CIHM Microfiche Series ({Monographs) ICIUIH Collection de microfiches (monographles) Canadian Instituta for Historical IMicroraproductions / Institut Canadian da mieroraproductions historiquas Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Nota* tachniquas at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographieally uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha reproduction, or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. □ Colourad covars/ Couvartura da coulaur r*n Covars damagod/ D D n n Couvartura andommagia Covars rastorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raatauria at/ou pallicuMa □ Covar titia miasing/ La titra da couvartura manqua □ Colourad maps/ Cartas gtegraphiquas an coulaur Colourad ink (i.a. othar than blua or black)/ Encra da coulaur li.a. autra qua blaua ou noiral I I Colourad plataa and/or illuatrationa/ D Planchaa at/ou illuatrationa ^n coulaur Bound with othar matarial/ Ralii avac d'autraa documantt Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion along intarior margin/ La r« liura sarr^e paut causar da I'ombra ou da la distorsion la long da ia marga intiriauro Blank laavas addad during rastoration may appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar possibla. thasa hava baan omittad from filming/ II sa paut qua cartainaa pagas blanchas ajoutAos lors d'una rastauration apparaissant dana la taxta. mais. lorsqua caia Atait possibla. cas pagaa n'ont pas M filmtes. Additional comments;/ Commantairas supplAmantairas: L'Institut a microfilm* la maiilaur axamplaira qu'il lui a At* possibla da sa procurer. Las ditails da cat axemplaire qui sont paut-*tre uniquea du point da vua bibliographiqua. qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exigar una modification dans la m*thoda normala de filmage sont indiquis ci-dessous. r~*1 Coloured pages/ D Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag*es Pages restored and/oi Pages restaur*es et/ou pellicul*es Pagas discoloured, stained or foxet Pages d*coiof*es. tacheties ou piqu> Pagas detached/ Pagas d*tachees Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Qualita tnigala de I'impression Includes supplementary materia Comprend du matirial suppUmentaira Only edition available/ Seuie Edition disponible ry^ Pages damaged/ r~~l Pages restored and/or laminated/ r~^ Pagas discoloured, stained or foxec f~~] Pagas detached/ r~7 Showthrough/ r~7 Quality of print varies/ r~~| Includes supplementary material/ r~| Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc.. have been ref limed to ensure the best possible image/ Lea pagas totaiement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'arrata. una pelure. etc.. cnt *t* filmaes * nouveau da facon a obtanir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at tha reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de r*duction indiqu* ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 12X 16X aox 26X XX 24X 28X D 32X The copy filmed h«ra has b««n raproduead thanks to tha ganarosity of: Toronto Reference Library L'axamplaira filmi fut raproduit grlca i la gAn^rosit* da: Toronto Reference Library Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poasibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contraet spaeif ieationa. Las imagas suivantas ont it* raproduitas svac la plus grand soin, eompta tanu da la condition at do la nottat* da I'axampiaira filmi. at mn eonformM avac laa conditions du contrat da filmaga. Original copios in printod papar covars ara fllmad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tho last paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraa- sion. or tho back covor whan appropriata. All othar original copias sra filmad baginning on tha first paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraa- sion, and anding on tho last paga with a printad or iliuatratad impraaaion. Tha last racordad frama on aach microflcho shall contain tha symbol «-^ (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whiehavar appiias. Laa axamplalraa originaux dont la couvartura an paplar aat imprimOa sont filmOs an eommancant par la promiar plat at an tarminan: soit par la darniira paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou d'illustration. soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous las autras axamplairas originauK sont filmto an eommanfant par la pramiira paga qui comporto uno amprainta d'impraasion ou d'illustration at an tarminant par la darni*ra paga qui comporto uno talla amprainta. Un daa symbolas suivants spparaltra sur la darniira imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon la cas: la symbols •^ signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbols ▼ signifia "FIN". Mapa, platas. charts, ate. may ba filntad at diffaiant raduction ratios. Thoso too larga to bo antiraly included in ona axposura ara filmad baginning in tha uppar laft hand comar. laft to right and top to bonom. as msny framaa as raquirad. Tha following diagrams illuatrata tha method: Los cartae. planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent itre filmto A dee taux da rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un soul clichi. il est filmi * partir da Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche i droite. et de haut an bas. an prenant la nombre d'imegea nicessaire. Las diagrammas suivants illustrent la mOthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 minvjiiflPiMip. 11 f-iJl«M. " I.^PipiPF--^^PfBP!||!PPip*r«WipP IW" III '4'.-3l«Vf?!^NJ« COM FOR ENSIUGE AND THE SIK •M.r^ — V b« A. PA.PER 5 BEAD BY J. H. GRISDALE, B. Agr. Dinctor, Dominion Expnimental Farmt BBVOBB TBI STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY 1911 PBISTSD BY OBDEB OF PABUAtiSNT OTTAWA FRIMTKD BY a a PARMEIiKE, PRINTER TO THE KINO'S MOST XXCSLLENT MAJESTY 1912 lltt48— 1 ' CORN FOR ENSILAGE AND THE SILO >t 7. H. Orisdiae, B. Agr. Director, Dominion Experimental Farm*. Corn for forage or ensilage corn can be grown to adrantage in almoat all parta of Canada at present occupied by farmen or stockmen. Results hsTe not been aatisfaotoiy in every case where efforto have been made to grow it, but this has often been due to wrong cultural methods practised, or unsuitable Tarieties grown, rather than to adverse climatic pecv''ariti'^. ' JLhBOm 70S OEOWIHO 70BA0E COBS. The .wing or making an attempt to grow this forage crop wherarer live stock . , in t ay numbers are numerous and cogent. A few of them follow : — 1. As a plant capable of yielding a large amount of valuable forage nnder a graa* variety of soil and climatic conditions, com is without an equal. 2. When properly preserved, whether as ensilage or dried, it can be used as material to render other less palatable roughage more acceptable to farm animals. 8. It is the best plant or crop for ensiloing that can be grown to advantage in Canada. It is practically a perfect crop for this purpose, hence it helps to solve th« great problem of how to furnish an abundant and cheap supply of snoeulent food for winter or summer feeding of dairy or beef cattle. 4. When properly grown and well preserved as ensilage, it is the equal of o» superior to roots in feeding value and palatability. It can, however, generally speak- ing, be more cheaply grown and more easily preserved than roots. 6. The labour of growing an acre of corp is of a character much more agreeaUs to perform and much less arduous than that of growing an acre of roots of ai^ des- cription. 6. Corn being a cultivated or hoed crop, serves well to clean the land, that ia, ftM it from weeds, so fitting it for grain growing, and putting it into shape to seed down to grass or hay. 7. Com is a gross feeder and may be depended upon to make good use of a never 90 abundant supply of plant food. It is, for Mia reason, particularly well adapted to Occupy that place in the rotation where humifying vegetable matter and a fairly liberal supply of barnyard manure unite to supply large quantities of plant food suitable for root, leaf and dtem growth rather than for seed production. 8. The growing of com on a fair proportion of arable land on the farm wHl permit of keeping more cattle, and so increase the revenue as well as augment the manure supply, so essential to the maintenance of soil fertility. ' 9. Com, when preserved as ensilage, can be stored much more cheaply in much less space than any other roughage. In addition, stored in this way it will keep inde- S014»-l| finitely and fa ahrajn ready to feed. Ten tona ailage ooeapiea no moTe <^paoe tbao one ton hay. One ton hay u worth about two and one-half tona ailage. 