e BAe Bayes PRACTICAL LREE 1 RLVME ) S\ | SWAY ae WY; et Me ( N ¥ ye AN \ By the use of this new pruning implement, fruit trees of all kinds ean be carefully and symmetrically pruned without leaving the ground. ‘The operator can see what. hie 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 climbing. 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. PRICE $3.00. Patent applied for. MANUFACTURED AND FOR SALE BY JOHN M. BAILEY, ‘‘ Winning Farm,’ Billerica, Mass. ENSILAGE.—We acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the ‘‘ Book of Ensilage,’’ by Dr. John M. Bailey, a practical farmer and breeder of Short-horn and Jersey cattle, Cotswold, Oxfordshire-down and Vermont Merino sheep. It is very seldom we get an agricultural work of so much value from the pen of a man who 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 cloth. It contains much valuable matter of interest to every farmer, dairyman, and stock raiser. It is published by the author, whose address is ‘‘ Winning Farm,’ Billerica, Mass. Price, post-paid, by mail, $1.50. Ee =) Kindly insert the above (if consistent with your views, upon reading the book), with such comments as your judgment may suggest, And oblige yours, DR. J. M. BAILEY. i le 1 aa: . “api 1 a wiry 4 i i et i es | oa Nie Ym Caren F a VArE - bay A meal Ensilage Seed C O The Mammoth Ensilage Corn yields from forty to seventy-five tons 0 July rst in drills, four feet apart, using one-half bushel of seed to the acre; f green fodder per acre. Plant from May 2oth to manure heavily. Send for circular for price of the Mammoth Ensilage Corn, by mail, express or freight. For information concerning stock at “Winning Farm Liat Tita “Virginia Stock Farm,” address, JOHN M. BAILEY, Billerica, Mass. hte 2 te as “sok Ae THE BOOK OF: ENSILAGE; NEW DISPENSATION FOR FARMERS. EXPERIENCE WITH “‘ ENSILAGE” AT “WINNING FARM.” HOW TO PRODUCE MILK FOR ONE CENT PER QUART; BUTTER FOR? TEN. CENTS PER POUND; BEEF FOR FOUR GENTS PER POUND; MUTTON FOR NOTHING IF WOOL IS THIRTY CENTS PER POUND. BY OT NE ME BAO. dey PropriETOR OF “ WINNING Farm,” BILLERICA, MassAcHuseTTSs, AND “ VIRGINIA STOCK Farm,” Sussex County, VIRGINIA. ‘““T 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.” — MarsuHacr P. § g Pp § gs WILDER. “© A work of incalculable importance to American farmers.” — Levi SrocksripGE, President Massachusetts Agricultural College. BILLERICA, MASS.: 3 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 188o. ey oe i ag \ . ——" “ ! Me A ds ! i. ' - ‘ 24 - 7 ante ae bh pat sae id ooh “ -* r : yer hauls ed | ys re ay oP A j ‘ . CopyRIGHT, 1880, By JOHN M. BAILEY. 5 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY Mitts, Knicut, & Co., 115 CONGRESS STREET, BosToN. ~ ge : 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, 1880. Dr. 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 the 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 that 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, Di D> Hour. 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 which M. Goffart had demonstrated was practical in France. CONTENTS: CHAPTER I. DISADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM OF CURING FORAGE BY DESICCATION ._ II (CISA eR IGS 21H DESCRIPTION OF THE “* WINNING-FARM” SILOS . 5 : : . = 216 CHAPTER. III. FILLING THE SILO - A 24 CHAPTER LW: OPENING OF THE SILO : : : é 28 CHAPTER. V; Cost OF KEEPING STOCK UPON ENSILAGE . : - - : mee Sd: CHAPTER V1: TIME WHEN FORAGE PLANTS CONTAIN THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF NU- TRITIVE VALUE : : 5 : 2 : : : 5 : Gi) CHAP LER Vid ANALYSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN WHEN CUT IN ITS GREEN STATE. 42 CHAPTER -V tit. HEPLAWATIONS! WHY JGNSTILAGE MUST KEED 292 7 e Oe i, oo oe Re CHAPTER VIX. IENSILAGE ADAPTED TO WARM AS WELL AS COLD CLIMATES . - = 59 GHAP TER: A New DIscovery : : : : 6 CHAPTER 20. Foop INGREDIENTS. — CHEMICAL TERMS EXPLAINED . . . . 7 169 CHAPTER XII. CAPACITY OF SILOS : : ; F : CHAPTER: XcLhI. ENSILAGE IN THE GREAT DAIRY DISTRICTS . : 3 Fi : > = A CHAPTER XIV. History oF MAIzE, OR INDIAN CorRN . 5 A - : A : Sei 8 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 : : : ‘ E 2 3 : eS CHAP TER XVI; SECOND IDLENOT PAPER 200 CHAPTER XVII. ANALYSIS OF ENSILAGE FROM THE “ WINNING-FARM” SILOS. . 4 2 O7 CHAPTER XVitti. How TO PRESERVE GREEN CORN FOR THE TABLE 6 : : : - 100 CHAP TER UXIG My EXPERIENCE WITH SUGAR-BEETS. — Cost OF RAISING ONE-FOURTH OF AN ACRE, AND THE YIELD : - “ : - - aetOr CHAPTER XxX. SUMMARY 104. CEUNP APE RaexXOwls EFFECT OF ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION IN ENSILAGE UPON “ GILT-EDGED BUrTER” ~ 4 i ‘ x : : : : : : - 106 GEAR AER Sexes MopEL DAIRY STABLE ADAPTED TO THE SYSTEM OF ENSILAGE . . 5 uit (GIEUAIP IPI DO-UNL- CONCLUSION OF THE BooK OF ENSILAGE : ; - : . : 55 GK, PERCHERON: HORSES: GEE a Rael. THE HorRsE OF THE FUTURE . : 3 ‘ : P 5 3 : lee GHARTER ik ORIGIN, History, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PERFORMANCES OF PERCHERON- NORMAN Horses . - : : : : : : : 6 BS aigto) CONTENTS. 9 COTSWOLD SHEEP. CHAPTERs I: WINNING FLOCK, LATE MAPLESHADE FLOCK : . RW yeaiey ater viNh ot geet GHAPTER: II. DESCRIPTION OF THE “ WINNING FLocK” . 5 . 5 A . 3 SOL CHAPTER IIT, COTSWOLD-MERINOS . 164 CHAPTER IV. WEIGHTS OF COTSWOLD-MERINOS . : : : : - . A BP hey/ CHAPTER V. OXFORDSHIRE-DOWNS . : f : : ‘ 171 CHAPTER VI. IMPROVING SOUTHERN SHEEP.— How TO USE OXFORDS AND MERINOS . 174 CHAPTER VII. CRITICISM UPON THE OXFORD-MERINO CRoss, BY A VIRGINIA FARMER . Loy) GHAP TER. Vilil IMPROVING: SOUTHERN SHEEP . : . : m 3 : : ~ a) TOO CHAPTER»: IX: How I Proposrk To RESTORE THE FERTILITY OF AN OLD CoTTON- PLANTATION .. NSLS Sage soars | po Tree hs alas A oe hearer (C BERKSHIRE SWINE. CHAPTER I. THE “WINNING HERD” . : : ; : 193 WHAT IS °A“SILG;"AND WHAT 1S ENSH AGI This is what the farmers want to know when the “ WVew Dispensation, or system of Ewxszlage,’ is presented to their attention. A SIxo 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 S1zo, and subjected to heavy and continuous pressure. The structure is the Sito, which may be above ground, or partly or entirely below the surface of the ground. The fodder preserved in SILos is ENSILAGE. Io Bia Rue be On the rath line, page 18, it should read “8 inches apart,” instead Of. o feet: On the 15th line, page 18, “as” instead of “and.” On ist line, page 89, “1 1-4 inch spruce plank.” Drees OOK Ona TNS TL AGE: ACCOUNT OF THE “WINNING-FARM” SILOS. CLA Es L DISADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM OF CURING FORAGE BY DESICCATION. Tue 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 8} quarts, each cow would have to yield 3214 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 it 2 TEE BOOK JOP SEEN STE AGT. 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 out of the wilderness into the promised land, where crops could be grown at a profit wzthout the farmer's agricultural laymen — the way labor being thrown in as straw —guantum sufficit — 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 zenzs fatuius,— 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 CURING 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 saying that com- mercial fertilizers are not valuable and useful in their place ; which place is ot ¢o fake the place of barn-cellar manure, but as an economical adjunct to it in the hill and drill. The chief objection to depending zz 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 EEE BOOK OF EN STLAGE: 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 grass undergone in changing into hay? ‘These modifications are numerous. It is sufficient to cross a meadow when the new-mown grass is undergoing desiccation, to recognize that it is losing 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 agricultural 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. CEP TE Re 0k DESCRIPTION OF THE ‘“ WINNING-FARM”’ SILOS. I warrep 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 Sir, — . . . 