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Year, $5.00. Entered at Chicago Post Office

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pril 26,1900. B

Vol. II. No. 338. A
Published at 16

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A BOOK ON SILAGE.

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i, Bip
: FE’ wr. WOLL,
ue
Assistant Professor of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Wis-
consin,; Translator of Grotenfelt’s ‘‘ Principles of Modern
Dairy Practice’; author of ‘“A Handbook for Farm-
ers and Dairymen,” and Joint Author of
“Testing Milk and its Products.”

a WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.

REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION.

CHICAGO :
RanD, McNAtty & ComPANy.
1900.

et s

a oe ee a

Library of Congresy
Office of the

MAY 7 ~ 1800

Register of Copyrights,

SECOND COPY, Ce fe OS”

Lnar.l6, (700

61538

Copyright, 1895, by Rand, McNally & Co.
Copyright, 1900, by Rand, McNally & Co.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PLES BNE? a ep ea spe eee ie SR Wg me G

CHAPTER I.

Silage crops—Indian corn—Development of the corn plant—
Varieties to be planted for the silo—Methods of planting
corn—Thickness of planting—Planting in hills or in
drills—Sowing corn broadcast—Preparation of corn land
—Clover—Time to cut clover for the silo—Other silage

CHAPTER II.

Silos—General considerations—Descriptions of different kinds
of silos—Round wooden silos—Specifications for a 300-
ton round wooden silo—Chute for round silos—Descrip-
tions of round wooden silos—New Jersey Experiment
Station silo—Wisconsin Experiment Station silos—Mis-
souri Experiment Station silo—South Dakota Experi-
ment Station silo—Stave silos—Specifications for a 100-
ton stave silo—Square or rectangular wooden silos—
Silos in the barn—Separate square or rectangular wooden
silos—Silos with horizontal girts—Stone or brick silos—
Grout silos—Metal silos—Silo stacks—Pits in the ground

—Silo literature—Preservation of silos—Cost of silos. _36-138
5

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III.

PAGE
Silage—Filling the silo—Cutting the corn in the field—W hole

vs. cut silage—Siloing corn ‘‘ears and all”—The filling
process—Power and cutters for silo filling—Pneumatic
elevators—Fast or slow filling—Danger from carbonic-
acid poisoning in silos—Covering the siloed fodder—
‘Dry ” silage—Shredded silage—Clover silage—Freezing
of silage—Cost of silage—Chemical composition of silage
—Relation of moisture and acidity in silage—Sweet vs.
sour silage—Digestibility of silage—Losses of food ma-
terials in the silo—Losses in field-curing fodder corn—
Necessary losses in siloing corn—Necessary losses in silo-
ing Glover 29225202228. eee 139-189

CHAPTER IV.

Feeding of silage—Silage for milch cows—For steers—For
breeding bulls—For horses—For mules—For sheep—
For ‘swine—For poultry 22. 2s sl 2-2 36-2222 ae ee 190-208

CHAPTER V.

Comparison of silage and other feeds—Economy of produc-
tion—Corn silage vs. roots—Corn silage vs. hay—Corn
silage vs. fodder corn—Comparative feeding experi-

ments—Corn silage vs. roots—Corn silage vs. dry
roughate MY ieesee S222 Soe ee ee 209-222

CHAPTER VI.

The, silo in, modern agriculture - 22.229). 25- 40a 223

INTRODUCTION.

The history of the silo dates back to antiquity.
Ancient writers speak of the practice of burying grain
in underground pits to save it for future use or to hide
it from their enemies, and the evidence at hand goes
to show that semi-barbaric peoples in the different parts
of the world have known and practiced this method.
Green forage was preserved in the same way in the early
history of the races of Northern Europe, notably in
Sweden and the Baltic provinces, where the uncertainty
of the weather and the low summer temperature ren-
dered difficult the proper curing of the hay. It was not,
however, until toward the middle of the present cen-
tury that the practice of preserving green fodder by
means of pits in the ground became more known. The
method was especially practiced in central Europe,
where large quantities of green leaves and tops were
available every fall in the sugar-beet districts; also
green forage, such as Indian corn fodder, green clover,
grass, etc., was treated by this method; the fodder be-
ing placed in pits ten to twelve feet square, or larger,
and as many feet deep; these were often lined with
wood, and puddled below and at the sides with clay.
The fodder was spread evenly in the pits, and well
trampled down; when the pit was full the whole was
covered with boards and a layer of earth one to two
feet thick; such pits would hold nearly ten tons when
full. It is stated that the silage thus obtained “re-

(“)

8 INTRODUCTION.

mained green and was well liked, even by sheep.” This
practice slowly spread; in the sixties over 2000 tons
of Indian corn was thus made into silage annually in
a single small German province where dairying is an
important industry.

One of the earliest advocates of the practice was
M. Reihlen of Stuttgart, Germany. His communica-
tions on the subject gave an impetus to a large amount
of experimentation and study along this line, both
among German and French farmers. The French
farmer, Auguste Goffart, whose name by most writers
has been connected with the origin of silage, in 1877
published his book, “Manual of the Culture and Siloing
of Maize and other Green Crops,” which book is the first
monograph on the subject ever published, and embodies
the experience and results of twenty-five years’ study
of the problem by the author. While Goffart has no
claim to priority in inventing the method of siloing
green fodders, he perfected and applied it on a large
scale, and, in publishing the results of his experience,
brought the subject to the general attention of farmers ;
he may, therefore, justly be called the “Father of Mod-
ern Silage.”

The earliest mention of the subject in the United
States was through accounts of Huropean experience in
our agricultural press; the first complete description of
the system was given in a paper on “The French Mode
of Curing Forage,” published in the Annual Report of
the United States Department of Agriculture for 1875.
Goffart’s book was translated in 1879, by Mr. J. B.
Brown of New York; this translation, as well as Dr.
J. M. Bailey’s “Book of Ensilage,” published in 1880,

INTRODUCTION. 9

first made the subject of silos and silage more generally
known among American farmers, and the system soon
found its enthusiastic followers in the United States.
Since that time a wave of silo discussion and silo build-
ing has spread over the whole continent, and, as a result,
we find to-day silos practically in every State in the
Union, thousands upon thousands being filled each year
with green corn or clover, furnishing farm animals with
a palatable, succulent feed, not only through the winter
and spring, but in dairy districts through the whole
year.

The first silo built in the United States is said to
be that erected by Mr. F. Morris of Maryland, in 1876.
The number of silos in this country at the present time
can not be stated with certainty in the absence of of-
ficial or other reliable statistics on the subject; but
careful estimates—which, from the nature of things,
are but good guesses—place the number at 300,000 or
more. New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Wis-
consin, and all other States where dairying is an im-
portant industry, have numbers ranging from several
hundreds up into the thousands. We find silos in Maine
and in California, in Washington and in Georgia, in
the North and in the South. They are at the present
most abundant where the dairy industry is of prime
importance; but wherever stock raising is followed we
may, in general, expect to find them. In England, where
the silo was introduced a little later than in the United
States, there were only six silos in 1882; but accord-
ing to official statistics the number was 600 in 1884,
1183 in 1885, 1605 in 1886, and 2694 in 1887. No
later statistics are available. English farmers have the

10 INTRODUCTION.

reputation of being, and doubtless as a rule are, more
conservative in the changing of old methods or in the
adoption of new ones than their American cousins; we
can not, therefore, consider the figures given an over-
estimate of the present number of silos in the United
States.

Unwarranted claims for silage were often made dur-
ing the early days of the silo movement by enthusiasts
in this country and abroad. A German agricultural
writer predicted the day as likely to come when dry
hay would be obtainable only in drug stores. While no
American writer or speaker, to my knowledge, was so
carried away by his enthusiasm, excessive statements
and reports were, nevertheless, often indulged in, which
could not stand the hght of further experience and
investigation. The process of siloing forage, as we
have seen, is practically as old as hay-making; but it
is only during the last couple of decades that the process
has been systematically studied and perfected. Thanks
to the zealous work of the agricultural experiment sta-
tions in this and other countries, and to the mass of
practical experience accumulated, our store of definite
knowledge on the subject has now been greatly en-
riched, and many problems previously standing in the
way of success have been solved. The siloing of green
fodders is no longer an experiment; the results may be
foretold with as much certainty as in case of any indus-
try depending on the action of ferments. With our
present knowledge of the subject, we therefore believe
that we can place the silo where it belongs and give it
its due importance.

The effort of the author will be to give, in the follow-

INTRODUCTION. Eigh

ing pages, a plain and accurate account of the most
important facts in connection with silage, and to furnish
the beginner with such information concerning the
building Of silos, the making of silage, and its proper
feeding, as will enable him to understand the important
features of the method, and to adopt it in his system of
farming.

A few definitions of the terms used in this book may
be in order at this place.

In the modern meaning of the word, a silo signifies
any air-tight structure used for the preservation of
forage in a succulent condition. The feed taken out
of the silo is silage (formerly and originally called
ensilage). For the process of preserving fodders in a
silo, several verbs are used by writers on agricultural
topics and are given in our standard dictionaries ; among
these the author prefers the-verb, to silo; we thus silo
corn, clover, etc., and the product is corn silage, clover
silage, etc. The term siloist, a person making and feed-
ing silage, is occasionally met with, and has also some-
times been used in this book. The distinction made by
some writers between silage, the feed, and ensilage, the
process by which silage is made, is one rarely met with
outside of books. By common usage, the prefix en has
now been dropped in ensilage, the term silage having
been generally adopted by farmers and agricultural
writers.

According to American custom, the term corn, spoken
of in this book, means Indian corn, or maize (Zea
Mays), and corn silage, silage made from Indian corn;
fodder corn means the whole corn plant grown for for-
age, and corn fodder or corn stalks (stover), the husked
plant grown for the sake of the ears.

MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

CHAPTER I—SILAGE CROPS.
A. INDIAN CORN.

Indian corn is, above all other plants, the main silage
crop in our country, and is likely always to remain so.
A book on silage for American farmers is therefore of
necessity largely a description of the preparation of the
corn crop for the silo, and the feeding thereof. In view
of this fact, we shall discuss in the following pages, first
of all, the making and feeding of corn silage, and then
take up other silo crops, according to their importance.

Developtiient of the Corn Plant.

In order to obtain a correct idea of the corn plant, it
is necessary to examine its life history somewhat in
detail. A kernel of corn, planted in a sufficiently moist
and warm soil, will sprout within four to six days,
sending out the radicle, growing downward, and the
plumule, from which the different organs of the plant
eradually develop. The starch, albuminoids, and ash
materials in the corn germ, and in the rest of the kernel,
furnish the young plant with nourishment until it is
sufficiently developed to draw upon the soil and the air
for the elements required for the upbuilding of its
structure and of the various organs essential to its life
and to the reproduction of the species.

The most exhaustive study of the life history of
Indian corn has been conducted by the German scien-

(13)

14 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

tist, Doctor Hornberger (published in 1882). We shall
here briefly give some of the main results of his investi-
gation, bearing directly on the growth of Indian corn
from the early stages till maturity. Analyses were made
once every week; the plants analyzed on June 18th were
6 to 7 inches high; the last sample was taken on Sep-
tember 10th, when the corn was almost ripe. The per-
centage composition of the dry matter of the different
samples was shown in the following table.