10. In thirty yean' ezperianoe in fanning in the OtUwa Talley, the writer hag teen all kinda of ffrain crope nttar faihirae; ha haa leen hay ao light aa notto pay for the making and roota and potatoea praetically nil, but ia all that time he hat never Men a failure in the oom crop. There haa alwaya beoi a fairly profitable return from the fields in com. 11. It makea it possible to greatly lerjen the pasturage, consequently more land ean be brought und« euItiTaticm. IS. At a moderate eatimate, two cows can be kept on the same acreage and at the . same cost when com ensilage is properly grown and used as one on the same farm when cattle are fed on hay or other roughage. Where to Orow it Oom will grow in any kind of soil, provided always that there is good drainage. Under drainage ia not abaolutely neoeasary, although advisable here as with other farm eropa. On low-lying or level lands, ditohea should be in good working condition and water furrows kept open all summer. If a choice of land may be made, then warm- ISottomad, light loamy soil may be expected to prove the moat satisfactory under mo8t weather oonditions. In the rotation, oom should follow clover hay, pasture or meadow. Stubble land as well as lands that have just been in hoed crops are not suitable, since the supply of komua or htunifying material is likely to be small, and, aince corn needs much foot! aueh aa theae tubstancea provide, it would probably fall short of a good crop on account of the lack thereof. Com might advantageously come after grain, or even follow a hoed crop, provided the land were ' ry fertile or a very heavy dressing of numure were applied. Mamirial Reqnireaenta. The beat fertilising material for com is undoubtedly good barnyard manure. A mixture of one part horse manure to three parts cattle manure applied green at the rate of IS or IS tons per acre, may be expected to give very good results. The applica- tion might be made in ibe fall, winter or spring, or during the preceding summer. If ploughed in, only a shallow furrow should be turned. Commercial fertilizers are not necessary, nor are they likely to prove profitable where the above mentioned dress- ing of farmyard manure can be applied. PreparatioB of tlie Soil. Where day land fa to be used for corn, it is generally well to plough in the autumn, turning a well set-up, moderately deep furrow (6 to 7 inches deep), beinf? careful, of course, to go no deeper than usual. If light land is to be used it is gener- ally advisable to plough in the spring, turning a flat, shallow furrow (4 or 5 inches deep). In either case the manure may be ploughed in or worked in on the surface with the disc harrow. The land should be worked down till a smooth, mellow, yet solid seed bed has been prepared. To get the land into such ahape, it may be necessary to diac and roll several times as well as work with a smoothing harrow. In any case, no planting ahould be done until what might be called s perfect aeed bed has bem prepared. Snooeaa or fdlvM will dapand vary largely upoa tkia faatuia of tborooffli toll pnpantloa befon Medinf. IfMiri PNftffttiaa for Ural «r OAyay luids. Whan aithar haavy day land or Isral land not under-drainad ia to ba uaad, it la not infrequantly adTitabla to maka apecial preparation by ploughing and working in a ■pedal way. The land ahould be ploughed in nicely rounded ridgei exactly 10 feet A incbea from centi« to centre. All neceaaary cultivation should be so done aa to preserve the rounding lurfaoe of the ridgea, and the dead furrowi should be kept clean and should opeA into a well-kept ditdi, thus insuring good drainage. In planting, the £rst row should be run down the middle of the ridge and two others on the same ridge, one on each side 42 inches away. Thus the rows on the whole field will be uniformly 8 feet 6 inches apart and always dear of dead f urrowa. When to Sow. Com ahould ba sown aa early as weather and soil conditions permit From the ] 6th to the end of May, according to district and season, is a very good rule. Very addom will it do to bow later than June 6 or 6. Sow when soil is warm and dry. ■ethods of Seeding. Oom for forage or ensilage may be planted in rowa or hills. If planteu in rowa aa uaually adTisable, the rows should be at least 42 inchea apart The planto should Btand about 8 inohea apart in the rows. In seeding, it would not bo adrieable to try ' to BOW aa sparsdy as this. It ia better to give a rather heavier seeding and then thin out to the desired thickness with : '.\ ...rs to guard againat thia winged enemy: — First. — If com is to be planted by hand, ti f- 'lowing me'Wod will ba found effeo- tiye. Immerse com fo 70 or three minutea ia water as hct as can be home by tha hand. Drain water off and while still damp and warm, add warm coal tar at rate of half a cupful per gallon of com. Thoroughly mix the oom and tar till every kerad has more or leas tar oa it As a drier add a small amount of lime, plaster or even dry road dust. If the mixing and drying haa been well done, seed so prepared may ba sown by machine. Second. — When orows are noticed on the field, take soma com, say two galloaa, more or less, according to sin of field it is desired to protect, and boil for about thirty minutea in water, just sufficient to oover the com and an inch to spare. To tha