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 10 DESCRIPTION OF THE “WINNING-FARM” SILOS. 17 the system in a thorough manner: therefore I resolved to brave the danger of being “laughed 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 fall 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 zdea. 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, | became satisfied that the principle was right, that 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 18 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 283 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, 3X 4 joists»are set: up at each otithe aneles, 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 13 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 Ua [=3) =) as Yn CL @@.—3 X 4 inch scantling, to hold 14 inch plank while building wall. 6 6. — Doors. DESCRIP T¥ON OF THE “WINNING-FARM” SILOS. 19 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 night to “ set” in before the planks were raised. A 4 x 12 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 together. 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 buildings. 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 28} days, 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 the 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 walls 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 1s 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. 21 SILOS. DESCRIPT#ON OF THE “WINNING-FARM” ee ES EE oe a 7 Ciesla enmselG 0° sgog= a eyneleMisneoos ase ae Posteo Saati career tanmaanieemncnite SSS _— = = ——————— = SSS SS — ee] ais ——— i ae SS ———— = ee —<———= — a ER AAA Ea a fA TE I EE Nn GET eg A —— ————— —— SS —=! Se SSS =n = Ss SE SE CSS = ———————— ——— ccs res == Cir So —— RTE SZ SS Tee Se v. S 1.— The Ensilage. 3. — Plank covering. 5. — Vertical slice, to be taken out daily 7. — Cement floor. 2, — Straw uncut. 4. — Stone weights, 6. — Doors, 8. — Drainage. 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 allover 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 thought that cutting them off, as shown in the diagram, 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 when removed. DESCRIPT#ON OF THE “WINNING-FARM” SILOS. 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 Reatl PRECING ERE Siv@: 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 weights 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 54 feet from the top. Upon the top of the Ensilage [ put about one foot of rye straw uncut. Then I commenced at one end, and floored it over by laying 1¢ 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 1} 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 7 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 handling large amounts of green-corn fodder. 24 PALLLNG: THE STEO, 25 The corn-fodder can be cut in the field with corn- knives cheaper than by the mowing-machine. The men as they cut it lay 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, substantially 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 always found them reliable and trustworthy), will not exceed 4o 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 whole fodder is much more than to fill a basket in the Silo and give 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 a// 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 cattle 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. Ensilage 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 “ Albany 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. a7 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 rst to the 1oth 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 3oth 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 ‘as the 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. CrP BE Rew. OPENING (OH, RHE 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 following letter was received from the United States Commissioner of Agriculture : — DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, WASHINGTON, Nov. 23, 1879. J. B. Brown, 50 Beekman Street, New Vork. Dear Sir, —1 am much gratified to receive and thank you for the invitation to attend the opening of the rrrst 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 yours, Wn. G. LE Duc, Commissioner. 28 OPENING OF THE 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 : — 30STON, Dec. 2, 1879. My dear Sir, —1 would be glad to be at the “Winning reception ” to-morrow, but I am not sufficiently recovered to take the journey. With thanks for your kind invitation, I am yours as ever, Mr. Batvey. MarsHatL 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 120 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, your obedient servant, RopMAN M. PRICE. MoreETON FARM, RoOcHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 2, 1879. Joun M. BAILEY. Dear Sir,—I received your kind invitation to be with you 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 agricultural 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). HH. Commins,Esq., Wilham 1.) Bowker, ivsq., [3 G. Tiuntington, OA. Dillman, S.-C) Stone. and many others interested in agricultural developments. Mr. G. B. Brown, President of the ‘‘ New York Plough 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 stating 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 going 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. OPENING OF THE SILO. 31 The neat stock were not so eager for it at first; but mos of them seemed after a while to acquire 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 that it did not come out the sweet, fresh, and palatable fodder which has been secured in the French Silos. “The reasons which may be ascribed for this are various. Mr. Brown thought it was due to the maturity of the fodder when cut. “Tt may be that being just at the upper corner, near the door, the 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 certain.thus far: the fodder is so wed preserved that the cattle qwz// eat 7/4, and there is no question but that they will “A77ve on i. “‘Since writing the above we have received a note from Mr. Bailey, dated Dec. 5, in which he says, — “*Vesterday 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- eess,’.” : There can be no doubt that the cause of this acidity, and the alcoholic 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 THEY 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 séance, April 7, 1875,” I make the following extract : — “The fodder has an alcoholic odor quite marked and slightly 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 gth of December the following report was made to ‘* The Country Gentleman :” — ENSIVAGE IN UASSACHUSE TDS; EDITORS COUNTRY GENTLEMAN : — Vhe “Winning Farm Silos” are a perfect success. The preserved corn-fodder which was cut about 76 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 avidity. 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 Ensilage 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. ‘They 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 4rans/ating. 