PERCENTAGE CoMPosITION oF Dry MATTER OF SAMPLES
oF FoDDER CORN.

Per Cent| Min- Starch,

Date. Water in| eral Crude | Crude | Sugar, | Crude | Am-
Samples } Matter.) Protein.| Fiber. etc. Fat. | ides.
grime 18.4)...» 9249°), 30.384. o te cele ee 9.80

* - 25..| 89.27 | 8.45 | 28.17 | 17.82 | 41.67 | 3.99 ete
July 2..| 90.27 | 7.74 | 27.21 | 21.06 | 40.72 | 8.02 | 8.94
© 9...) 89.80 | 8.35 | 24.90 | 22.78 | 41.04 | 2.29 | 9.40
“© 16..| 89.44 | 8.15 | 22.94 | 22:92 | 43.34 | 2.26 | 8.18
“* - 28..| 88.387 | 6.385 | 17.82 | 24.48 | 49.60 | 2.03 | 6.05
“© 30. .| 88.09 | 6.02 | 15.14 | 24.95 | 51.41 | 2.07 | 5.26
Aug. 6..| 88.25 | 5.58 | 13.12 | 26.23 | 58.23 | 1.55 | 5.05
“« 18..| 88.07 | 5.381 | 12.16 | 26.26 | 54.55 | 1.28 | 4.06
«« 20..| 86.02 | 4.83 | 10.71 | 25.62 | 57.33 | 1.18 | 4.08
A RA 4.72 | 10.45 | 25.19.| 58.15 | 1.05 | 4.57
BEDE.) Sy.<l apie 4.30 | 10.08 | 23.87 | 60.45 | 1.43 | 3.89
“* 10..| 80.45 | 4.29 | 9.67 | 22.63 | 61.52 | 1.60 | 2.80

We notice from this table that the composition of
the dry matter of the fodder corn varies greatly with
the season. The young plant is relatively rich in min-
eral matter, crude protein, amides, and crude fat; it is
relatively poor in crude fiber and in nitrogen-free ex-
tract (starch, sugar, ete.). The nitrogenous (flesh-
forming) constituents predominate in the early stages
of growth, and the non-nitrogenous (heat-producing)
in the latter stages; the nutritive ratio (1. e., the pro-
portion between flesh-forming and heat-producing nut-

SILAGE CROPS. 15

rients), therefore, widens with the development of the
plant.

The percentages of water, ash, protein, and amides
decrease, and those of nitrogen-free extract and crude
fiber increase as the plant grows older. The changes
occurring in the composition of plants during their
growth, in the majority of cases, follow this general
law; it will, therefore, not be necessary to give results
as to the changes in the composition of other silage
crops with increasing age of the plants.

Considering next the total quantities of food materials
found in fodder corn by Hornberger, at the different
stages of growth, we have the following table:

YIELD oF Foop INGREDIENTS, IN GRAMS. *

Green 1000 Plants Contained
_ DATE. Fone : Dry | Ash. protein Crude Sugar Crude} Am-
plant. | Matter. Fiber. | etc. | Fat. | ides.
A CLL i Cael eae EO eee AGEs sterelacacnate eres 15:3
et ee ets 4.7 .50| 42.6) 142 89.8} 210] 16.1] 40.6
July 2...) 21 2.1] 161) 566) 488] 847) 62.8 186
vgs eh Re 4.1 | 342 | 1020 | 983 | 1681) 94. | 385
Pere. owl 80 8.3 | 674 | 1898 | 1896 | 3585) 187 | 677
Deen LOL 18.8 |1190 | 3249 | 4581 | 9301) 380 |1136
Be SO 276 | 82.8 |1978 | 4972 | 8194 |16884) 679 |1727
Aug. 6 468 | 55.0 [3069 | 7215 |14420 |29266| 851 |2780
ee hey 565 | 67.4 [3576 | 8192 |17692 |36746| 865 |27385
o20 591 82.6 |8991 | 8848 |21164 |47357| 974 |8369
te a 108.7 |5131 |11869 |27394 |63232|1143 |4970

ci Uc 121.2 |5215 |12218 |28311 |73247/1729 |4722
“© 10...1 611 1119.4 [5120 |11554 |27023 |73473)1906 |8245

~ *1,(00 srams equal 2.2 lbs, avoirdupois.

Professor Ladd, in 1889, in a very exhaustive study
of the corn plant, analyzed fodder corn cut at five dif-
ferent stages of growth, from full tasseling to maturity.
The results obtained will nicely supplement the pre-
ceding data. |

16 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

CHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE CORN CROP.

: Tas- :
YIELD PER ACRE. seled, | Silked,} Milk, | Glazed,| Ripe,
July 30.) Aug. 9.;Aug. 21) Sept. 7 |Sept. 23

Pounds |Pounds |Pounds |Pounds | Pounds

GrudsWVelenGS. 82h < ss ee 18045 [25745 |32600 [32295 |28460
Water Ae CrOp. 2s) f./.¢0 hie 5 16426 [22666 |27957 [25093 |20542
1 ekg ea er 1619 | 8078 | 4643 | 7202 | 7918
OMe oetesacss oS Daas at eee 138.9} 201.3) 232.2) 302.5) 364.2
Crude Prolein... .:<. <is:s 0x ses 239.8) 486.8) 478.7| 643.9) 677.8
Crude Fiber..... Ticks 514.2] 872.9)1262.0/1755. 9)1784.0
Nitrogen-free Extract

(starch, sugar, etc).....-} 653.9/1399.3/2441 .3)/4239.8/4827.6
erga Wat 0.5 os cases ste 72.21 167.8! 228.9! 260.01 314.3

The data given in the preceding tables show how
rapidly the yield of food materials increases with the
advancing age of the corn and also that the increase
during the later stages of growth comes largely on the
nitrogen-free extract (starch, sugar, etc.). A number
of American experiment stations have determined the
increase during the stages previous to maturity, with
the average results shown in the following computa-
tion:

INCREASE IN Foop INGREDIENTS FROM TASSELING TO
RIPENESS.

Gain in per cent
Stage of Maturity. | between first and
last cutting.
EXPERIMENT Variety.

mM.

Blo slo . 32

STATION. First Last S\solds| Se
* A HEl(soi/sa|/ & Ss

Cutting. | Cutting. S/R O|FE| ag

A\O em OB

|
|
I

Cornell,N.Y.|Pride of the
North ....| Bloom |Mature {150} 90/129] 169

a Pride of the Nearly
Morin s 25 ot mature 217|184/374) 300
Geneva, N.Y./King Philip.|Tasseled|Mature /|389)183/335] 462
New Hamp. |Av. of 4 Var. - Glazed {112} 50} 84) 180
Pennsylvania/Av.of 10 Var. dis Mature {155
Vermont. Av. of 2 Var. *¢ |Glazed |122) 50
- Bloom ‘« 1204! 81

Averaces. of |jallirials...... [so oss cee = tae 193} 98/230] 265

SILAGE CROPS. 17

We thus find that the largest amount of food materials
in the corn crop is not obtained until the corn is well
ripened. When a corn plant has reached its total
growth in height it has, as shown by the results given
in the last table, attained only one-third to one-half
the weight of dry matter it will gain if left to grow to
maturity ; hence we see the wisdom of postponing cut-
ting the corn for the silo, as in general for forage pur-
poses, until late in the season.

The tables given in the preceding, and our discussion
so far, have taken into account the total, and not the
digestible components of the corn. LHarly German di-
gestion work goes to show that the digestibility of plants
decreases as they grow older; the following average
digestion coefficients for green corn, obtained in Ameri-
can digestion experiments, embody all work done by
our experiment stations on this point up to date; the
computation is made by Professor Lindsey of Massa-
chusetts experiment station.

DIGESTION COEFFICIENTS FOR GREEN DENT FODDER CorN.

o. of| Dry | Crude | Crude | N-free | Ether
STAGES OF GROWTH. Trials. Matter.|Protein| Fiber. |Extract|Extract

immature’... 5... > a1 68 66 67 71 68
AS 9 70 61 64 76 48
Ea 9 67 54 |° 51 75 78
1 A ee 4 65 51 55 72 %3

It will be noticed that there is a slight decrease in
the digestibility of the dry matter and a marked de-
crease in that of crude protein and crude fiber with the
greater maturity of the fodder. The preceding trials

18 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

were made with different lots of fodder, so that they can
only be compared on account of the fairly large ne
of trials made in each group.

Results of other trials corroborate the conclusion
drawn that older plants are somewhat less digestible
than young plants. There is, however, no such dif-
ference in the digestibility of the total dry matter or
its components as is found in the total quantities ob-
tained from plants at the different stages of growth,
and the total yields of digestible matter in the corn will
therefore be greater at maturity, or directly before this
time, than at any earlier stage of growth. Hence we
find that the general practice of cutting corn for the
silo at the time when the corn is in the roasting stage,
is good science and in accord with our best knowledge
on the subject.

Another reason why cutting at a late period of
erowth is preferable in siloing corn is found in the fact
that the quality of the silage made from such corn is,
as we shall see later on, greatly better than that ob-
tained from green immature corn.

Varieties of Corn to be Planted for the Silo.

The varieties to be planted for the silo must differ
according to local conditions of climate, soil, ete. The
ideal silage corn, according to Shelton, is a variety hav-
ing a tall, slender, short-jointed stalk, well eared, and
bearing an abundance of foliage. The leaves and ears
should make up a large percentage of the total weight,
and the yield per acre should be heavy. The lower
leaves should keep green until the crop is ready to har-

SILAGE CROPS. S249

vest, and it is desirable to have the plant stool well and

throw out tall grain-bearing suckers. A silage variety
should mature late, the later the better, so long as it
only matures, as a long-growing, late-maturing sort
will furnish much more feed from a given area than
one that ripens early.

In the early stages of siloing corn, in our country,
the effort was to obtain an immense yield of fodder
per acre, no matter whether the corn ripened or not.
Iiarge yields were, doubtless, often obtained with these
big varieties, although I doubt that the actual yields
ever came up to the claims made. Bailey's Mammoth
Ensilage Corn, “if planted upon good corn land, in good
condition, well matured, with proper cultivation,” was
guaranteed to produce from forty to seventy-five tons
of green fodder to the acre, “just right for ensilage.”
We now know that the immense Southern varieties of
corn, when grown to an immature stage, as must neces-
sarily be the case in Northern States, may contain less
than ten per cent of dry matter, the rest, more than
nine-tenths of the total weight, being made up of
water. This is certainly a remarkable fact, when we
remember that skim-milk, even when obtained by the
separator process, will contain nearly ten per cent of
solid matter.

In speaking of corn planted so as to be cut for forage
at an immature stage, Professor Robertson of Canada
said at a Wisconsin Farmers’ Institute, “Fodder corn
sowed broadcast does not meet the needs of milking
cows. Such a fodder is mainly a device of a thought-
less farmer to fool his cows into believing that they have

20 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

been fed, when they have only been filled up.” The
same applies with equal strength to the use of large,
immature Southern varieties for fodder, or for the silo,
in Northern States.

