRECK & SONS, 
 
 51, 52 and 53 North Market St., - - Boston, Mass. 
 
Dkar Sir, — We resiiectfully oomniend to your notice tlie following extract 
 from ail editorial in tlie i'lmntin (ioitlcinan oi" April l."». It is the experiunci- 
 of several thoiisaiul readers of tliat paper, who own our Harrow. This is tin- 
 only iuipleuient that increases the yield of i^rain, hesides doinij; the work of 
 pulverization twice as rapidly and far more effectively. A mowing machine or 
 a reaper gathers the crop quickly, hut makes it no greater. Our Harrow will 
 do the work of harrowing in one-half the usual time, and increase the crop 25 
 per cent: — 
 
 THE THOMAS SMOOTHING HARROW. 
 
 "Tlie Slantiiifj Tootli Harrow lias already proved an important labor-saver in some de- 
 partments of fanning. The rouiKi, smooth teeili, slanting backwards at an angle of forty 
 degrees, freely clear all obstructions, do not clog, pulverize manure, harrow wheat, anil 
 destroy the small weeds in corn drills. Two or three harrowings of wheat in Spring before 
 sowing clover, liave increased the yield on an average aliout live bushels per acre; and if 
 nse<i on all the ^8,000. 000 acres of the Union, would be worth over a hundred million dollars 
 in tlie aggregate. Used on corn before it comes up, and every few days for a month after- 
 wards, tliis iifiplement clears out all starting weeds and saves three dollars an acre in hand- 
 lioeing and cultivating. On the 50,000,000 acres of corn iu ibo Union, it would be worth a 
 sum of great magnitude." 
 
 We also call attentioiito the following from the llural New Yorker, April 
 17, by W. I. Chamberlain, of Hudson, Summit County, Ohio, one of the staff 
 writers of the llural, himself an extensive farmer, who has used the Thomas 
 Smoothing Harrow for eight years. It is part of a long article discussing farm 
 machinery: — 
 
 "FIELD CULTIVATION OF 'HOED CROPS' 
 
 should be ahnost exclusively irithonf the hoe. In many parts of the West the large field.-- 
 of corn, potatoes, broom corn, etc., never see a hoe at all. How the East may learn from 
 the West! Corn is planted with a two-horse rower th;it plants twelve acres a day better 
 than it can be done by hand. It puts the seed down two inches into damp soil, below the 
 reach of the harrow teeth soon to follow and sure to uproot or displace ordinary surface 
 planted corn. Potatoes are covered with a horse. Both are harrowed thoroughly several 
 times before and after coming up. The Thomas Smoothing Harrow is best for this. Indeed 
 it is the only implement I know that is a perfect success as a broadcast weeder and tiller of 
 !/rnu'in</ crops. It kills the young and tender weeds, if used every few days, and leaves un- 
 harmed and greatly benefitted the firmer, deeper-planted corn, potatoes, oats, wheat, etc., 
 and it mellows the soil in the hill as no hoeing can." 
 
 Blawensbuko, N. J., Dec, 1879. 
 The Harrow you sent me gives entire satisfaction. A sjyleiuHd implement for cultivating 
 corn before and after it is up. By harrowing it both ways it will kill weeds and loosen the 
 ground around the hill better than could be done with any other machine I know of. 1 also 
 consider it invaluable for harrowing wlieat in the Spring, having a very beneficial effect, 
 doing no damage whatever, and making the catch of clover an absolute certainty. 
 
 Yours truly, AUGUSTUS VAN ZANDT. 
 
 ASCUTNRYVILI.B, Vt., Dec. 8, 1879. 
 The barrow proved itself to be exactly what we wanted, and as a seed and smoothing 
 harrow we think it cannot be excelled. We used it on ground that was so stony that one 
 section had to be lifted frequently to allow it to pass between the stones. We were equallv 
 satisfied as to its merits on stony as well as on smooth ground. We earnestly recommend it 
 to be used either on stonv or smooth ground. 
 