water and com, before boiling, add about one-eighth ounce of strychnine, or better still of stiychnine sulphate, for each gallon of water. Allow the ' ^ra to lie in the stryohnina and water over night In the morning, drain off any water remaining and scatter tha com thinly over the field off which it is desired to frighten the crows. In making use of the above plan, great care should be taken to pour water off oom into some hole, or on some spot not likely to be frequented by children or domestio animals. Care should also be taken to keep poultry off com field for some two or three weeks after poisoned com has been scattered thereon. Nothing practicable can be done to prevent smut, excepting possibly the gathering and burying of affected ears. When to Harreit. Com will be ready to cut for forage or enailoing when the grain or kemel ia ia dia dough atage and haa begun to glaae. If weather ooaditiona are adverse, that ia, sold and wet it is often advisable to cut before thia atnga of maturity is reached, lAan for any reaaon the crop is lata maturing. Frost does not spoil the crop for ta&ia forag* or ensilage, but the feeding Talua ia quit* materially l eaasnad if tha leavea aad staDn are badly froaea. 8 Oattiaf tke Oan. Special machinal called com harretten are manufactured by Tarious agricultural implement companiea, and, irbera considenbk anaa of com are grown, will be found practicable and economical The farmer who growa only a few acrea would not find it to hia adrantage to inveat in auch a machine. The com may be cut with hand aicklea of varioua desoriptiona or with hoea. A man can cut from three-quarters of an acre to an acre and a quarter in a ten-hour day, using one of the above small tools. With a com harvester, in ten houra a man with a good team can cut from four to six acrea, according to condition of the com. Makiag and FreterTlng Dry Con Fodder. Where no silo is at hand to use in storing and preserving the com, very satis- factory results may be expected by drying the crop for fall or winter use. To preserve in this way, the com should be bound into sheaves 8 to 13 inches in diameter, and five or six of these made into an open but firmly built shock, the topa being bound together to lend further strength. These shocks, if well built, may be expected to stand as long as it is desired to leave them in the field. In fact, not a few farmers haul them in as needed in winter. If barn room is available, they might be hauled in anU stored on top of mows or elsewhere, care being taken to place them erect and not to pack too tightly as there is danger of heating or mould. If the com is fairly dry and the straw is plentiful, the com might be hauled and stored among the straw, placing it in layers, being careful to have a good thick layer of straw, at least two feet, between the layers of com sheaves. Wliera it is not deaired to leave in shocks in the field and no bam room is avail- able, a fairly satisfactory plan is to haul near the neighbourhood of the bam and stand in TOWS on either side of tr^ptles so arranged as to allow prevailing winds to blow down alleys between tows of com. Feeding Cora Fodder. The beat method of feeding dry com is to run enough of it through the cut box to last a week or ten days. Mix straw or cut hay with this cut fodder com. This mass will quite probably heat to a certain extent, but this will increase the palatability, unless allowed to lie for too long a time. It is possible, of course, to feed without cutting, but considerable loss of food and comparatively unsatisfactory results may be anticipated when the forage is fed uncut Ennloing. The really best way to preserve com and the way to get the greatest returns from the field in the shape of food, is to store it in a good silo. If very juicy or lacking moturity when cut, it is often well to let it lie for a day or two between cutting and ensiloing. If very dry when cut, it is sometimes well when ensiloing to pour a few gallons of water around the wall of the silo for each foot in height as the ensilage rises, say one gallon water to one foot in circumference of the silo at each foot in height of rising ensilage. In any case the com should be cut into short lengths, the Bhor.er the better, say half -inch lengths, and well mixed, the eara with the stem and leaves all the way up. It is well alao to tramp and fill most carefully around the walls. It it impoMible to properly fill the iflo at the one time. It ehovld be filled to the top, allowed to aettle for a few days then fiUed again. It is advisable to repeat this settling and filling more than once if possible. When filled for the last