In comparative variety tests with corn in the North,
Southern varieties have usually been found to furnish
larger quantities per acre of both green fodder and total
dry matter in the fodder, than the smaller Northern
varieties. As an average of seven culture trials, Pro-
fessor Jordan thus obtained the following results at the
Maine experiment station.

COMPARATIVE YIELDS OF SOUTHERN CORN AND MAINE
FIELD CorN AS GROWN IN MAINE, 1888-1893.

SouTHERN CORN. MAINE FIELD CORN.

Dry Digestible Dry Digestible
Substance. | Matter. ‘ Substance. | Matter.

Maximum] 46,340 | 16.58 | 6,237 | 69 | 3,923 | 29,400 | 25.43 | 7,064 | 78 | 4,945
Minimum] 26,295 | 12.30 | 3,234 | 61 | 2,102| 14,212 | 13.55 | 2,415 | 70 | 1,715
Average..| 34,761 | 14.50 | 5,036 | 65 | 3,251 | 22,269 | 18.75 | 4,224 | 72 | 3,076

It will be noticed that the average percentage digesti-
bility of the dry substance is 65 per cent for the South-
ern corn, and 72 per cent for the Maine field corn, all
the results obtained for the former varieties being lower
than those obtained for the latter. It is of importance
to examine the detailed results of digestion experiments
with these two kinds of fodder. The average digestion
coefficients obtained in trials at the Maine station are
as follows.

SILAGE CROPS. 21

CoMPARATIVE DIGESTIBILITY OF VARIETIES OF CORN
GRowN UNDER SIMILAR CONDITIONS.

H
’ a) 5

: Bus oa =a Be 3.43

ei ees Ss & aS a =| O45 ao me) .
= a Sol/L_l2a 3
28/20 (3° [£0 [ag [BEE
sO lad <5 o 8 vw? (84 8] oD
psis4| SISA l1ZS OFA. | oS x
b tof) — PA, ~ l= fe?)
maAY] & = H erat RAY
A |o Sn |S ae 2 'S)

Field Fodder Corn and Sil-
age, 7 samples, 17 trials |72.3]74.6)86.8/65.1/76.5| 75.5)/74.9
Southern Fodder Corn and
Silage,5 samples, 12 trials |64. 6/66 .5/39.'7/59.6|71 . 0) 65. 2/66.3

Difference in favor of field
COIN ...-2-... ee eee eee 7 SV... ax) Deol ovaL LO.a)-e.6

As a result of the lower digestion coefficients for the
Southern varieties, the difference in the yield of diges-
tible matter—the real important factor to be consid-
ered—is less marked. While the general result for the
five years is slightly in favor of the Southern varieties,
as far as the yield of digestible matter is concerned,
the fact should not be lost sight of, as called attention
to by Professor Jordan, that an average of 64 tons
more of material has annually to be handled over sev-
eral times, in case of these varieties of corn, in order
to gain 175 pounds more of digestible matter per acre;
we therefore conclude that the smaller, less watery
variety of corn really proved the more profitable.

At other Northern stations similar results, or results
more favorable to the Northern varieties, have been
obtained, showing that the modern practice of growing
only such corn for the silo as will mature in the par-
ticular locality of each farmer, is borne out by the
results of careful culture tests.

aa MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE

Methods of Planting Corn.

THICKNESS OF PLANTING.—The thicker the stand of
a crop, the larger the proportion of stalks and foliage
to grain; with corn we. thus find that thin planting will
produce perfect plarts, with well-developed, large ears,
while close planting will produce much fodder and only
few ears, a large proportion of which will be nubbins.
The reason for this will be easily understood at a mo-
ment’s reflection: Plants need a great deal of light,
heat, and moisture to reach perfect development. Where
the stand is too thick, one plant will shade another, and
the supvly of sunshine and moisture (in our climate
perhaps particularly the latter) will be insufficient to
bring each plant further than to the formation of rich
foliage and a small proportion of ears of an imperfect
size; the greater part of the food materials of the plant
elaborated will, therefore, in this case, remain in the
stalks and fohage. In planting corn for the silo we
want the largest quantities of food materials that the
land is capable of producing. This, evidently, can be
obtained by a medium thickness of planting. If too
thin or too thick planting be practiced, the total yields
of food materials obtained will be decreased—in the
former case, because of the small stand of plants; in
the latter, because of insufficiency of light, moisture,
and other conditions necessary to bring the plants for-
ward to full growth.

A single experiment may be given to show the effect
of the distance of planting on the quantity and quality
of the corn crop. White dent corn was planted on six
one-twentieth-acre plats at the Connecticut experiment
station, as follows: One, two, and four stalks every

SILAGE CROPS. 23

four feet in the row, and two, four, and eight stalks
tu the foot. The following yields of cured fodder and
dry matter were obtained from the different plats.

a

YIELD OF FIELD-CURED CROP.

DISTANCE OF PLANTING. Gross | Dry i dc eater
Weight Matter. Kernels] Cobs. ; Stover.

SS

; lbs. ~ ‘Tbs. lbs. lbs. lbs.
A/One stalk in four feet...| 168.0} 104.3} 50.5) 11.8) 42.0
B/Two stalks in four feet. .| 320.0) 201.6} 102.2} 20.4] 79.0
C|Four stalks in four feet. .| 457.5) 307.2)145.3) 32.1] 129.8
D|Two stalks to one foot. .| 491.0/817.6) 105.4) 21.1) 191.1
E |Four stalks to one foot..| 522.0) 297.2) 70.4) 19.1/207.7
F |Kight stalks to one foot. .|532.0} 260.3] 48.4] 13.5) 198.4

| Plat.

The highest yield of the field-cured crop was ob-
tained with the thickest planting, while most dry mat-
ter was obtained by growing two stalks to a foot. The
highest yield of water-free kernels was at one stalk to a
foot, and of stover at four stalks to a foot. The fol-
lowing table shows the proportions of kernels, cobs,
and stover in the different plats.

PROPORTION OF KERNEL, COBS, AND STOVER IN CORN CRopP,
IN PER CENT.

Water
DISTANCE OF PLANTING. Kernels} Cobs. | Stover. ||Content of

. Crop.
One stalk in four feet........ .| 48.4/11.3] 40.3 37.9
Two stalks in four feet........ 50.7 |: 10-1 | 39.2 37.1
Four stalks in four feet........ 47.3| 10.4) 42.3 32.9
Two stalks to one fuot......... 3p. 1 6.6] 60.3 35.3
Four stalks to one foot........ 24.0| 6.4] 69.6 43.1
Hight stalks to one foot........ 12.6] 5.1] 76.3 51.0

We notice that the water content of the field-cured
crop increased as the distance of planting decreased ;
that is, thicker seeding gave more watery fodder.

24 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

The fact that thin seeding favors the perfection of
well-developed, strong plants is illustrated by the fol-
lowing results, obtained in the same experiments, show-
ing the yields of different parts of the corn plant from
1,000 seed kernels for each of the distances named.

YIELDs oF DIFFERENT Parts oF CorN PLANT FROM 1,000
SzED KERNELS, IN PounpDs.

Water-free Substance.

oS
o
Ba

DISTANCE OF PLANTING. 59 z “
so I wo 2 3
o is 2 Oo ~
4 v ° a) Sc
= i é) 2) EH

——__—————_— | ————————_- S| ————_———_ |——_———_

One stalk in four feet....| 1,286 | 371 87 | 309 767
Two stalks in four feet..| 1176 | 376 75 | 290 741

Four stalks in four feet.. 841 267 59 | 239 565
Two stalks to one foot... 451 97 19 | Tie 292
Four stalks to one foot... 239 32 9 96 187

Hight stalks to one foot.. 122 11 3 46 60

It would not be safe to conclude that similar results
as those given in the table would be obtained in all
kinds of soils and seasons. The number of plants which
can be brought to perfect development on a certain
piece of land depends upon the state of fertility of the
land, the character of the season and other factors, and
is therefore subject to considerable variations. The re-
sults given in the table plainly show, however, that the
practice to be followed in planting Indian corn for fod-
der must differ from that used in planting for ear corn.
The distance in planting corn for the sake of the grain,
differs greatly in different localities. The old Indian
way of planting in hills, four feet both ways, dropping
four to five. kernels in each hill, has been followed gen-
erally in the corn belt. In the New England States corn

SILAGE CROPS. 25

is, according to Professor Morrow, usually planted in
hills three feet apart, with three kernels to the hill,
while in some Southern States it is planted in hills five
feet apart, with only one stalk in the hill. The ordinary
Southern practice is, I believe, to plant in rows three to
four feet apart, with stalks every twelve to cighteen
inches in the rows. These methods will secure a large
proportion of perfect ears, but not the maximum crop
of dry matter and its constituents. in the total plant,
which is wanted in growing corn for the silo. Numerous
experiments have shown that under ordinary conditions
in our country, better results in this direction may be
obtained by planting the corn in hills three or even two
feet apart, or in drills three or four feet apart, with
plants six to eight inches apart in the row. We find
that the practice of our best farmers is in accordance
with the teachings of these experiments. In growing
corn for the silo, it is therefore generally recommended
to plant in hills or drills in the manner mentioned,
which will give about a square foot of ground ’to each
corn plant.

Since the conditions of moisture, temperature, and
fertility of the land, as well as other factors influencing
the growth of crops, are not exactly alike in any two
succeeding years, it is evident that any definite practice
of thickness of planting adopted will not necessarily
produce the best results every year, but such a practice
should be followed as will be apt to produce the best
average results for a number of years in each particular
locality. :

PLANTING IN HILLS oR IN DRILLS.—Experiments
conducted at a number of experiment stations teach us

26 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

that it makes little if any difference, so far as the yield
obtained is concerned, whether the corn be planted in
hills or in drills, when the land is kept free from weeds
in both cases. The yield seems more dependent on the
number of plants growing on a certain area of land
than on the arrangements of planting the corn. Hills
four feet each way, with four stalks to the hill, will thus
usually give about the same yields as hills two feet
apart, with two stalks in the hill, or drills four feet
apart, with stalks one foot apart in the row, ete. The
question of planting corn in hills or in drills is there-
fore largely one of greater or less labor in keeping the
land free from weeds by the two methods. This will
depend on the character of the land; where the land is
uneven, and check-rowing of the corn difficult, or when
the land is free from weeds, drill planting is preferable ;
while, conversely, on large level fields, as on our Western
prairies, the corn may more easily and cheaply be kept
free from weeds if planted in hills and check-rowed.

When the corn is to be cut with a corn harvester or
with a sled cutter, it should be planted in drills, so as to
facilitate the cutting.