 Yours truly, ALLEN MURRAY, F. W. BLANCHARD. 
 
 Dkerfield, Franklin Co., Mass., Jan. 16, 1880. 
 I have used your Harrow for several years with perfect satisfaction, it will pay for 
 itself every year in cultivating twenty acres of corn. H. C. HASKELL. 
 
 We have thoroughly used your Harrow in cultivating corn and find it fully performs 
 all you claim. For general use no harrow that we have ever seen bears any comparison to it 
 
 WHITTRN WELLS, Hellville. Wood Co., W. Va. 
 S. C. GRANNIS, Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y. 
 N. A. SMITH, Sunderlain, Franklin Co., Mass. 
 J. L. PETFRS. Worcester, Mass. 
 
 D. A. WHEELOCK, Roslyn, Queens Co., N. Y. 
 J. W. RATHBORN, Utica, N. Y. 
 
 E. G. RUGGLES, Whidsor, Windsor Co., Vt. 
 E. WISNEK. Flat Rock. Crawford Co., Ill, 
 HIRAM ASHCROFT. Sheboygan Falls, Wis. 
 E. M. JRWETT. Buffalo N. V. 
 
 I. L. PATTKRSON, Mt. Ayr, Iowa. 
 
 ROBT. M. McDonald, Summit, Plke Co., Miss. 
 
 HENRY NU'OLL. Philadelphia, Pa., ."iO Pine St. 
 
 W. D. MERRELL, PrarieduChien. Wis. 
 
 JOHN B. DEACON, .Mt. Holly, Iturlington Co., N. J. 
 
MANUFA€TUKER OF 
 
 AXD 
 
 Cultivating implements, 
 
 T. B. HUSSEY 
 
 Manufacturer oj 
 
 Agricultural Implements 
 No. Berwick, Me 
 
 HUSSEY'S NEW HOESE HOB 
 
 AND 
 
 CULTIVATOR COMBINED. 
 
 THE 
 CENTENNIAL IMPROVED- 
 
 WITH 
 
 Five Steel Teeth* 
 
 AND 
 
 Two Steel Mould" 
 boards. 
 
 "Mr, Hussey's plows give excellent satisfaction — never hear them spoken 
 of except by way of approval." — Maine Democrat. 
 
 "The pattern is very handsome, and the plow itself a specimen of excel- 
 lent workmanship." — New Hampshire Journal of Agriculture. 
 
 "Mr. Hussey not only makes it a point to get up a first-rate plow as a 
 whole, but also to have every piece and part of it perfect." — Union and 
 Journal. 
 
 "The No. 15 plow I purchased of you last fall draws the easiest, for the 
 work it does, of any plow I ever saw. It Avorks beautifully, and to my entire 
 satisfaction." R. T. RANKIN, Winterport, Me. 
 
 "Since visiting the factory, we are not surprised that the Hussey Plow, 
 evidently made with so much care and skill, has gained such an enviable repu- 
 tation. We say, 'Speed the (Hussey) Plow.' " — Aroostook Pioneer. ■ 
 
 " The Hussey Plows are the only ones we can sell in this section." 
 
 M. M. STACKPOLE. West Woodstock, Conn. 
 
 "We, the undersigned, citizens of Ipswich, Mass., are using the Hussey 
 Plows, and would cheerfully recommend them to all in pursuit of a first-rate 
 plow." RANDALL ANDREWS. 
 
 L. C. PICKARD. 
 
 IRA A. CARLISLE. 
 
 THOS. SANFORD. 
 
STOCKBRIDaE 
 
 MANURES. 
 
 SEND FOR NEW PAMPHLET. MAILED FREE. 
 