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. Joun M. Batey. “WINNING FARM,” BILLERICA, Mass. CELA ALE Rae COST OR SKEEPINGS svOCK UPON SENSTEAGE: Tue following statement from a gentleman whose estate joins ‘* Winning Farm” will be read with interest. Joun M. BaILey, Esq., Winning Farm, 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 go cents was all that the cows ate dur- 34 COST OF KEEPING STOCK UPON ENSILAGE. 35 ing 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.),@ $.oo1r. ‘ : . $1.62 1 bag wheat shorts : - ole) $2.52 The cows should be credited with 22 pounds of butter at 35 cents a pound, and say 21o quarts of skim-milk at one cent per quart, which I consider its value as feed for the pigs. 22 pounds butter, @ $.35 : : : / : 7270 210 quarts skim-milk .o1r . : : : z P ee Bito) $9.50 Cost of keeping . : ; ‘ : : ; E crepes se Prot. = : : : ; 6 : ; : . $7.28 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 myself strictly to facts, and will make no comments, except to say that I am convinced that vour 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. JupKINs. 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. J have one cow 13 years old which came in Dec. 1, 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 @ io ‘ ; Ly bias go pounds of shorts : : : : .80 50 pounds of hay ‘@ $15 perton . ; ; 374 Total cost per day” . ; 4 : : . $2.524 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. : ; | " $A 50 200 pounds of hay for roo sheep. : : ; : X I 50 120 pounds of shorts for cattle, at $18 per ton. ; : 1 08 40 pounds of shorts for sheep. : : : : : 36 Total cost of keeping 30 cattle and 100 sheep per day on hay and grain. ; ‘ : : Sie] MAA Cost of keeping the above on Bnsileee as above 25 Daily balance in favor of Ensilage .. ‘ ; * P4. Oi 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 373 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 MOF KEEPING STOCK UPON ENSILAGE. a, Judging from the appearance and the droppings of my animals, I believe 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 roth and 25th of May, and should be cut +o 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 4o 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 (it 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 agricul- ture will become the most profitable as well as the noblest avocation which shall engage the attention of intelligent and refined manhocd. 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. CHARTER Vi. TIME WHEN FORAGE PLANTS CONTAIN THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF NUTRITIVE VALUE. A GREAT advance has been made within a few years in agricultural 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 1s 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 greatest ? 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. TIME 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 xzpen- 7ze 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 sernel 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 August number I find the following : — “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.” CEAPTER: Nan ANALYSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN WHEN CUT IN ITS GREEN STATE. Tue 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 l’Agriculture. ” “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. “Tt 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. “T 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 ANALYSTS 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. 7. WEIGHT IN WEIGHT AFTER WATER, OR GREEN STATE. DryING. Loss per CENT. Grammes. Grammes. PEGAMES 30 yh Wal Sook caitatn osc yah 4.805 1.315 72.63 SICASSEIP) 2,19 2t Ott Kerth iota aoueuny -102 047 56.07 EiaM AIL MRSECM Mayu. os, a nlm sie eee 3-026 Ase 75-14 Win pers partiohastal keys sein sme 1.270 125 90.15 Middle part of stalk . seetshat rs 2.446 -341 86.06 Lower part of stalk. . 3.030. . 5-146 661 87.15 IANS ta KS net ety cer ok Cmte os 16.795 3.241 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 Strate. Per cent of Weight. | Per cent of Weight. HECARCSem Meee ANN SE his! s Pie ee a ke toes 29.20 40.57 ERASSE]s oem Repair Rtas 1cem fon @ sc lta tone so 47.87 a2 65-19 Bias withStemicm oh fr Ategis aetna ls panes ahs 18.01 23.20 Wippem partiofistallkgec tsi ety tis ers 7.56 3.85 Mirddlevpartiot stalle\., ld sate ui) ok 14.86 52-13 10.52 34.81 Bower partiel stalk. 7. Os nek aha sa ays 30.01 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. “J 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. 3. STALK. ei Zz z 4 z = a aa = a wv gl a = eee a < e = 2 Ge tee | H i =) = = | Organic substance . . . . . | 86.01| 94.80] 98.30] 95-43] 97-31 | 98.26] 94.26 Ashes or mineral substance . . | 10.99| 5-20] 1-70] 4.57| 2.69] 1-74] 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. IBSEN Shona: coh oslo, Deen. or 0 20. lov 6 dro o 6 HO Tassel BB ee ea Soc be UO MEGS a ulead: os WA Bene ehoak seal GAYS (bo oo oe oe Be) OO Wee eno SEIN G6 hota 6 So ao so! Shige Middle ppartiol stalls) p01) clara ilimtaiy 1) st en 7 Wower pantiotistalks ip icyitsmicceite mumsnet Cts aer-mal nme) 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 : — ANALWSIS AND COMPOSITION OF CORN. 45 Table No. §. STALK. E 7m : 4 a a é 0 = Z gS > n wn 3) a t = See eal che eel || a 4 H es =) = 4 cs) jas : : Nitrogenous substances + + + 6.28| 6.27| 11.09} 4-34] 386] 3:37 | 6.47 Fatty matter soluble in ether 1.30| 1.90] 2.50| 1.00 .40 230) || weke2o Saccharine matter soluble in al- Pabalitin ARC e rains Ae at | eset Aaze 8.30| 17.50| 20.60 | 21.00] 11.77 CHerehipehte

F ; 400 00 Interest on stock of manure bought, “ : : EAE 6, OY ate 0 16 Haley (6) Interest on Silos, cash paid out, se ; : 300 00 Interest on sheep-shed, S : : I50 00 Total investment . : : 5 $8, 195 00 Wages and board of one hired man six months, at $25 . Bibs i oymere) Repairs on buildings and fences. : : : ; | PROP OG Taxes and insurance . ‘ o '30-00 Bran and cotton-seed meal, aie ote daily to aes cow when m milk’... : , : . : : : #230" 00 Grain for sheep and Rene. ‘ : . 3 ; : .) 250.0 Total expense : : : : : ; : $1,271 70 “This leaves for you and Mary $558.30.” “Phat! $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 but- 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 96 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.” “Vell 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 VIT: ANALYSIS OF ENSILAGE FROM THE ‘‘ WINNING-FARM ” SILOS. By C. A. Goessmann, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, Chemist to the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, and State Inspector of Commercial Fertilizers. Tue sample of Silo corn (Ensilage) consists of : — PER CENT. Moisture at 212°—220° Fahrenheit. ; nS OOO Dry matter left : : : : : i 19.30 100.00 This dry matter consists of : — PARTS. Crude cellulose : ‘ : ‘ : ; 6.43 Fat ether abstract . : 5 : ‘ ; 0.62 Albuminoids . : : : 5 : ; 1.56 Non-nitrogenous extract matter : f ; 8.92 Ash (with traces of sand) : ; - F E749 19.30 Also an average analysis of the corn-plant in the milk : — PER CENT. Moisture at 212°-220° Fahrenheit. : 2 S504 Dry matter. : ? ; é ‘ ; 14.96 100.00 97 98 THE: BOOK OF ENSILAGE. PARTS, Ash : : : : : - : 5 0.82 Albuminoids . ; : : : é ; 0.86 Fat ; : . . : : : : 0.26 Crude cellulose : ; : Z ; : 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 per cent 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 6,5 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, 1 to 835, but not quite as good as average clover hay, which is 1 to 545. 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 undergoes in the Silos; that two tons of ANALYSIS OF ENSILAGE. 