Sowrne Corn Broapdcast.—Corn should be planted
in hills or drills, and not broadcast. The objection to
sowing corn broadcast is that the land cannot be kept
free from weeds in this case, except by hand labor ; that
more seed is required, and that plants will shade one
another, and therefore not reach full development, from
lack of sufficient sunshine and moisture. As a result,
the yield will be greatly diminished. In an experiment
conducted at the Geneva (N. Y.) experiment station in
1889, the average yield of green fodder per acre from

SILAGE CROPS. 27

King Philip corn was 12,780 lbs., against 14,077 lbs.
and 16,967 lbs., for drills and hills, respectively; the
average weights of single plants were: Broadcast, 0.73
Ibs.; drills, 1.06 lbs.; hills, 1.24 lbs.; the average num-
her of quarts of seed per acre used was 25 1-3, 14 4-9,
and 10 2-9 quarts, for broadcast, drills, and hills, re-
spectively.

Preparation of Corn Land.

Corn will give best results coming after clover. The
preparation of the land for growing corn is the same
whether ear corn or forage is the object. Land intended
for corn should be in good condition; in fact, it can
hardly be too rich. Fall plowing is practiced by many
successful corn growers. The seed is planted on care-
fully prepared ground at such a time as convenient
and advisable. Other things being equal, the earlier
the planting the better. “The early crop may fail, but
the late crop is almost sure to fail.” After planting,
the soil should be kept pulverized and thoroughly cul-
tivated. Shallow cultivation will ordinarily give better
results than deep cultivation, as the former method suf-
fices to destroy the weeds and to preserve the soil mois-
ture, which are the essential points sought in cultivat-
ing crops. The cultivation should be no more frequent |
than is necessary for the complete eradication of weeds.
It has been found that the yield of corn may be de-
creased by too frequent, as well as by insufficient, culti-
vation. The general rule may be given to cultivate as
often, but no oftener, than is necessary to kill the weeds,
or to keep the soil pulverized. In the majority of cases
one cultivation a week until the corn shades the ground
will be found sufficient,

28 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

B. CLOVER.

Clover is second to Indian corn in importance as a
silage crop. We are but beginning to appreciate the
value of clover in modern agriculture. It has been
shown that the legumes, the family to which clover
belongs, are the only common forage plants able to fix
the free nitrogen of the air; that is, convert it into
compounds that may be utilized for the nutrition of
animals. Clover and other legumes, therefore, draw
largely on the air for the most expensive and valuable
fertilizing ingredient, nitrogen, and for this reason,
as well as on account of their deep roots, which bring
fertilizing elements up near the surface, they enrich
the land upon which they grow. Being a more nitro-
genous feed than corn or the grasses, clover supplies a
good deal of the protein compounds (flesh-forming
substances) required by farm animals for the mainte-
nance of their bodies and for the production of milk,
wool, or meat. By feeding clover, a smaller purchase of
high-priced concentrated feed stuffs, like flour- or oil-
mill refuse products, is therefore rendered necessary
than when corn is fed, and on account of its high fer-
tilizing value it enables the farmer feeding it to keep up
the fertility of his land.

When properly made, clover silage is an ideal
feed for nearly all kinds of stock. Aside from
its higher protein content it has an advantage
over corn silage in point of lower cost of produc-
tion. The late A. F. Noyes, of Dodge County, Wis.,
who siloed 1200 tons of clover during his last eight
years, estimated the cost of one ton of clover silage at
70 cents to $1, against $1 to $1.25 per ton of corn silage.

SILAGE CROPS. 29

His average yields per acre of green clover were about
twelve tons.

Clover silage is superior to clover hay on account of
its succulence and greater palatability, as well as its
higher feeding value. The last-mentioned point is
mainly due to the fact that all the parts of the clover
plant are preserved in the silo, with a small unavoidable
loss in fermentation, while in hay-making, leaves and
tender parts, which contain about two-thirds of the pro-
tein compounds, are often largely lost by abrasion.

In spite of the fact that there have been many failures
in the past in siloing clover, it may easily and cheaply be
placed in a silo and preserved in a perfect condition.
The failures reported are largely due to a faulty con-
struction of the silo. Clover does not pack as well as
the heavy green corn, and therefore requires weighting,
or greater depth in the silo, in order to sufficiently ex-
elude the air.

TIME TO CuT CLOVER FOR THE S1LO.—The yield of
food materials obtained from clover at different stages
of growth has been studied by a number of scientists.
The following table giving the results of an investiga-
tion conducted by Professor Atwater will show the total
quantities of food materials secured at four different
stages of growth of red clover.

YIELD PER ACRE OF RED CLOVER —IN PowunpDs.

STAGE OF Green Dry | Crude | Crude | N-free |Crude | Ash.
CUTTING. Weight.| Matter. |Protein| Fiber. | Extract} Fat.
Just before
PROOTR..:.'. 5 <'0's 3,570 | 1,885 | 198 | 384 | 664 | 24 | 115
Full bloom....| 2,650 | 1,401 | 189 | 390 | 682 | 83 | 107
Nearly out of
ONE ys 5's <5: 4,960 | 1,750 | 2380 | 528 | 887 | 31 | 129

Nearly ripe.... 3,910 1,523 | 158 | 484 | 746 | 36 | 99

30 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Professor Hunt obtained 3,600 pounds of hay per acre
from clover cut in full bloom, and 3,260 pounds when
three-fourths of the heads were dead. The yields of dry
matter in the two cases were 2,526 pounds, and 2,427
pounds, respectively. All components, except crude
fiber, yielded less per acre in the second cutting. Jor-
dan found the same result, comparing the yields and
composition of clover cut when in bloom, some heads
dead, and heads all dead, the earliest cutting giving
the maximum yield of dry matter, and of all compon-
ents except crude fiber.

The common practice of farmers is to cut clover for
the silo when in full bloom, or when the first single
heads are beginning to wilt, that is, when right for hay
making, and we notice that the teachings of the investi-
gations made are in conformity with this practice.

C. OTHER SILAGE CROPS.

A large number of crops, besides corn and clover,
have been siloed successfully in this and other coun-
tries. All are, however, of less general importance as
silage crops, compared with these, being cut for the silo
only in certain localities, or occasionally and in small
quantities, as a matter of experiment.

We shall in the following give a brief mention of the
main crops adapted for siloing purposes, aside from the
two crops already mentioned.

Alfalfa (lucern) is the great coarse forage plant of
the West, and in irrigated districts will yield more food
materials per acre of land than perhaps any other crop.
Three to four cuttings, each yielding a ton to a ton and
a half of hay, are common in these regions. and the

oe

SILAGE CROPS. ol

yields obtained are often much higher. While the
large bulk of the crop is cured as hay, alfalfa is also
of considerable importance as a silage crop in dairy
sections of the Western States. As with red clover, re-
ports of failure in siloing alfalfa are on record, but first-
class alfalfa silage can be readily made in deep, modern
silos, when the crop is cut when in full bloom. Jn the
opinion of dairymen who have had large experience in
siloing alfalfa, sweet alfalfa silage is more easily made
than good alfalfa hay.

What has been said in regard to the siloing of clover
refers to alfalfa as well. Alfalfa silage compares favor-
ably with clover silage, both in chemical composition
and in feeding value. It is richer in flesh-forming sub-
stances (protein) than clover silage, or any other kind of
silage, and makes a most valuable feed for farm animals,
especially young stock and dairy cows.

Sorghum is sometimes siloed in the Western and
Middle States. It is sown in drills, 34 inches apart,
with a stalk every six to ten inches in the row, and is
cut when the kernels are in the dough stage, or before.
According to Shelton, the medium-growing saccharine
and non-saccharine sorghums are all excellent silage
materials. 'The sorghums are less liable to damage by
insects than corn, and they remain green far into the
fall, so that the work of filling the silo may be carried
on long after the corn is ripe and the stalks all dried
up. The yield per acre of green sorghum will often
reach 20 tons, or one-half as much again as a good crop
of corn. These considerations lead Professor Shelton
to pronounce sorghum greatly superior to corn as silage

3

On MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE,

materials, in Kansas, and generally throughout the
Central Western States.

In Southern States, pea vines, soja bean, teosinte,
and chicken corn are occasionally siloed.

Cow peas are to the South what alfalfa is to the
West, and when properly handled, both crops make
excellent and most valuable silage. The cow peas are
sown early in the season, either broadcast, about 13
bushels to the acre and turned under with a one-horse
turning plow, or drilled in rows about two feet apart.
They are cut with a mower when one-half or more of
the peas on the vines are fully ripe, and are immediately
raked in windrows and hauled to the silo where they
are run through a feed cutter and cut into inch lengths.
Instead of placing cow peas only in the silo, alternate
loads of cow peas and corn may be cut and filled into the
silo, which will make a very satisfactory mixed silage.
The cut vines, or vines and corn, are carefully leveled off
and trampled down in the silo, and about a foot cover
of green corn, straw or cotton seed hulls placed on top
of the siloed mass. It is safest to wet the cover thor-
oughly with about two gallons of water per square foot
of surface. This will seal the siloed mass thoroughly
and will prevent the air from working in from the
surface and spoil a considerable depth of the top silage.

Cow-pea silage is greatly relished by farm animals
after they once become accustomed to its peculiar flavor ;
farmers who have had considerable practical experience
in feeding this silage are of the opinion that cow-pea
silage has no equal as a food for cows and sheep. It is
also a good hog food, and for all these animals is con-
sidered greatly superior to pea-vine hay. In feeding

SILAGE CROPS. 33

experiments at the Delaware experiment station 6
pounds of pea-vine silage fully took the place of 1
pound of wheat bran, and the product of one acre was
found equivalent to two tons of bran.

Soja beans (soy beans) are another valuable silage
crop. According to the U. 8S. Department of Agricul-
ture “the soy bean is highly nutritive, gives a heavy
yield, and is easily cultivated. The vigorous late varie-
ties are well adapted for silage. The crop is frequently
siloed with corn (2 parts of the latter to 1 of the form-
er), and like other legumes it improves the silage by
tending to counteract the acid reaction of corn silage.”

Professor Robertson of Canada has recommended the
Robertson Enstlage Mixture for the silo; it is made
up of cut Indian corn, sunflower seed heads, and horse
beans in the proportion of 1 acre corn, 4 acre horse-
beans, and } acre sunflowers. The principle back of this
practice is to furnish a feed richer in flesh-forming
substances (protein) than corn, and thus avoid the
purchase of large quantities of expensive protein foods
like bran, oil meal, ete. Feeding experiments con-
ducted with the Robertson Silage Mixture for cows at
several of our experiment stations have given very sat-
isfactory results, and have shown that this silage mix-
ture can be partly substituted for the grain ration of
milch cows, without causing loss of flesh or lessening
the production of milk or fat. Fifteen pounds of this
silage may be considered equivalent to three to four
pounds of grain feeds.