 Seven years ago the Stockbridge Manures More only known to a few farmers 
 in the Connecticut Valley. Now they are so extensively used in the Atlantic 
 States as to require tAvo large factories, one in Boston and one in Xew York, to 
 manufacture tliem. This increase shows what farmers think of good ferti- 
 lizers, and is not only due to the fact that they are reliable, well-made, and 
 high-grade manures, but also to the fact that farmers have found them . 
 
 PROFITABLE TO USE. 
 
 And now that corn and other farm produce is bringing good prices, such as 
 were seldom realized during the war, considering they are now on a gold ?)«.st.s, 
 fanners will Lhcrefore find these manin-es still more 2>*'ofilahle 10 iise. 
 
 ALSO, iMAXUFACTURERS OF 
 
 The Best and C'lieapest Sold in New England. 
 
 ALSO FOR SALE, 
 
 Agricultural Chemicals, Ground Bone, &.c. 
 
 BOWKER FERTILIZER CO., 
 
 43 Chatham Street , Boston, or 
 
 3 Park riace, Xetc YorT:, 
 
THE PIONEER DRILL OF AMERICA, 
 
 MA^NVFACXURED BY 
 
 MACEDON, \NA\NE COUNTY, N. Y. 
 
 THE ONLY DOUBLE DISTRIBUTER DRILL IN THE MITORLD 
 
 Can Instantly and by a Sing:le Movement be changed from 
 a drill especially adapted to seeding the fine heavy grains to one especially 
 adapted to sowing the coarse bulky grains. 
 
 THE BONANZA GRASS SEEDER. 
 
 The only Seeder readily adjustable to work in front or rear of tubes, with 
 equal facility for work in either position, securing uniformity and certainty of 
 distribution of all grass seeds, large, small, or mixed. Has been highly 
 coniniended everywhere a grand snccess. 
 
 THE FERTILIZER ATTACHMENT, 
 
 never more positively than to-day maintained its conceded superiority over all 
 other devices for this purpose. The last year has proved its eminent supe- 
 riority over each and every competitor, readily and satisfactorily distributing 
 Fertilizers whose composition or condition rendered their distribution impossi- 
 ble by any otlier device. 
 
 Any oi' the devices in use sow dry fertilizers passably 
 well. Not a sing:Ie one oi' its competitors have been able to 
 either nnit'ornBly or continiaonslv distribute, bad, damp and 
 pasty fertJJi«ers. WE GlTAIiA!\TEE S*ERFE€T work Avith 
 this drill, distribulin;;^ any variety of fertilizer on the mar- 
 ket, and in any condition it is offered for sale by its 
 uiantifartnrers. 
 
 THE COMMON SENSE SPRING TUBE 
 
 may be used as a peg tube in case any part becomes demoraMzed, preventing its 
 use as a spring tube. Is thorouglily practical in its operation, simple in its 
 construction, possessing all the endurance and wearing quality of the Pin or 
 Peg Tube. Using no gum or rubber in its construction, it is impervious to 
 weather or exposure, and, if accidentally broken, can be repaired at your 
 homes, saving the cost of transportation and delay. 
 
 21^=° All these Drills are furnished with Neck Yoke, Whiffletrees, Land 
 Measurer and the Davis Patent Tube Shifter, for which an extra 
 cliargi* is made on all other Drills using it. 
 
 The Superior Manufacture and finish of these Drills are 
 too Avcll k.Bfiovi'n to require mention here. 
 
 2l^=° For Descriptive Circulars, Price Lists, and any further information, 
 £id(lr6ss 
 
 BICKFORD & HUFFMAN, 
 
 MACEDON, WAYNE CO., N. Y. 
 
HEMP'S PATEXTT 
 
 DLMm m Ml COIEI. 
 
 This cart is not only a Great Labor Saving 3Iachine, but it does its 
 work better tlian can possibly be done by lia.nd. 
 
 This great saving of time and labor is only of secondary importance as 
 compared with the quality of the Avork it does. Good judges have decided that 
 manure spread as even and pulverized as line as this Cart leaves it, is worth 
 from Ttvetily-ftve to Fifty Cents per Load more than the ordinary way 
 of spreading, as tlie young plants receive the full benefit of the manure. 
 