99 it are 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 1 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 xothing else. ‘‘ Hero” was fed 40 pounds of Ensilage and three pounds of wheat-bran daily, and xothixg 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 1.5517 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). CHEAPER R X ube at eS ee RR) 12 bushels wood-ashes_. : : - - : : ; : I 80 Ioo pounds salt : : . : . : : ; : : 50 24 cords manure at $6 per cord : : ; ‘ : : tS EOO Ploughing twice : . : : : : F : . : 2 00 Cultivating and harrowing : : ; ; : : - - I 00 Raking the ground half a day . : : , : ; : . 50 Planting one-fourth day . : é . : : . : : 2 Weeding and thinning, 4 days . : 2 : : : ; : 4 00 Harvesting, 2 days . : : : : : : ; : : 2 00 Total -. . - : . ; ; - 2 : ZONES CREDIT. 252 bushels at 60 lbs. to the bushel, 15,120 lbs. at $4 perton. . $30 2 One-half the value of the manure, salt, and ashes left inthe ground 8 65 ‘Rotaly v7: . : 3 Z : : : 5 : - $38 89 Costa. - - : : : : ; : : ezous 5 Profit . : : - : : 5 : ; : = pLongd The piece of land was broken up a year ago last spring, planted that season with potatoes and beans, manured /gh/y 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 ror “0 102 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 14 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 14 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 afer 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, Joun M. BatLey. Winninc Farm, Nov. 1, 1878. : ) (In American Cultivator.) From this experiment I am satisfied that sugar-beets can be raised ati a profit. The sugar-factories are now SUGAR-BEETS. 103 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. 1 [ 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. Cirah Rox 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 duzlt for two hundred 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 104 ENSILAGE VS. HAY. 105 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, upon its general introduction and adoption, an agricultural millennium — almost. CEUAP TER DO: EFFECT OF ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION IN ENSILAGE UPON ‘CILT-EDGED™= BULIER. Tue following letter was received from a gentleman with whom I have had considerable correspondence upon the subject of ‘‘ Ensilage.” Sopus, WAYNE County, N.Y., April 16, 1880. 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 “ otlt-edeed 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, Ne le EN TOE 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, 106 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 zxczdent 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 sugar 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 feeding direct from the Silo without allowing the alco- holic fermentation to take place. Thus, if an evil, it is easily avoided. In the second place, the swza// amount of alcohol pres- ent in the Ensilage (1 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 ENSIZAGE. tle 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. IO9 But we 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 large 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 s¢vozg 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 “ froof;” 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 excretory 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 110 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 affect 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: 2 XTf. MODEL DAIRY STABLE ADAPTED TO THE SYSTEM OF ENSILAGE. Fic. No. 1 (see next page) shows the ground-plan of a dairy establishment 76 feet wide, 127 feet long, capable of accommodating 118 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 feeding-floor to the milk and engine 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 24 feet wide; next is the lintel floor, four feet ten inches wide; next, gutter, one rit THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. Lig t 8 xb 08 xV¥8 II4 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 53 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 elear across. the strueture.-.x2 56 fect 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. Bigs 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 little experience will enable the feeder to measure upon the fork the necessary amount of Ensilage to each cow. If the Improvep Ensilage is By 1o FIG. 3. used, it will not take one man more than one hour to feed the whole 118 cows. If the grain be fed separately, it will take at least an hour to feed the grain alone. This feed-box is made four feet long, 2} feet wide, and 25 feet high. 116 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 118 cows, calves, and yearlings or sheep, caz be raised upon 30 acres of good land, while upon a hay and grain diet it would require at least 118 acres of the very best land to keep the cows alone. Ensilage will re-peopie 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 difficulty 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; if there is a good thick sod, it would pay to sow broadcast 100 pounds of nitrate of soda to the acre about the 2oth 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. Plant in drills four feet apart, using half a bushel of Mammoth I'nsilage seed-corn to the acre, and distribute in the drills 200 to 300 pounds of Bradley's HOW TO RESTORE THE OLD FARM. rT; X L phosphate, or any other equally good and reliable 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 grass 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 Jdes¢ 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 will 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 73, 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. 118 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. If he has but little money, or does not like 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 37),—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: JOSHI. 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 119 120 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. the city, and join the already crowded trades, professions, or occupations ; and, in ninety cases out of one hundred, their lives 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 ‘ow’ 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 knowl- CONCEUSION OF THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. I2I 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 altogether 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 or EwsILaGE, and do not care to read any thing more about the animals which are so grateful for the Ensilage they 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. PERGHERON: HORSES: CEVA P ER o +1. DHE, HORSE, OF THE, PU LURE: 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. 122 PERCHERON HORSES. 123 Gillett, the noted short-horn-cattle-raiser, of which I shall say more hereafter, I stopped one day at Oakland, the home of M. W. Dunhan, the great Percheron-Norman-horse-importer. Mr. Dunham’s farm comprises six hundred acres of very fertile and beautifully-lying land, in Wayne, Ill. 