In Northern Europe, especially in England, and in
the Scandinavian countries, meadow grass and after-
math (rowen) are usually siloed; in England, at the

34 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

present time, largely in stacks; in the sugar-beet dis-
tricts of Germany and Central Europe, diffusion chips
and beet tops are preserved in silos in large quantities.
In districts near sugar beet factories, where sugar-
beet pulp can be obtained in large quantities and at a
trifling cost, stock feeders and dairymem have a most
valuable aid in preserving the pulp in the silo. As the
pulp is taken from the factory it contains about 90 per
cent of water. The pulp packs well in the silo, being
heavy, finely divided and homogeneous, and a more
shallow silo can therefore be safely used in making pulp
silage than is required in siloing corn, and especially
clover and other crops of similar character. If pulp is
siloed with other fodder crops, it is preferably placed
uppermost, for the reason stated. Beet tops and pulp
may also be siloed in alternate layers in pits 3-4 feet
deep, and covered with boards and a layer of dirt.
Beet-pulp silage is relatively rich in protein and
low in ash and carbo-hydrates (nutr. ratio 1:5.7). Its
feeding value is equal to about half that of corn silage.
Occasional mention has furthermore been made in
our agricultural literature of the siloing of a large num-
ber of plants, or products, like vetches, small grains
(cut green), cabbage leaves, sugar beets, potatoes, potato
leaves, turnips, brewers’ grains, apple pomace, twigs and
leaves, and hop vines; even fern (brake), thistles, and
ordinary weeds have been made into silage, and used
with more or less sticcess as food for farm animals.
At a recent convention of the Cal. Dairy Association,
the president, Mr. A. P. Martin, stated that the best
silage he ever made, besides corn, was made of weeds.
A piece of wheat which was sowed early, was drowned

«

SILAGE CROPS. 35

out, and the field came up with tar weed and sorrel.
This was made into silage, and when fed to milch cows,
produced most satisfactory results.

Alvord says that a silo may be found a handy and
profitable thing to have on a farm even if silage crops
are not regularly raised to fill it. There are always
waste products, green or half-dry, with coarse mate-
rials like swale hay, that are generally used for com-
post or bedding, which may be made into palatable
silage. A mixture, in equal parts, of rag-weed, swamp
grass or swale hay, old corn stalks or straw, and second-
crop green clover, nearly three-fourths of which would
otherwise be almost useless, will make a superior silage,
surprising to those who have never tried it.

The following description of the contents filled into a
New York silo, which was used as a sort of catch-all,
is given by the same writer: 1, 18 in. deep of green
oats; 2, 6 in. of red clover; 3, 6 in. of Canada field peas ;
4,3 in. of brewers’ grains; 5, 2 feet of whole corn plants,
sowed broadcast, and more rag-weed than corn; 6, 5 in.
of second-crop grass; 7, 12 in. of sorghum; 8, a lot of
immature corn cut in short lengths. The silage came
out pretty acid, but good forage, all eaten up clean.

A peculiar use of the silo is reported from California,
viz., for rendering foxtail in alfalfa fields harmless in
feeding cattle. The foxtail which almost takes the first
crop of alfalfa in many parts of California, is a nutri-
tious grass, but on account of its beards, is dangerous
to feed. By siloing the crop the grass is said
to be rendered perfectly harmless; the alfalfa-fox-
tail silage thus obtained is eaten by stock with great
relish and without any injurious effects.

CHAPTER II.—SILOS.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

Several important points have to be observed in
building silos. First of all, the silo must be air-tight.
The process of siloing fodders is largely a series of fer-
mentation processes. Bacteria (minute plants or
germs), which are practically omnipresent, pass into
the silo with the corn or the siloed fodder, and, after
a short time, perhaps at once, begin to grow and
multiply in it, favored by the presence of air and an
abundance of food materials in the fodder. The activ-
ity of the bacteria is soon discernible through the heat-
ing of the mass and the formation of acid in the fodder.
The more air at the disposal of the bacteria, the further
the fermentation processes will progress. If a supply
of air is admitted to the silo from the outside, the bac-
teria will have a chance to continue to grow, and more
fodder will therefore be wasted. If a large amount of
air be admitted, as is usually the case with the top
layer of silage, the fermentation processes will be more
far-reaching than is usually the case in the lower layers
of the silo. Putrefactive bacteria will then continue the
work of the acid-bacteria, and the result will be rotten
silage. If no further supply of air is at hand, except
what remains in the interstices between the siloed fod-
der, the bacteria will gradually die out, or only such

(36)

i a

SILOS. 3”

forms will survive as are able to grow in the absence
‘of the oxygen of the air.

The biology of silage has received but very little
attention from our scientists up to the present time,
and we do not know which forms of bacteria are favor-
able, and which are unfavorable to the proper run of
the siloing process, or in how far the making of silage is
dependent on bacterial action, and how far on the nat-
ural dying-off of the plant tissues (intermolecular res-
piration), or how many of the various conditions of silo-
ing affect the final result. We know this, however, that
no silage fit to be eaten can be made in the presence of
air. The silo must therefore be air-tight, and the fod-
der well packed in it, so as to exclude the air as far as
practicable.

In the second place, the silo must have smooth, per-
pendicular walls, which will allow the mass to settle
without forming cavities along the walls. In a deep
silo the fodder will settle several feet during the first
few days after filling. Any unevenness in the wall will
prevent the mass from settling uniformly, and air
spaces in the mass thus formed will cause the surround-
ing silage to spoil.

The walls must furthermore be rigid, so as not to
spring when the siloed fodder settles, on account of the
lateral pressure in the silo (see p. 47), air would thereby
be admitted along the silo walls, causing decay and loss
of silage.

Other points of importance in silo-building, which
do not apply to all kinds of silos, will be considered as
we proceed with the discussion of the various forms of
silos in existence. We shall now take up the different
phases of the subject of silo building.

38 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Size oF S1tos.—In planning a silo the first point to
be decided is how large it shall be made. We will sup-.
pose that a farmer has a herd of twenty-five cows, to
which he wishes to feed silage during the winter season,
e. g., for 180 days. We note here, at the outset, that
silage will not be likely to give best results for milch
cows, or for any other class of farm animals, when it
furnishes the greater portion of the dry matter of the
feed ration. As a rule, it will not be well to feed over
forty pounds of silage daily per head. If this quantity
be fed daily, on an average for a season of 180 days,
we have for the twenty-five cows 180,000 pounds, or
ninety tons. On account of the fermentation processes
taking place in the silo, there is an unavoidable loss of
food materials during the siloing period, amounting to
perhaps 10 per cent; we must therefore put more than
the quantity given into the silo. If ninety tons of silage
is wanted, about one hundred tons of fodder corn must
be placed in the silo. Corn silage will weigh from
thirty pounds, or less, to toward fifty pounds per cubic
foot, according to the depth in the silo from which it
is taken, and the amount of moisture which it contains.
We may take forty pounds as the average weight of one
cubic foot of corn silage. One ton of silage will ac-
cordingly take up fifty cubic feet; and 100 tons, 5,000
cubic feet. If a rectangular one-hundred-ton silo is to
be built, say 12x14 feet, it must then have a height of
30 feet. If a square silo is wanted, it might be given
dimensions 12x12x35 feet, or 138x13x30 feet; if a cir-
cular silo, the following dimensions will be about right:
Diameter, 16 feet; height of silo, 25 feet, ete. In the

SILOS. 39

same way, a silo holding 200 tons of corn or clover silage
may be built of the dimensions 16x24x26 feet, 20x20x25
feet, or, if round, diameter, 25 feet ; height, 32 feet, etc.

Since the capacity of round silos is not as readily
computed as in case of rectangular silos, we give below
a table, which shows at a glance the approximate num-
ber of tons of silage that a round silo, of a diameter

from 10 to 26 feet, and 20 to 32 feet deep, will hold.

TABLE GIVING THE APPROXIMATE CAPACITY OF CYLINDRICAL
SILos FOR WELL-MATURED CoRN SILAGE, IN TONs.

DEPTH INSIDE DIAMETER OF SILO, FEET.
OF :
SILO, | as
Bue®.-| 194 42} 14 |°15-]- 16 | 18 | 20 | 2°) 22 | 28) 24 | B82
aN eB el (Ce he ee SE) i SN Ey ee

CA tae 26 | 88 5l 59 67 85 | 105 | 115. | 127 | 1388 | 151 | 168) 177
Dilan ets | OR 40 55 63 Gir G15 112 4) 723) 185 14148 1 161.) 175 |. 189
lle Se 30 | 43 59 67 vid 97 | 120 | 132 | 145 | 158 | 172 | 187 | 202
P22 1GF oe an 82 | 46 62 72 82 | 103 | 128 | 141 | 154 | 169 | 184 | 199 | 216
AE ee 34 | 49 66 ‘a 87 | 110 | 1385 | 149 | 164 | 179 | 195 | 212 | 229
ye . 36 | 52 70 81 90 | 116 | 143 | 158 | 173 | 190 | 206 | 224 | 242
72 ae ae eae 38 |°55 7 85 97 | 123 | 152 | 168 | 184 | 201 | 219 | 237 | 257
Cf (ae 40 | 58 78 90 | 108 | 180 | 160 | 177 | 194 | 212 | 281 |, 251 | 271
p< a a 42 | 61 83 95 | 108 | 137 | 169 | 186 | 204 | 223 | 243 | 264 | 285
te 45 | 64 88 | 100 ;} 114 | 144 | 178 | 196 | 215 | 235 | 256 | 278 | 300
is | (ye 47 | 68 93 | 105 | 119 | 151 | 187 | 206 | 226 | 247 | 269 | 292 | 315
3 haloes Sop ee 49 | 7 96 | 110 | 125 | 188 | 195 | 215 | 236 | 258 | 282 | 305 | 3380
aide ee ete Al} 73 | 101 | 115 | 131 | 166 | 205 | 226 | 248 | 271 | 295 | 32 346

The following table, which has been reproduced from
a trade publication, will show at a glance how much
silage is needed for dairy herds of six to fifty heads,
the size of silo needed and amount of land to be planted
to corn in each case. The table is based on the as-
sumption of an average feeding season of 180 days, and
of a daily allowance of 40 pounds of silage per head.

+0 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

S1zE oF SILo NEEDED—(/arder).

Number ed Con. Size of Silo ee Number eae Size of Silo i veteee
wee pga) Headat® (sgss| al emmpth| “eeu” Aa
Tons. |Diam. Height.| *°&@e¢- Tons. |Diam. Height| *&&¢e

97120
6 20 1to2 13 x 38
10 x i6{ ee |
10 x 22) 30 108 15 x 30} | 8to9
9 30 li x 205 | 2to3 16 x 28|
10 x 29) 17 x 26)
11 x |
13 45 3to4 15 x 35
12m x e2ih
35 126 16 x 31+] 9to10
13 x 20) 17 x ai|
11 x 37 ‘
12 x 32 16 x 35
21 74 13 x 2S 5to6 40 144 17: = SE 10 to 11
15 x 24 | 18 x 29
16 x 22 ieee
¢ ¢ B.S
12 x 38 45 162 sce 30 | 11 to 12
25 90 14 x 30} | 6to7
ieaxaros
15 x 21 Bo | 180) Gee sat 12 to 13

Form or S1Los.—The first silos made in this country
or abroad were rectangular, shallow structures, with a
door opening at one end. Goffart’s silos (see Fig. 1 and
2) were 5x12 meters wide, and 5 meters high (16.4x
39.4x16.4 feet). Another French silo, one of the larg-
est ever built, belonging to Vicomte de Chezelles, was
206x214 feet, and 15 feet high, holding nearly 1,500
tons of silage. Silos of a similar type, but of smaller
dimensions, were built in this country in the early
stages of silo building. Experience had taught siloists
that it was necessary to weight the fodder heavily in
these silos, in order to avoid the spoiling of large
quantities of silage. In Goffart’s silos, boards were thus
placed on top of the siloed fodder, and the mass was
weighted at the rate of 100 pounds per square foot.