 It will spread all kinds of manure, whether coarse or fine, wet or dry, 
 heavy or light. 
 
 It can be attached to the fore wheels of any Ordinary Farm Wagon. 
 
 Eead what J. J. 11. Gregory, Esq., says: — 
 
 RiCHAKDSON Mfg. Co.: Makblehead, Mass., April 10, 1880. 
 
 Bear .9Jrs,— Send to my address, Marblehead, a Manure Spreader witli latest improve- 
 ments. The best possible recommend is the fact that, after using two last season I now 
 order a third. Should they last but ten years, if I Ret a dozen dollars a year value, out of 
 them, they will pay for themselves. Whereas I am satisfied that 1 SHve iu'liiiie jiecessary to 
 spread it, and in the lietter manner in the spreading, with the greater value given the nian- 
 nre by reason of extra fineness, at least a dollar on a cord. Now as I expect to spread some 
 hundreds of cords with said cart, you can lignre the profits of the investment. 
 
 Yours truly, J. J. H. (iREGORY. 
 
 P. S.— I class it in value to the farmer squarely up with the Mowing Machine. 
 
 J. J. H. G. 
 
 MANUFACTURED BY THE 
 
 son Manufacturing Co, 
 
 worc£stje:r, mass. 
 
FRANK BRAMER'S NEW 
 
 Randall Harrow. 
 
 Grreat Iiiipro vemeiit . Ne Plus Ultra. 
 
 The Host Convenisnt, Effective, Surable and Reliable Harrow Made. 
 
 THE STANDAED OP COMPARISON POE ALL OTHERS. 
 
 The Original Vertical Plate Wheel Harrow, 
 
 A Cultivator equalled by no other; economizes time, saves labor and money, secures the 
 greatest yield of crops by the most perfect tillage. 
 
 A COMPLETE SUCCESS. OVER 30,000 IN USE. 
 
 Unrivalled for its power, incomparable rapidity and effectiveness for surface tillage of 
 all tenaci(jus and tough soils; is often a substitute for the plow, cutting more than six feet 
 ill breadth. It is deservedly considered to be the 
 
 MOST POPTJLAK AND PROPITABLE FAEM IMPLEMENT IN USE. 
 
 1.VIIAT IT WILrl^ DO. 
 
 It will Save time, It will Increase your crops. 
 Save labor, Increase your purse. 
 
 Save money, Increase your happiness, 
 
 Save seed grain. Increase the value of your land. 
 
 It will Thoroughly pulverize the soil, 
 
 Thoroughly cover up your seed grain, 
 Thoroughly cover up your surface manure. 
 Thoroughly satisfy you in every respect. 
 
 Every operation in tillage should refer, directly to securing the largest crop results and 
 to an increase in the after-value of the land. This can be done by the use of the KANDALL 
 PULVERIZING HARROW. 
 
 MANUFACTUKKD BY 
 
 THE WARRIOR MOWER COMPANY, 
 
 l^ITTLE FALLS, IsT. Y. 
 AnPHAXED LoOMis, President. Fit.VMv Buamer, Manager. 
 
 Warehouse, 38 South Market St,, Boston, 3Iass. 
 
Pearce's Improved 
 
 CAHOON'S PATENT 
 
 Broadcast Seed Sower, 
 
 For Sowing Wheat, Oats, Hemp, Barley, Jdye, 
 JSuckivheat, Grass Seed, Mice, Flax, &c. 
 
 The hand machine, at a common walking gait, sows from four to eight acres 
 per hour. The acknowledged superiority of these machines over all others has 
 already placed Ihem in the front rank of labor-saving agricultural implements. 
 A saving of four-fifths of the labor, and one-third of the seed used in hand- 
 sowing is eifected by using these machines. A person entirely unused to sow- 
 ing by hand can xise either machine with perfect success. 
 