time, the surface thotdd be nearly lerelled, slightly higher in the middle if anything, and well tramped. If possible by putting a few barrels of water on the surface, less waste may be anticipated. Particularly is this true if the water is used freely around the wall. The Cut Box. Two distinct types of machine exist for cutting com into the silo, the chain elevator cut box and the blower. The chain elevator cut box will do satisfactory work with much less power than wiQ the blower, hence is the advisable kind to buy for the man whose motive power is small. A good two-hotee tread power will drive a fair-sized chain elevator cut box at moderate speed and raise the silage 30 feet. A very much greater power is required to drive a cut box of the blower type. Another reason in favour of the chain elevator type for the farmer who must own his out box is the smaller number of men required to handle it economically. However, where all the men and horses necessary can be counted upon and a powerful engine is available for driving, then, the blower type of cut box may be expected to do the work of filling the silo more cheaply and much more expeditiously than one of the chain elevator sort In any case, great care should be taken to keep all machinery in good running order, and particular attention should be paid to keeping the cut box knives sharp and properly set. TTiiiig Ennlage. The ensilage will, of oourae, always be taken from the top when it ia being fed out The surface should be kept as level as possible, and in winter it will be found good practice to keep the surface a little lower around the wall than in the centre. This will largely prevent freesing to the walls or into the body of the ensilage. Frozen ensilage, once it is thawed out, is, however, quite as good as any other. Ensilage may be fed directly to cattle just as it comes from the silo, but a better plan is to add to the ensilage a considerable amount, say 10 or 15 lbs. of cut hay or chaffed straw to 100 lbs. ensilage. If floor space is available for the purpose, mixing su£Bcient cut hay or chaff and ensilage to last several days (three or four) will prove to be a very satisfactory method of preparing feed for the cattle. Any meal to be fed should be thrown on the mixture of straw and ensilage after it is in the manger. Stir the whole mass after sprinkling meaL An average cow will consume about 40 lbs. of such a mixture of ensilage and straw or hay per diem. BatioM including Corn Ensilage. Com silage and straw or chaff, while together making a most excellent foundation or base, do not alone constitute a well balanced or suitable ration for any class of live stock. For feeding heifers or young stock, some bran and clover hay should be added. A suitable ration would be: — ■iMi » For ywrling li^ai»— Com tilace 85 to SS Ibt. Straw or dwff 4 to • " CloTW hay 4 " Bran « " For dry oowa — Oom silage •••• 80to60 Iba. Straw 8 to 10 " Clover hay 4 « Bran 1 to » " For cow in milk — Com silage 45 lbs. Straw 6 « Clover hay 4 to 6 " Meal mixture : bran, oata, glatem or oilcake meal or eottOBaead meal, equal parts. One pound meal to three or four ponnds milk prodnoed par diem. For steers running over winter (1,000 Iba. weight)— Com silage. • . . ; 00 to 76 lbs. Straw ' 8 to IS " Oover hay 8to 4" For fattening steers (1,000 lbs.)— Oom silage 60 to 60 Iba. Straw 6 to 10 " Hay 8 to « « Meal, starting at one pound, go up to 10 ponnds per diem. A good meal mixture would be com, bran, barley and oilcake meal or cottonseed meaL Take bran and com, bran and barley equal parts, or bran, com and barley equal parts, to which add an amount of any one of the last three, equal to one-quarter of the total weight of the meal mixture when ready to feed. Coit of growing One Aere Com aad pnttiag same in Silo. Ploughing 12 00 Disc harrowing, | day i 25 Harrowing, i day d^l Seed, 20 Ibe. at 2 cents per lb 40 Planting, Ar day witii team 35 Harrowing and cultivating (10 times) 2 60 Hoeing, IJ days 2 26 Cutting, } day with team gg^ Hauling, on* day team 2 60 Men, loading, unloading and ensiloing, 8 days 4 50 Use of power for cutting 1 Oq Use of machinery and twin* 50 $18 40 u To thii mii^t be added |S for rant and $8 for part of maBora naod up. TUt wonld make a total ooat of IM.BO. From an aera of com woricod aa indicated from 14 to 90 tons oiailaga mi|^t be eipeoted. Snppoaing an average nrop, aay IC tons, tha one ton com in the lilo, ready to feed, would hare coat $1.68. THE sno. The pieMrration of com in the form of ensilage necessitates the oonstraction and use of a oilo. The first point to dedde when pr^aring to build a silo is the amount