It was found, however, after some time, that this

N NTS

se

Uf
[hi

.
;

42 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

heavy weighting could be dispensed with by making
the silos deep, and gradually the deep silos came more
and more into use. These silos were first built in this
country in the latter part of the eighties; at the present
time none but silos at least twenty to twenty-four feet
deep are built, no matter of what form or material
they are made, and most silos built are twenty-four to .-
thirty feet deep. ;

Si
'
- a ee
ZEA s-' E> ZEB S | ss
ee oe a, CZ Sm

AA « AD AHA B
ES ZF GF S
A i A A a
ze ID ' S| sa
cy an 2 A g
A | Z A A
Z | Z BZ A
A : SF A A
AGqKA . BA A BZ
A ' Be Bs AA
ZA A A A
A ! FA Z Z
Zz ' — 5 2
AA SS Zz eS
AA Qi! BZ gz AA
A “ sp A A
pg Se oe a ee A Z
A es eS A A
ZB ; A ZB AA
A ' Zz Zz BZ
= ' A = ZB
A BZ SB A
A ; BZ Z BZ
B ; AZ A A
A 3 Z A A
A, pees A F
A Z zB Z
BZ = EAA | A AA
aZ |AXA4v LZZ B
Bm Bi BS ABZ F

EB a Z 7 “EZ A

FIG. 2.—PLAN OF GOFFART’S SILOS.

Since 1890 the cylindrical form of silos has become
more and more general. These silos have the advantage
over all other kinds in point of cost and convenience,

SILOS. 43

as well as quality of the silage obtained. We shall,
later on, have an occasion to refer to the relative value
of the various forms of silos, and shall here only men-
tion twopoints in favor of the round silos.

One of the essentials in silo building is that there
shall be a minimum of surface and wall exposure of the
silage, as both the cost and the danger from losses |
through spoiling are thereby reduced. The round silos
are superior to all other forms in regard to this point,
as will be readily seen from an example: A rectangular
silo, 16x32x24 feet, has the same number of square
feet of wall surface as a square silo, 24x24 feet, and
of the same depth, or as a circular silo 30 feet in diame-
ter and of the same depth; but these silos will hold about
the following quantities of silage: Rectangular silo, 246
tons; square silc, 276 tons; circular silo, 338 tons,
Less lumber will, therefore, be needed to hold a cer-
tain quantity of silage in case of square silos than in
case of rectangular ones, and less for cylindrical silos
than for square ones, the cylindrical form being, then,
the most economical of the three types.

Round silos can furthermore be built cheaper than
square ones, because lighter material may be used in
their construction. The sills and studding here do no
work except to support the roof, since the lining acts
as a hoop to prevent spreading of-the wall.

Silage of all kinds will usually begin to spoil after a
few days, if left exposed to the air; hence the necessity
of considering the extent of surface exposure of silage
in the silo while it is being fed out. In a deep silo there
is less silage exposed in the surface layer in proportion
to the contents than in shallow silos. Experience has

44 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

taught us that about two inches of the top layer of the
silage must be fed out daily during cold weather in
order to prevent the silage from spoiling; in warm
weather about three inches must be taken off daily.
The form of the silo must therefore be planned, ac-
cording to the size of the herd, with special reference
to this point. Professor King estimates that there
should be a feeding surface in the silo of about five
square feet per cow in the herd; a herd of thirty cows
will then require 150 square fect cof feeding surface, or
the inside diameter of the silo should be 14 feet; for
a herd of forty cows a silo with a diameter of 16 feet
will be required; for fifty cows, a diameter of 18 feet;
for one hundred cows, a diameter of 251 feet, ete.
LocaTinG THE S1Lo.—The question, where to build
the silo, is most important and has to be settled at the
start. The feeding of the silage is an every-day job
during the whole winter and spring, and twice a day at
that. Other things being equal, the nearest available
place is therefore the best. The silo should be as handy
to get at from the barn as possible. The condition of
the ground must be considered. If the ground is dry
outside the barn, the best plan to follow is to build
the silo there, in connection with the barn, going four
to six feet below the surface, and providing for doors
opening directly into the barn. The bottom of the
silo should be on or below the level where the cattle
stand, and, if practicable, the silage should be moved
out and placed before the cows at a single handling.
While it is important to have the silo near at hand, it
should be so located, in case.the silage is used for milk
production, that silage odors do not penetrate the whole

SILOS. 45

stable, at milking or at other times. Milk is very sensi-
tive to odors, and unless care is taken to feed silage
after milking, and to have pure air, free from silage
odor, in the stable at the time of milking, the milk will
have a decided silage flavor. So far as is known this
odor is not discernible in either butter or cheese made
from silage-flavored milk, nor does it seem to affect
the keeping qualities of the milk in any way.

Borrom or S110o.—The bottom of the silo may be
clay, or, preferably, a layer of small stones covered with
cement. In some silos considerable damage has been
done by rats burrowing their way into the silo from
below, and destroying a great deal of silage, both di-
rectly and indirectly, by admitting air into the silo.
The silo may be built four to six feet down into the
ground, if this is dry. It is easy to build the silo deep
by this arrangement, and there will be no need of extra
length of carrier. By means of a ten-inch plank, pro-
vided with a number of cleats, the underground portion
of the silo may easily be emptied, the feeder walking up
the plank with the basket filled with silage. Stave silos
are built entirely above ground, and also in case of
other silos the tendency of late years seems to be toward
not: going so deep. down as was generally done in
the early period of silo construction.

FOUNDATION AND WALL or S1Lo.—The silo should
rest on a substantial stone foundation, to prevent the
bottom of the silo from rotting and to guard against
spreading of the silo wall. The foundation wall should
be 18 to 24 inches thick. Professor Cook recommends
making the bottom of the silo one foot below the ground,
so that the stone wall on which it rests may be sus-

46 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

tained by the earth on the outside, as shown in Fig. 3.

In building rectangular silos sills made by two 2x10
planks (P) rest on the inside ten inches of the founda-
tion wall; one of these projects at each corner. The
studdings (S), which are 2x10 planks, and as long as

So
ic]

&

—————— SE

www SARA,

CONCRETE
ee ro
de sy i} BY ov S
ES coe eas a

a

FIG. 3. FOUNDATION OF SILO.
Bottom of silo one foot below ground. (Cook.)

the silo is high, or two lengths toe-nailed together, are
placed 12 to 16 inches apart, large silos requiring the
smaller distance.

As there is a considerable lateral pressure in the silo

SILOS. At

before the fodder has settled, it is very important to
make the walls rigid and to place the studdings suffi-
ciently close together to prevent spreading of the wall.
Professot King found that the lateral pressure in a silo
on the average amounts to 10.94 pounds for every foot
in depth of silage; that is, at a depth of 20 feet there
is a pressure of about 218 pounds per square foot; at
30 feet, 328 pounds, etc. Mr. James M. Turner states
that it was found necessary to use 2x12 studding, 22,
24, or 26 feet in length, for the outside wall, as well as
for the cross-partitions in his first silo. In addition to
this, three courses of bridging in each side-wall were
inserted. In spite of all, the pressure, when the silo was
full, frequently forced out the sides from two to six
inches in places, and on some occasions the air thus
admitted caused large quantities of the silage to rot
and greatly impaired the value of the silo.

When the silage has settled there is no lateral pressure
in the silo; cases are on record where the silo has burned
down to the ground with the silage remaining prac-
tically intact as a tall stack. While silos provided with
partitions mist be filled simultaneously on both sides
of the partition to avoid bulging or even breaking of the
partition, the silage in one compartment can be com-
pletely removed before that in the other is uncovered,
without causing the partition to spring.

To insure ventilation in rectangular wooden silos,
the sills may be two inches narrower than the studding,
so as to leave air spaces between the sills and the lin-
ing; in the same way the plate is made narrower than
the studding to provide for an escape at the top. The
same end may be reached by boring a series of holes at

48 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

the bottom of the outside wall between every two studs,
_ leaving an open space of about two inches on the inside,
at the top of the plate. Wire nettings should be nailed
over ventilation openings to keep out rats and mice.

Roor or THE S1ito.—Where the silo is built in the
bay of a barn, there will be no need of making any sep-
arate roof, which otherwise generally will be the case.
The roof may be either board or shingle, and should be
provided with a cupola, so as to allow free ventilation in
the silo. In extreme cold weather this should be shut,
to prevent freezing of the silage.

MATERIAL FOR SILO BuILDING.—Silos are at the pres-
ent built almost exclusively of wood, stone, or concrete,
or partly of one, partly of another of these materials.
The material used will largely be determined by local
conditions; where lumber is cheap, and stone high,
wooden silos will generally be built; where the opposite
is true, stone silos will have the advantage in point of
cheapness, while concrete silos are likely to be preferred
where cobble-stones are at hand in abundance, and lum-
ber or stone are hard to get at a reasonable cost. So
far as the quality of the silage made in any of these
kinds of silos is concerned, there is no difference when
the silos are properly built. The longevity of stone-
and concrete silos is usually greater than that of wood-
en silos, since the latter are more easily attacked by the
silage juices and are apt to decay in places after a num-

ber of years, unless special precautions are taken to ~

preserve them. A well-built and well-cared-for wooden
silo should, however, last almost indefinitely.

PAINTING S1Los.—lIt is not strictly necessary to paint
the silo on the outside, any more than is the case with

4

50 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

barns or other farm buildings, but painting preserves the
woodwork from the action of wind and rain, and greatly
improves the appearance of a silo as well as of other
structures. If a farmer thinks much of his silo or of
his farm, he will therefore be likely to paint the silo.
Two good coats of pure linseed oil and white lead, with
the same color as is used for the other farm buildings,
should be put on. This will add greatly to the appear-
ance of the silo, and make it a very attractive structure.

We shall now consider somewhat in detail the various
types of silos, and shall give directions for their build-
ing in each case. More round wooden silos have been
built than other kinds of silos during late years, and
such silos, built either of uprights lined inside and out-
side with several layers of half-inch boards, or built of
one thickness of staves, will doubtless be the main silo
type in the future. We shall therefore first of all de-
scribe round wooden silos and stave silos, and shall then
briefly consider other silo types.

DESCRIPTION OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SILOS.
I. Round Wooden Silos.