 They are Warranted to give Perfect Satisfaction, 
 
 And to save their cost In less time than any other farm implement yet intro- 
 duced. They are substantially built, and with ordinary care will last many 
 years. 
 
 The Horse Power Machine, at the usual walking gait of a horse, sows from 
 ten to fifteen acres per hour. 
 
 JOSEPH: BRECIS <& SOITS. 
 
WHITMAN'S IMPROVED 
 
 These are mamifactiired for one or two horses and are entirely different in 
 construction from any otlier in the following points: The chain is made of 
 wrouglit iron, never breaks, and when worn out any blacksmith can make a 
 new one, while other powers are made with cast iron chain, which breaks often 
 and cannot be repaired without new links. The gearing consists of a 24-inch 
 gear meshing, with a pinion C4 inches in diameter, causing less friction and 
 gaining more power than those using the geared chain, which are troublesome, 
 breaking very easy and losing strength, wlien the lags become twisted, thereby 
 creating friction, causing them to run very hard. The trucks are five inches 
 in diameter, with wide face and long hub, causing them to run much easier 
 than the small truck in general use. The hub of the trucks run against smooth 
 iron guides instead of being confined to then- axles by nuts, or running the side 
 of the truck against a flanged railway, as are used in other powers, which must 
 necessarily cramp the truck, causing them to bind on their axles, thereby 
 losing power that is otherwise retained in this machine. The chain is con- 
 structed by means of a three-fourth incli rod passing through the links between 
 the lags. The lags are ten inches in width, firmly bolted to the chain, which 
 makes the tread very firm for horses, avoids rock or rocking motion, also the 
 jar that is a common comijlaint witli geared chain i)ower and those using nar- 
 row treads. 
 
 The bridge where the horses tread is much larger in diameter than in other 
 powers, thereby gaining much power on account of the weight being farther 
 from the centre of the shaft. We put in a long pinion shaft, driving from 
 either side with a six-arm wheel, instead of a four-arm as shown in the cut. 
 
 The above points, with many others we do not mention, make our power 
 siiperior in durability and ease of draft, and their compactness and simplicity, 
 lightness, great strength and width of tread ing-tloor, are great points of 
 excellence. 
 
 Whitman's improved Railway Horse Power is well adapted for running Ensi- 
 lage cutters, and by many will be preferred to a steam engine. 
 
 JOSEPH BRECK & SONS. 
 
T. S COOPER, 
 
 " Linden Grove," Coopersburg, Pa. 
 
 IMPORTER AND BREEDER OF 
 
 BERKSHIRE SWINE, 
 
 AND 
 
 Oxfordslaire Doatv^h Slieep. 
 
 Mr. Cooper's Berkshire^ won the first prizes and grrand 
 sweepstakes at the Centennial. 
 
 Send for Illustrated Circular. 
 
Fairhnks' Slanlarl mi 
 
 Absolute Accuracy f Unvaftfinff Accuracy^ Sensi- 
 tlve Action,, Diirahilifi/^ 
 
 Are tlie necessities of a perfect Weighing Machine. 
 ALL THESE REQUISITES ARE TO BE FOUND ONLY IN 
 
 They are made in every variety, adapted to all uses, and with 
 
 EVERY IMPROVEMENT 
 
 which the skill and experience of a half-century in the business can suggest. 
 MANUFACTURED ONLY HV 
 
 E. & T. FAIRBANKS & CO. 
 
 ST. JOHNSBURY, VT. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 Miles' Alarm Tills, or Safety Money Drawers, 
 
 Store Trucks, Coffee Mills, The Type 
 
 Writer and Lawn Mowers. 
 
 FAl SCALES m imi OR THE MS, ALSO M Mil USE, 
 
 WAREHOUSES : 
 
 83 MilK Street, Boston, FAIRBANKS, BROWN & CO. 
 311 Broadway, New York, FAIRBANKS & CO.