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 Percherons, 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 iG * CG iI diy) nih) i} Hh] | Hl) Hl) i fi fl \ |, Hiatt Y Wy) PERCHERON 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 are made of two-by-two-inch pickets, set two inches apart. The @bject of this is, 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 by 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 goo to 1,100 pounds each. These grades —if I may call them so— were, if possible, mcre 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 flat 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! Theyare 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 16% 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. \ 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. ih td CES TAL if | Hh II] |i | | | i] ihe a ee: “ne 128 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, 16% 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 goo-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 $3 per week. All accidents and escapes at owner's risk. S . ‘i Ly i) HI H Wii : Heh) Hh CAPA Tan gels ORIGIN, HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PERFORMANCES OF PERCHERON-NORMAN HORSES. Tue 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 zecesszty 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 130 DESCRIPTION OF THE PERCHERON. 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 breecs 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 mast 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; ear 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. Jt 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 1s easy Yu i 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. Ina 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 Abbé Fait, in a let- ter directed to the Congress Mortagne, July 16, 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 pos- sessing within themselves the same characteristics which they 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? A// equine races have been greatly changed by climatic effects, by the condition of the country, at different periods, in which they were bred. The inavguration of peaceful habits madean 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 ot 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 PERCHERON. 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 devolopment, 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 degeneration. The success of the Percheron race has been remarkable. All departments and all nations wish 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 LHE BOOK OF ENSIEAGE. benefits of the present, without thinking what will be the effect in the future. SPEED AND ENDURANCE OF THE PERCHERON. 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 ue 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 are 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. IWO MILES ——FPORPY- RESULTS: The best two are those of “Cocotte,” at Illiers; time, 6 min. Be 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 BOOKS OF FANSILA GL. Average time of sixty-five trials, 9 min. 15 sec. Two and three-fifths miles were made at Illiers by “ Bichette,” in I2 min. I5 sec. Two and five-sixths miles were made by same, at same place, and gave an average of II 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. T7 sec.: and. “Julie,” same place “time, 7 min.4Gs sec: The poorest two are those of “‘Campionette,” at Illiers ; time, 7 min; 53 sec.; and “ Bichette,~ same place > timeso @in14 see: 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. ro) ) ) ) 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 II min. 55 sec. Iwo AND THREE-FIPCHS MILES — LOADED: Two trials were made at Rouen, by ‘“ Decidée,” the first » DY drawing 386 pounds in 9 min. 21 sec., the second time drawing DS oO i ’ DS 408 pounds in 10 min. 49 sec. TRIALS OF ENDURANCE AND SPEED. - A gray mare, bred by M. Boulavois, at Almenasches (Orme), 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 4h. 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 PERCHERON IN AMERICA. I4] fifty-eight miles and back, on two consecutive days, going ata trot and without 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. 1 min. 35 sec.; the second day, 4h. 1 min. 30 sec. The last thirteen and three-fourths miles® 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 ws to know is, whether it is adapted to ovr 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 superlative 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 English 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 hardy race, making good farm and draught horses when sufficiently large. “Tn 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 1831. 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 mever 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 when other horses would die of neglect and hard treatment. 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 ¢hezr success is any evidence of the value of the breed, I can state that, of over four hundred colts produced, I have never vet heard of one that would not readily bring one hundred dollars, and many of them much higher prices. You can therefore 144 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 mares, 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. “‘T 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. “T 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. “T 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 1851 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 ey | | | th i | i 4 | | Wi H oo NM a if i =e PERCHERONS IN AMERICA. 147 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 forse 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. 149 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 ($6,000) 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 scrzé horses of the country, allowing them ten per cent interest on their investment. As the prices 2 = Ith i =) / f Ay // Hy I) ] OY My ENSUES 5” = es PERCHERONS [N AMERICA. I5I 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 gezeral 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 1:0 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 wi) ult ' i\; Vee (rey | SSeS a Ss © 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 action 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 ¢rotting 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, xo 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 /arge horses whose performances as well as appearance will please. COTSWOED SEE EE. CHAPTER. L WINNING FLOCK, LATE MAPLESHADE FLOCK. I HAVE long been an admirer of Cotswold sheep, and have been anxious to possess the dest 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 with 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 154 WINNING FLOCK, LATE MAPLESHADE 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. I-very 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 weight 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 guality of wool. The flock is in perfect health. The sheep are thoroughly acclimated; they have not been forced; they are 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 27 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 yedr 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 pure-bred 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 WINNING 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 breeding. 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 [ 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, 1880. JOHN M. BalILey, Esq. Dear Sir,—Your favor of the 11th has just reached me. I am in Rochester, 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 des¢ ewes in the Mapleshade flock. In point of fact, there is no choice about it. You have a// the best sheep in the flock. Respectfully yours, JOSEPH HARRIS. The foregoing history, with this letter from Mr. Joseph Har- ris which I publish by permission, proves beyond question that the “Winning flock” is without a peer. WINNING ANNA, Was oa sag) “PRINCE.” Three years old. Weight, 302 Ibs. First fleece, 124 lbs.; second, 184 lbs.; third, 174 lbs. PREN © Hiss... Weight, 195 lbs. Sheared, 13 lbs. — CHAPTER if. 