Round wooden silos (see fig. 4) were first described in
1892 by Professor King, of Wisconsin Experiment Sta-
tion, who strongly urged the advantage of these silos
over other silo types. In the tenth annual report of
the Wisconsin station, complete directions will be found
for the construction of these silos, and illustrations are
given elucidating the manner of procedure, The plans
and specifications given in the following pages are
largely based on the directions for building round silos

SILOS. 51

published in the report referred to, but such modifica-
tions and additions have been included as have been
considered advisable in the hght of the practical ex-
perience-in silo construction gained during late years.
The plans and specifications were furnished for the
writer and under his direction by Claude and: Starck,
Architects, Madison, Wisconsin. The specifications
call for a silo 30 feet deep, inside diameter 26 feet, ca-
pacity about 300 tons. By changing the figures for the
height and the diameter, round silos of any desired
capacity may be readily built according to these speci-
fications.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR A 300-TON ROUND
WOODEN SILO.

MASONRY.

Excavation. Mason to excavate for all trenches and
the entire inside of the building as far as bottom of
gravel, as indicated on the section. Bottoms of all
trenches shall be level. Excavated material shall be
-disposed of as directed by the owner.

Footings. Footings shall be good sound sand- or lime
stone, extending through the wall in one piece, or brick ;
in either case the footing shall be bedded and laid up in
cement, one (1) part cement, to three (3) of sand.

Wall above footing. Wall above footing shall be laid
up in lime mortar richly gauged with cement. All
brick shall be thoroughly bonded every fourth course.

Brick, lime, sand and cement. All brick shall be
good sound hard-burned brick. All lime and cement
shall be fresh and undamaged; cement shall be any
standard brand of hydraulic cement, subject to the ap-

£

52 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

proval of the superintendent. All sand shall be clean,
coarse and sharp.

Spine VENTLATOR
=
oe Yin FLAsnico
Be ong
rs. RF: ei OCTAGON
\

ME Din hoor woaes i Ss

ae A A AMOF Roe
wines
244 Bares, s1up>
Ard RAFTERS LEC

SE FLEvatiay Deuneses
Or/wTAKE Doo lr FUMES

Ce Fem Lan) eee

7/

Pr Garten _or. MATE

|

|
+ -O* —13:0~

Doon

« G2’¥ Boaros

| Qoog

— WO INCE RADU — —~ -

30-0" Srvas

CENTRE LINE ~
ae ||| ae ee | eae
1
SO" —i— 4-0" —b— 50° 4
“. _

|

| Doar

S60 —-4-0;—1-

4 702 OF PLATE

Vimar ae TT

ee ~\

Lee ele gay 2 ea ee eT eee ae NN sia rein So

ae ae Se en ad SE —-- — ~~ _ &Bsbreucx or Sri Ponne
HIALF FLEVATION HALF JECTION

FIG. 5. ELEVATION AND SECTION OF ROUND WOODEN SILO.
_ SCALE INCH 12 FEET,
Asphalting. This contractor shall cover the top of
wall and bed sill (furnished by other parties) in at
least 3 inch thick of hot coal-tar asphaltum.

SILOS. 53

Concreting. After the roof is on, the mason shall
cover the floor with 8 inches of good gravel or coarse
sand well tamped down, and on this he shall lay three
inches of concrete composed of 1 part of cement to 9

Vx6“Srvuos /2°C
—

:
&
N
N
st
Q
|

FIG 6. FOUNDATION PLAN OF ROUND WOODEN SILO.

parts of good clean sand and_ gravel, thoroughly
mixed and tamped in place with a heavy tamp. On
this base, and before it has time to set, he shall spread
1 inch of Portland cement and sand, one part of

54 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

cement to one of sand, well mixed, and troweled off
to a perfectly smooth surface. The concrete shall be
dished 2 inches to the center and brought up against
the sill as shown on the sectional drawings. Especial
care must be taken with the asphaltum and concreting

2-2%6" Cur 70 f

BRE

FEED Door (Sez Section)

FIG. 7. FRAMING PLAN OF ROUND WOODEN SILO.

to make a perfectly air-tight connection between the
foundation and the superstructure.
Finally. . After the building is completed, but be-

SILOS. 55

fore acceptance, the mason shall repoint and repair all
imperfections or injured work, whether caused by him-
self or other parties, and leave the entire job complete
and to the satisfaction of the superintendent.

SHEET METAL WORK.

This contractor shall furnish and set one 12-inch
diameter Globe ventilator, and he shall properly flash
around ventilator, and at least 8 inches over the shin-
gles, with stamped I. C. roofing tin.

CARPENTERING.

This contractor shall furnish all carpenter material
and perform all labor necessary to leave the entire
building complete and ready for use to the satisfaction
of the superintendent.

Framing. Plates shall be cut from 2-inch by 6-inch
stuff, 2 feet long, cut to fit together to an outside radius
of 13 feet 74 inches; these shall be bedded in asphalt,
furnished by the mason. On the plates he shall then set
sound hemlock or pine studs of 2x6 inches, 30 feet long,
not over 12 inch-centers. ‘Top plate shall be made in the
same manner as bottom plate, and studs and plates shall
be thoroughly spiked together. The rafters shall be
put up as indicated on roof-framing plan, and thor-
oughly spiked to plate and octagon form at apex of roof;
lookouts shall be well nailed to rafters.

— Lining and sheathing. The lining shall be made of
two thicknesses of sound, clear fencing split in two,
i. e., 4 inch thick. [Some authorities recommend three ©

2 LAYERS TAR PAPER
SB Layers £iox4 Boaros
BREAKING JouvTs

44 Boars
Narrow Soin

¢
IA. Dia. Hoe Covert
WITH WIRE IESH

GRAVEL

FIG. 8. SECTION THROUGH WALL OF ROUND WOODEN SILO.

SILOS. 5%

thicknesses of $4 inch fencing.] All lining and sheath-
ing shall be sized on one side to an exact width; the
layers of lining shall be made to break joint, and be-
tween the layers the carpenter shall furnish and lay
one (1) thickness of good quality of tar paper. [Two
layers, if three thicknesses of boards are used.] The
first layer shall be laid with 8 d. nails and the last layer
with 10 d. nails. Outside sheathing shall be of same
material and laid in the same manner as inside. All
tar paper used between lining boards of silo shall be
2-ply Giant P. & B. paper, or its equal, on approval of
the superintendent.

Siding. The siding shall be perfectly clear pine,
basswood or Washington cedar narrow siding well nailed
to each stud.

Roof sheathing. The sheathing for the roof shall be
of No. 1 fencing lapped around the rafters from eaves
to top in spiral form. All well nailed to rafters with
10 d. nails. The sheathing shall be tapered in such a
manner as to work out evenly to conical roof, and where
ends of boards abut, they shall be dressed off with a
jack plane.

Cornice. Cornice facia shall be $ inch 2d clear pine.
Mouldings shall be 2d clear pine. Soffit shall be $ inch
thick second clear pine cut to a radius of the outside
of the building and cornice, all securely nailed to look-
outs.

Doors. Intake door shall be made of two thicknesses
of No. 1 fence flooring laid diagonally and well nailed
together; it shall be hung with two strong 3x3-inch
japanned iron butts, and fastened with a strong ~
japanned iron combination latch, handle and hasp;

58 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

provide with 2-inch oak sill. Feed doors shall be made
as indicated on details, with 2-inch double beveled
edges made to fit snugly into 2-inch double beveled
jamb, at the middle of the break between bevels. Jambs

2. THIKNESS COTTON FLANNEL

2 Feucaness Ent Hooking
FADER BETWEEN

ALTENCE FLOORING

Note / SAME DCTION TOP
BOTTOM ANO SIDES

FIG. 9. SECTION THROUGH FEED DOOR OF ROUND WOODEN SILO.

shall be covered with 4-ply cotton flannel, or a heavy
strip of rubber, in such a way as to make the door per-
fectly air-tight when closed. These doors shall be
opened from the inside, and held in position by six
2-inch diameter, 6-inch long wood screws. Door cas-

SILOS. 59

ings shall be $x3-inch second clear pine. Fit around
jambs with tar paper and have perfectly air-tight.

Ventilation. Between each stud near the bottom bore
14-inch diameter holes through siding and sheathing
and cover with heavy gal. iron screen $-inch mesh.
Cover studs on inside from top plate 4 inches down
with same kind of wire screen tightly tacked to plate
and studs.

Finally. All work shall be done in first-class work-
manlike manner to the entire satisfaction of the super-
intendent.

PAINTING.

The entire outside surface of the woodwork except
shingles shall be painted two good coats of pure linseed
oil with white lead, color selected by the superintend-
ent. The entire inside surface walls of the silo shall be
painted with asbestos paint or hot coal-tar, some of the
oil in the tar having been previously burned off, care
being taken to fill in all cracks and joints and jambs of
feed doors. Feed doors shall be painted inside and on
the edges in the same manner.

BIDS.

The owner reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

CHUTE FOR ROUND SILOS.—Instead of providing a
number of feed doors for taking out the silage at differ-
ent heights of the silo, a door may be placed at a bottom
extending up from it to the top, where there is another
door for one to enter in getting out the silage. The
following description of the chute and the accompanying
illustration (fig. 10) is taken from Bull. No. 14, Wash-.
ington Exp. Station:

60 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Two pieces of 2x8 or 2x10 are nailed to the inside of
the silo wall before the second layer of the wall is put
on, one on either side of the door, and extending from
top to bottom of the silo. Boards are nailed to these
so as to project about two inches beyond their edges
(see fig. 10). As the silo is filled, the board forming the
wall of the chute next to the silage are laid in in two
layers, with a layer of tarred paper between them. As
the silage is removed in feeding these boards are taken
out. The paper between them should be in rather small
piéces, in order that it may not be in the way in taking
out the silage.

SHAS SSSA Se
SS y) Y) Y SS
Z Z

s entrees ook SSS ts

M4
Y

=>

Ss
Ss SII 7 aeecesS> Sy

YASS
ebb

ISAS

SESSSS SSS NST
ZZ LOL LDLLELODN

pact

FIG. 10. SILAGE CHUTE FOR ROUND SILOS. (SPILLMAN.)

Descriptions are given in the following of round
wooden silos built at the agricultural experiment sta-
tions in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Missouri and South
Dakota, according to a similar plan as that explained
in detail in the preceding. The descriptions will be
useful to farmers living in the states mentioned or in the
regions represented by these, and will also serve to show
how local conditions will determine details of construc-
tion, as well as the cost and kinds of materials used
in the building of the silos. The publications of the
respective experiment stations have been followed
closely in describing the different silos,

SILOS. 61

wee eam ne a
ot A

penay

sta eae:

SED a re rene Se ~ aoe | ’

FIG. 11. TWO METHODS OF ROOFING ROUND WOODEN SILOS AND THE
MANNER OF CONNECTING THEM WITH A BARN.
A, Shows where air is admitted between the studding to venti-

late behind the lining. B, Feeding chute; C, Filling window.
The cupola is essential to perfect ventilation (King).

‘ydeaisogoyd & wo1y

MOIA AQGISNI ‘Gf ‘DI

SSO

N

SHES

Zaz
cA
GZ
Ze.
Ge.
7 By
GY
Gt

Cp
A

yy
We

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fj
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Ps

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Uy
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N45:
“IN “ij ,

RET) MN

SILOS. 63

FIG. 13. ROUND WOODEN SILO.

Dormer window kept open for ventilation when silo is in use.