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 184 pounds, third fleece, May 1, 1880, 174 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 Cotswold 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 124 pounds. On the 21st of February she had a pair of ewe lambs 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 161 162 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. = vshe had “a ewe tam apne. which weighed 154 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, 14} 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 $10 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 oe ee, Sito DESCRIPTION OF THE “WINNING FLOCK.” 163 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. CEAGP ERS hit: 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. “Tam 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 14 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. “Tn the autumn of 1869 I went to the cattle-yards in Buffalo. I bought 4 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 To COTSWOLD-MERINOS. 165 cars, and brought them home. I selected out 145 wethers to fat. The remaining 60 ewes I put to a pure-bred Mapleshade 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. Lut 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 874 per cent of pure Cotswold blood in them. “The fourth-cross sheep have 93? per cent of pure Cotswold blood in them. “Tn 1877 I showed at the fair ‘for exhibition only :’ — “Ist, a conimon merino ewe with a lamb by her side. The merino ewe weighed 75 pounds. Her lamb was born March 166 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 29: he weighed, July 6, when less than three and one-half months old, 74 pounds; Aug. 8, 87 pounds; Sept. 6, 101 pounds. “od, No. 6, a daughter of the above merino ewe, and her two lambs, Nos. 672 and 673. “2d, No. 16,a daughter of No. 6, and her two lambs, Nos. 617 and 618. “ath, a pen of three-cross lambs averaging 128} pounds each. “sth, 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. “T 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.” CEA Ci DV. WEIGHTS OF COTSWOLD MERINOS. I HAVE at “Winning Farm” Cotswold-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 pure Cotswold ram is ¢ke 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 2054 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 142 pounds, when three months and two weeks old, gt pounds; sheared when one year old, 154 pounds. No. 2, Cotswold-merino breeding ewe at Winning Farm, 167 168 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. one-cross, half Cotswold, half merino, weighs 160 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 COTSWOLD-MERINO RAM, “‘ALEXANDER,” ONE YEAR OLD. Weight 173 lbs.; sheared, May 19, 15% 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 few 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 THEIR FLEECES. 673 | 2-cross ewe No. DEscrIPTION. Faures OF Wee ot 630. |MBemee we hoes ss. dete oh 174 302 509 | “Alexander,” 3-cross ram, I year old . 154 173 BOM nlere ORCS: otis Fac ce eye? wee 8 12} 2054 (yy healt ces ete 2 0S ioe I i ini he Ra II} 180 605 |. PR aE Poen's ewana, OST a S II 159 296 134 1954 290 9 to TSO 588 11} 155 B20 eke moe II 165 124 | 8 years old II 166 3c Corba Mea eee 93? 184 427 Se RSS ie ee Bee Ras SiS 9 217 201 | “Winning Anna”. II 181 654 | “Princess” . 13 195 675 | “Princess 2d” . 12 175 962 ; : 12 155 683 9 115 676 I2 135 Syd ek Doeeaaeerte oP te fe) 176 622 | “ Lady Lawson” TGs 198 32.) “Lady Hill”. fe) 181 Gorrie: Unt rae eee II 145 2 II 148} 270 12 178} 502 12 143 BM wliycne wPety one ee 14 165 685 | One-cross . 8 155 153? Igo Average weight of Cotswold sheep, May 19 . (eectigeme kat lbs: § $ HEECON tens alent ee tea es hee LL IDSs F OZ OF ENSILAGE. BOOK ’ ca el: / ‘uuag ‘Sinqsiadooy ‘aaoi1g uapury ‘19d00D *g “yz, Aq paumo pue pavodmy ‘sq, Szb ‘YySIaqy «GONVIddaA >, “NMOG-AYIHSGUYOUXO AALLV.LNASAUdaAY 4aHL 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 Gillet, 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, a 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 171 172 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 412 each; in 1873 his average for 63 rams reached nearly £16 each,—about $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 , 416 each, single rams fetching 51, 44, 30, and 26 guineas, &c., while Mr. Cooper paid 85 guineas, or nearly $500 currency, for OXFORDSHIRE-DOWNS. 173 the use for the season of 1876 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 Smithfield Club, of fat cattle in Londor, a pen of Oxford-down wethers won the £40 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 49 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. nN \ fil i) . : a Lill Mi ARN si \\ Nigh RATT ST RL a x ut ASO as Has FUNNY e a, ARS oT ‘“ a eh S ae ae . a , y : St a SS Sie a eS **GRAND DUKE OF OXFORD.” CHATTER oii IMPROVING SOUTHERN SHEEP. — HOW TO USE OXFORDS AND MERINOS. Tne 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 : — Epitors ‘COUNTRY GENTLEMAN,’ —I enclose a sample of wool from my Mapleshade Cotswold ram “ Prince.” He is two years old; sheared 18% 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 9% inches long and ;},5 of an inch in diameter. I also send a sample (from a wether lamb dropped May 1, 1879; sired by a pure Oxford-down ram and out of a common coarse-wooled native Kentucky ewe), which is eight inches long and ;}5 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 174 HOW TO USE OXFORDS AND MERINOS. 175 with a dense fleece of fine silky wool of medium length. I hope to get a sheep which will be exactly adapted 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 14 to 24 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 6s. 4d. 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 $100. 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: VIP. 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- 177 178 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. EB |. ic | | SA ZA | SEE 7777 = 4 The above cut represents our Cutter with the Safety Fly Wheel, by which perfect safety is secured to the machine while in motion, and also to the operator. In case any hard substance, such as iron, stone or bone comes in contact with the knives, being 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 New IMPROVED BALDWIN’s AMERICAN FODDER CurrTer to the dealers and farmers of the country, we wish to call their attention to a few of the different points of the machine which makes it the leading and by far the best Fodder Cutter in the market. Ist. he wood work is made of the best timber, thoroughly seasoned, and bolted together so it can always be kept firm. 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 cast iron, the boxes in which the journals run are babbeted, thus avoiding any possibility of their wearing out; the knives are made of the best steel, thoroughly tempered. 3d. _ By asimple device the top feed roller is so arranged that it rises and falls 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. The feeding arrangement is the simplest and best in use, having only three feed gears, while other machines in the market are a perfect mass 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—%é, 14,1 and i144 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, 15 has two knives 18 inches long. It is the largest Cutter we make and is especially adapted for large stables, paper mills, and for cutting green forage for Ensilage. Manufactured for and for Sale by JOSEPH BRECK & SONS. Albany Corn and Seed Planters. (See cut on opposite page.) Awarded the Highest Medal at the Centennial, as being the Best Planter. SAVES ITS COST IN PLANTING FIFTEEN ACRES OF CORN. One man and a horse can plant from seven to ten acres of corn in one day, with the Planter, at a cost of from $38.50 to $5.00. COST TO PLANT FIFTEEN ACRES BY HAND: Marking both ways, one man and horse, two days, at $3........-..e ec eee ee eeeee $6.00 Platte PTW OLVENIMO BU ali vlae cue ocie ss cinisis aain)> win pe s's\vie vle.cie'eie,¥in elsisicivieselsie's cone 12.00 Board for ten extra men, two meals each, at 25 cents.... 1. .-seseeececeeeeees 5.00 Wasted, One Dbushelof Corn. i. . fees cseie ete c= =2 00 wecccnc vcesesesonspecceccess 1.00 MORMUCOS UMD VAN ATIC Tc cin a's oule sinjee.eis.1-seie\nie gyn isie's tie, ¥,6'0/0/e's\'e'e siete sicce'otaien'e iesicins $24.00 Plant your garden with the Planter in drills, and cultivate close to the rows by horse instead of hand. 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 off the distance for the next row or drill to be planted. Jt will plant all kinds of Seeds, from Corn, Beans, Peas, etc., to the smallest and varied forms of Garden Seeds, in Hills or Drills, at any distance between the seeds or hills from one to seventy-two inches, Also measures the Quantity of seeds to the Hill, Drill or Acre. Any of these changes may be made in five minutes’ time to adapt it to the work re- quired, and the seeding action may be instantly thrown out of gear and stopped, in turning at headlands, or for moving from field to field. By being careful about throwing out of and in gear, at the end of the rows, the hills may be made to row both ways. With 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 which are giving unqualified satisfaction, and the demand for them is constantly increasing. lt may be worked by horse or hand, Sty Ce eric GAO O ECOG 2 CLO. AOMORI OTDONO alcteelocihen eats svi ccine te cidia/sleiereeciame sei MeL O0 SOW Uh envi Zor OL LOLSGPEl OO? a aielcc cists cisic/e x e/aie\eieinie's,e(o\0 010 c/elalvin s¥alajele'sle simieceln@ 23.00 COP WAGED OLED sIee ort tus ctcercie micysee ela (a ie iciiatoiaie lowers ols /arel surgi fae's sieieyacele ela e's mjeiees sieeve 25.00 Address, oO. H. P. CORNELL, Albany, N. WY SELF-OPERATING SULKY RAKE. IMPROVED LION. Best Rake Made in the World. POM SOF SH PERIONIEY. SIMPLICITY. —‘The mechanism for elevating the teeth of this rake consists simply of a double crank and two independently acting clutches. DURABILITY. — The lifting device is sufficiently strong to withstand the severest strain, and is subjected to no wear whatever, 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 in the construction of the LION. EASE AND NICETY IN OPERATING.—To discharge a gathered load, the operator has to merely put the right foot upon a conveniently placed pedal and press down- wards, which locks the lifting device, thus requiring no further care from the driver, as the forward motion of the horse completes the operation. GUARANTEE. -— 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, Oo. H. P. CORNELL, Albany, N. Y. ~ =e > ~ oe ———S—>= —— 1 PAPA SR } Wit N84 \ My A a AMW\n' fy’ i ‘e del Aecht PY VO Nha! Nay Mir) j (i ng h*( ' Wau be () (( Hi Mi i ih ut ) ALBANY CORN AND SEED PLANTER. = = oe = ia > 25 — 5 = — => >=; == er = a S SS ge i Ee —S—— < SSS : — PLANET, JR., ORSE HOE. Is Invaluable for Horse Cultivation of all Garden and Field Crops. yo N a It is constructed in the most thorough manner, of the best materials,in elegant style and with extra finish. ‘Nhe frame and standards are of wrought iron, BOLTED together; the teeth are tempered and polished steel; the handles are adjustable in height and the frame in width. It has our Improved Patent Clevis, having neither loose pin nor bolt, to regulate depth, and a new stirrup clamp with the expanding irons beneath the frame, giving great strength and ease of changing width. The front teeth are reversible when worn; the side hoes turn end for end, throwing to or cutting away from the row, as desired. ‘The tool is furnished with a wheel in front when so ordered, and two extra teeth supplied at small additional expense 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. Planst, wrap Morse. fide, HII, =a Ge te em ees $9.75 az “ fe with wheel sc b=) ee ae wr 10,76 ge sleep with Wheel and Cultivator Attachment, - - 10.75 ba bg a complete with Wheel and Cultivator Attachment, 12.00 Corn Covering Roller with Irons Add oe ed ite aay Pits A= 5a bRO8GO JOSEPH BRECK & SONS, 51, 52 and 53 North Market Street, - - - Boston. CHEAP CORN CULTURE. THOMAS PATENT Dulin ng Hany ant 1 Brut 1 Wear 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. PROPRIETORS AND MANUFACTURERS, THE THOMAS SMOOTHING HARROW CO. Office and Manufactory, 241 and 243 Exchange &t., GENEVA, N. Y. AGENTS FOR NEW ENGLAND: JOSEPH BRECK & SONS, 51, 52 and 53 North Market St. - - Boston, Mass. Drar Sir,—We respectfully commend to your notice the following extract from an editorial in the Country Gentleman of April 15. It is the experience of several thousand readers of that paper, who own our Harrow. This is the only implement that increases the yield of grain, besides doing the work of pulverization twice as rapidly and far more effectively. A mowing machine or a reaper gathers the crop quickly, but 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. “The Slanting Tooth Harrow has already proved an important labor-saver in some de- partments of farming. The round, smooth teeth, slanting backwards at an angle of forty degrees, freely clear all obstructions, do not clog, pulverize manure, harrow wheat, and destroy the small weeds in corn drills. ‘Iwo or three harrowings of wheat in Spring before sowing clover, have increased the yield on an average about five bushels per acre; and if used on all the 38,000,000 acres of the Union, would be worth over a hundred million dollars in the aggregate. Used on corn before it comes up, and every few days for a month after- wards, this implement clears out all starting weeds and saves three dollars an acre in hand- hoeing and cultivating. On the 50,000,000 acres of corn in the Union, it would be worth a sum of great magnitude.” We also call attention to the following from the Rural New Yorker, April 17, by W. I. Chamberlain, of Hudson, Summit County, Ohio, one of the staff writers of the Rural, 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 almost exclusively without the hoe. In many parts of the West the large fields of corn, potatoes, broom corn, ete., never see a hoe at all. How the East may learn from the West! Corn is planted with a two-horse rower that 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 growing 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.” BLAWENSBURG, N. J., Dec., 1879. The Harrow you sent me gives entire satisfaction. A splendid implement for cultivating corn before and after itis 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 machineI know of. I also consider it invaluable for harrowing wheat 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. ASCUTNEYVILLE, VT., Dec. 8, 1879. The harrow 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 equally satisfied as to its merits on stony as well as on smooth ground. We earnestly recommend it to be used either on stony or smooth ground. Yours truly, ALLEN MURRAY, F. W. BLANCHARD. DEERFIELD, FRANKLIN Co., MAss., Jan. 16, 1880. I have used your Harrow for several years with perfect satisfaction. {'t will pay for itself every year in cultivating twenty acres of corn. H. C. HASKELL. We have thoroughly used your Harrew 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. WHII'TEN WELLS, Bellville, Wood Co., W. Va. S. C. GRANNIS, Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y. N. A. SMITH, Sunderlain, Franklin Co., Mass. J. L. PETERS, Worcester, Mass. D. A. WHEELOCK, Roslyn, Queens Co., N. Y. J. W. RATHBORN, Utica, N. Y. E. G. RUGGLES, Windsor, Windsor Co., Vt. E. WISNER, Flat Rock, Crawford Co., Il, HIRAM ASHCROFT, Sheboygan Falls, Wis. E. M. JEWETT, Buffalo. N. Y. I. L. PATTERSON, Mt, Ayr, Iowa. ROBT. M. McDONALD, Summit, Pike Co., Miss. HENRY NICOLL, Philadelphia, Pa., 30 Pine St. W. D. MERRELL, Prarie du Chien, Wis. JOHN B. DEACON, Mt. Holly, Burlington Co., N. J. UD. 3s. ELVIS = Bae, MANUFACTURER OF — AND — CULTIVATING IMPLEMENTS, f\ HUSSEY'S NEW HORSE HOE AND \ CULTIVATOR COMBINED. \ THE \ CENTENNIAL IMPROVED. aN WITH 7 \\ Five Steel Teeth, XA AND \, Two Steel Mould= boardse Te de! aiseer \ + By » “ass B a>\ Manufacturer of . se i Agricultural Implements, eS No, Berwick, Me. ““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 works 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. STOCKBRIDGE MANURES. SEND FOR NEW PAMPHLET. MAILED FREE. Seven years ago the Stockbridge Manures were only known to afew farmers in the Connecticut Valley. Now they are so extensively used in the Atlantic States as to require two large factories, one in Boston and one in New York, to manufacture them. 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 basis, farmers will therefore find these manures still more projfilable to use. ALSO, MANUFACTURERS OF BOWKER’S Ses PHOSPHATE, Whe Best and Cheapest Sold in New England. ALSO FOR SALE, Agricultural Chemicals, Ground Bone, &c. BOWKER FERTILIZER C6., 43 Chatham Street, Boston, or 3 Park Place, New York. Parmers Favorite Grain Drills THE PIONEER DRILL OF AMERICA, MANUFACTURED BY BIiCKMrORD & HUMRERMAN, MACEDON, WAYNE COUNTY, N. Y. THE ONLY DOUBLE DISTRIBUTER DRILL IN THE WORLD Can Instantly and by a Single 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 beem highly commended everywhere a2 grand success. 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 other device. Amy of the devices im use sow dry fertilizers passably well. Nota simgle one of its competitors have been able to either uniformly or continuously distribute, bad, damp and pasty fertilizers. WE GUARANTEE PERFECT work with this drill, distributimg amy variety of fertilizer on the mar- Ket, and in any condition it is offered for sale by its manwincturers, THE COMMON SENSE SPRING TUBE may be used as a peg tube in case any part becomes demoralized, preventing its use as a spring tube. Is thoroughly 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. (@- All these Drills are furnished with Neck Yoke, Whiffletrees, Land Measurer and the Davis Patent Tube Shifter, for which an extra charge is made on all other Drills using it. The Superior Manufacture and finish of these Drills are too well known to require mention here. oe (@- For Descriptive Circulars, Price Lists, and any further information, address, BICKFORD & HUFFMAN, MACEDON, WAYNE C0., N. Y. ul mA » BEMP’S PATENT MANURE SPREADER, OUTER. AND CART OMB This cart is not only a Great Labor Saving Machine, but it does its work better than can possibly be done by hand. This great saving of time and labor is only of secondary importance as compared with the quality of the work it does. Good judges have decided that manure spread as even and pulverized as fine as this Cart leavesit, is worth fron Twenty-five to Fifty Cents per Load more than the ordinary way of spreading, as the 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. Read what J. J. H. Gregory, Esq., says: — RICHARDSON MFG. Co.: MARBLEHEAD, MAss., April 10, 1880. Dear Sirs,—Send to my address, Marblehead, a Manure Spreader with latest improve- ments. The best possible recommend is the fact that, after using two Jast season L now order a third. Should they last but ten years, if I get a dozen dollars a year value out of them, they will pay for themselves. Whereas I am satisfied that I save in time necessary to spread it, and in the better manner in the spreading, with the greater value given the man- ure by reason of extra fineness, at least a dollar on acord. Now as I expect 10 spread some hundreds of cords with said cart, you can figure the profits of the investment. Yours truly, J. J. H. GREGORY. P. S.—I class it in value to the farmer squarely up with the Mowing Mae: ae MANUFACTURED BY THE Richardson Manufacturing Co. WORCESTER, MASS. FRANK BRAMER’S NEW Randall Harrow. Great Improvement. Ne Plus Ultra. The Most Convenient, Effective, Durable and Reliable Harrow Made, THE STANDARD OF COMPARISON FOR 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 tenacious and tough soils; is often a substitute for the plow, cutting more than six feet in breadth. It is deservedly considered to be the MOST POPULAR AND PROFITABLE FARM IMPLEMENT IN USE. WHAT IT WILL 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 RANDALL PULVERIZING HARROW. MANUFACTURED BY THE WARRIOR MOWER COMPANY, ee VATE IOS, INT ay. ARPHAXED Loomis, President. FRANK BRAMER, Manager. Warehouse, 38 South Market St., Boston, Mass. PEARCE S> IMPROVED CAHOON’S PATENT Broadcast Seed Sower. For Sowing Wheat, Oats, Hemp, Barley, Rye, Buckwheat, Grass Seed, Rice, Flax, &e. 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 them 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 effected by using these machines. A person entirely unused to sow- ing by hand can use 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 BRECE & SONS. WHITMAN'S IMPROVED RAILWAY HORSE POWER These are manufactured for one or two horses and are entirely different in construction from any other in the following points: The chain is made of wrought 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 64 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, when 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 their 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 inch 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 complaint with geared chain power 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 superior in durability and ease of draft, and their compactness and simplicity, lightness, great strength and width of treading-floor, 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. == earn Psize Winner sSt4-C entennial “SALLIE Hrs snithereen\, y ac Hong nw) sy eek Peau Gy ©: Cae eis Ty “Linden Grove,” Coopersburg, Pa. IMPORTER AND BREEDER OF BERKSHIRE SWINE, —AND—— Oxfordshire Down Sheep. Mr. Cooper's Berkshires won the first prizes and grand sweepstakes at the Centennial. Send for Illustrated Circular. : “eq ‘sanqstedoonp ‘eAaorxy uepury waHaooo's “\L Aq peumo pue poysodwy *1DUUd}UAQ AY? 4D sLauUuLty aynysdoamyg ‘YNNOGV1139a pue N33SYSHLINS GHYO7 NEW “THE AMERICAN” HAY TEDDER. BOSTON, AMES PLOW CoO.. Faiths’ Standard Seals Absolute Accuracy, Unvarying Accuracy, Sensi- tive Action, Durability, Are the necessities of a perfect Weighing Machine. ALL THESE REQUISITES ARE TO BE FOUND ONLY IN FAIRBAN ES’ Scales. 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 BY Barc Tu RATA BANKS & CO. ST. JOHNSBURY, VT. 1 ASO. = Miles’ Alarm Tills, or Safety Money Drawers, ° Store Trucks, Coffee Mills, The Type Writer and Lawn Mowers. FARM SCALES FOR BARNS, OR THE YARD, ALSO FOR DAIRY USE | WAREHOUSES: Le" CET £3 Milk Street, Boston, FAIRBANKS, BROWN & CO, sj¥ 311 Broadway, New York, FAIRBANKS & CO, re or a 7 => no — a < t ay: 4 eo Cae ‘ Y ‘ @ selpy, P90 VAAL ® v4 is ¥. TT