THE NEW JERSEY EXPERIMENT STATION SILO.
(See Fig. 14.)

‘The silo has a capacity of 150 tons; it is 21 feet inside
diameter, and 24 feet deep, with a brick foundation 1 foot
wide and carried 2 feet below the surface of the ground;
the bottom is cemented and is 1% feet below the sills.
The sills are made from 2x6 studding, cut on the slant
of a radius of the silo circle, bedded in mortar and toe-
nailed together; the plates are made in the same way and
spiked to studs which are 2x4 inches, and 1 foct apart.
The lining consists of two thicknesses of half-inch spruce
boards with tarred paper between. The siding consists
of one layer of boards as above, covered with cedar
shingles; holes bored between each stud and covered with
wire netting permit a circulation of air between the sid-
ing and lining, which aids in the preservation of the lin-
ing. The structure is roofed, as shown, with dormer win-
dows for filling and with ventilating cap and is joined to
the barn with a passage and fioor 6x8 feet, also roofed.

Four doors, 2%4 feet square are cut in the siding for
5

—

ry

‘NOILVLS LNAWIUADXH ARSHGP MAN LV OTIS ‘FT ‘OM

SILOS. 65

emptying the silo, the silage dropping through a chute, 2
feet square, upon the floor of the passageway which is
connected by a door with the feeding floor of the barn.

COST OF MATERIALS REQUIRED IN BUILDING SILO.
(Not including labor.)
Foundation—2,500 brick, 5.50 per Miao Ge eda as eae Se $ 13.75

Cement—7% barrels ordinary, $1.35 per bbl......... 10.46
Cement—1% barrels, Portland, $4.00 per bbl......... 5.00
ao Ons hl 50 DET 1GAG. io. ola oe we La late eee oe 6.00
Studding—2x4x24 (704 feet), $20.00 per m........... 14.08
Plates and sills—2x6x12 (260 feet), $20.00 per m..... 5.20
Studding for passage—2x4x16 (85 feet), $20.00 per m. 1.70
Siding and lining—5,200 feet, $17.50 per m.......... 91.00
Shaneies—14.000, $4.00 per Mi... ce eines 56.00
ane Aone to 25 per KCl. . vice ce deking oe craw ts 6.50
Boards for roof—325 feet, $17.50 per m............. 5.69
eet Go ttts.. ob o0 Der TOL). ce eli os. eaves Sa eae bs 9.00

LS AUR ORR SE ee RE ete mens oe eae $224.38

The cost of labor is not included as this item is likely
to be more variable than the materials, besides a large
amount of the work can be performed by the farmer him-
self, or his regular laborers. The items are given solely
as a guide as to the probable maximum outlay for ma-
terials which it is necessary to buy for a structure of this
form and capacity. (See Fig. 14.)

THE 90-TON ROUND SILO, WISCONSIN EXPERI-
MENT STATION.

The silo has an outside diameter of 16 feet and is 27
feet deep. It has a stone foundation, 3 feet high and 18
inches thick, laid in Louisville cement and plastered on
the inside with two coats. The sill is a single 2x4 cut
beveled on the radius of the circle in 2-foot lengths, and
toe-nailed together after being laid upon the wall, then
bedded in mortar. For studding 2x4’s were used, 1 foot
apart, 12 and 14 foot pieces being lapped 2 feet and spiked -
together before setting in place. For lining and outside

66 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

sheeting, 6-inch fencing was split in two and nailed on
horizontally, taking care to break joints. Three layers
were put on for lining, with two layers of tar paper be-
tween. For siding ordinary half-inch beveled siding was
used, rabbeted as shown in Fig. 16.

FIG. 15. ROUND WOODEN SILO AT WISCONSIN EXPERIMENT STATION.

Diameter, 16 feet; height, 27 feet; capacity, about 90 tons.

The plate was made like the sill, out of 2x4’s cut in
2-foot sections and spiked down to the tops of the stud-
ding after the sheeting and siding had been carried up
and the last staging built.

The roof was built without rafters by having a circle
made by sawing pieces of 2x8’s to the curve of a circle
five feet in diameter and spiking two layers of these to-
gether, breaking joints so as to form a circle. This was
supported in place so as to give about one-quarter pitch
to the roof, and the roof boards were then nailed one end

to this circle and the other to the plate. The roof boards

consisted of fencing cut the desired length and sawed diag-

SILOS. 67

onally from within one inch of one corner to within one
inch of the opposite corner. The roof was shingled and
a galvanized-iron ventilator was nailed to the roof after the
shingling was done.

The filling window was 3% feet high and 3 feet wide.
Three feeding doors 4 feet high, 2 feet wide, were cut
out after the siding and lining was put on. The doors
are made of three layers of % inch matched flooring, 4
inches wide, nailed to two cleats sawed so as to have the

(
YA

4 PA ig < ; /
SYywsy ‘ . ly
SPR an Le zs
OW .. = PES ZAC : zs

FIG. 16. CONSTRUCTION OF ROUND WOODEN SILO. (WHEELER.)

wwe
Pawn

v4
= Oza 270 NG2aN,

curvature of the silo wall, and of a similar thickness as
that of the silo wall. The two sides of the door are bev-
eled, and the inner corner of the swinging edge of the
door is rounded a little to permit it to open and close
readily. The doors are fastened by a pair of carriage
bolts put through the studding opposite the ends of the
cleats in the door and strips of band iron, 2 inches wide
and 4 inch thick bolted to the door along each cleat and
provided with a long hole which shuts over the bolt in

68 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

the studding when the door is closed. The door is held
shut by handle nuts like those used on the rods for the
end boards of lumber wagons.

For ventilation one 2-inch hole is bored through the
siding and sheeting at the bottom between each pair of
studs, and the hole covered with wire netting on the
inside before the lining is put on (see Fig. 16). At the
top the lining does not quite reach the plate and wire
netting is nailed over the opening to prevent the silage
from falling in. Provision is made for closing the lower
openings in freezing weather. (See Fig. 15.)

The bill of materials for the silo was as follows: 57
2x4’s 12 feet long; 57 2x4’s 14 feet long; 2,500 feet fenc-
ing, 16 feet sized and split for sheeting and lining; 320
feet fencing, 16 feet cut 8 feet, and sawed diagonally for
roof boards; 720 feet siding rabbeted; 120 feet flooring; 3 M.
cedar shingles; 1 circle frame for roof; 500 pounds tar
paper; 7 barrels Louisville cement; 2% cord of stone;
1 keg of 10d. wire nails; 3 kegs of 8d. nails; 1 keg of 20d.
nails; 50 pounds 6d. wire nails; 25 pounds 4d. wire nails;
3 pairs 6 inch T hinges; 1 pair 4 inch T hinges; 1 hook
and staple; 1214x7 inch carriage bolts; 634x7 carriage bolts;
galvanized iron cupola; 25 pounds band iron for door fast-
eners.

Total -cost—of -materials:. 020... ss fs. eee eee ee $175.99
Mason JaDOD aie sos ooo 55.0.8 wo os be be 65 ee 29.14
Carpenter labor’ .0c200 ss .%5. 0s. 0 eee 42.89

TOtals 5 EO. i ws os bce bine eee ele ee $248 .02

THE SILO IN THE DAIRY BARN, WISCONSIN
EXPERIMENT STATION. (See Fig. 17.)

The silo is circular in form, 18 feet inside diameter
and 33 feet deep. It is a frame structure lined inside and
outside with brick. On 2x6 inch uprights, two wrappings
of % inch stuff, 6 inches wide, are put, breaking joints,
with no paper between. Brick is laid tight against this
lining, and on the brick surface is a heavy coating of Port-

ay

warm 4 Oe RE OO 2 2 ee Oe ee, ee ee ee Ok eee! ee fo Cee ee en” ee ee 2a 7 ~ . ag se ee oe)

70 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

land cement (1 part cement, 1 part sand). On the out-
side brick is laid up against the lining with a small open
space between (about % inch). The silo is filled from
the third floor of the barn, the loads of corn being hauled
directly on to this floor over the trestle shown to the right
in fig. 17, and there run through the feed cutter. When
the silage is taken out for feeding, it falls through a

| ; : =
| rH FEED = OFFICE
Ss SSS SS = = = ss |
5 ROOM |
| s = BED {i
I —- ROOM
| a 2 =
: is
MANGER SCALES NS

FIG. 18. PLAN OF EASTERN HALF OF FIRST FLOOR OF DAIRY BARN,
WISCONSIN EXPERIMENT STATION.

box chute to the main floor where it is received into a
truck (fig. 61) in which it is conveyed ‘9 the mangers of
the animals.

THE MISSOURI EXPERIMENT STATION SILO.
(115 TONS.)

The sill is a single thickness of 2x4 stuff, three or
four feet long, cut on the are of the silo circle, bedded
in mortar, and the sections toe-nailed together. The plate
is made in the same manner and nailed to the top of the
studding. The studding is 2x4 stuff, placed one foot apart,
and toe-nailed to the sill. In silos 30 feet deep, two i16-
foot studs are lapped together. The lining is made of good
fencing boards split in two, making them one-half inch
thick by six inches wide, tarred and laid with the tarred

SILOS. 71

faces. together, with tarred paper between the same, taking
care to break all joints in both directions. A line of doors
-feom bottom to top one above the other, 3 feet wide and
4 feet high, at intervals of about 4 feet, are provided, and
closed ~with pieces of boards made to fit. The studding on
each side of the doors are doubled. Sheet steel was used

FIG. 19. ROUND SILO AT MISSOURI EXPERIMENT STATION.
(FROM PHOTOGRAPH.)

for siding, painted inside and out. This was cheaper in
cost of material and in labor of putting it on than the
drop siding, and really cheaper than weather boarding or
clapboards. A conical roof with dormer window completed
the construction of the silo. (See Fig. 19.)

~?
YO

MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Cost of round silo holding 115 tons (16 feet diameter,
30 feet deep):

Foundation—10 perches at $1.50. 2 oi resxiei< Ree $ 15.00
Sills and plates—10 pieces 2x4, 12 feet long, 80 feet

Bt SU sos ce Seicsn bcd Hines hele ete 1.20
Studdings—100 pieces 2x4, 16 feet long, 1,066 feet

ENO Ley cans on kw oe ok te eS eee 16.00
Rafters—25 pieces 2x4, 10 feet long, 166 feet at $15.. 2.49
Root boards—300 feet. at $15... ...0. ews oe ote nee 4.50
Lining—1,600 feet clear fencing at $17.............. 27.20
shineles—3 mm. at $2.25.6 6 sae seins a ocelot oe 6.75
Siding—18 squares of 27-pound steel...........2.s05 28.00
Tar: paper—3. rollsat ‘$42 cveeeden sot. rene Oe ee 12.00
Coal tar——1 barrel... \..5 Svacdee wees > sobs eae 45 0r
Naiis—155. POUMGS . 25.520. cine eerie ote, we) eee eecdee se one 6.45
Cementine floor. sci acka pets eo oe eee 4.00
12) a meena mre er My ee ee ee ee 6.00
: 1610) ae ee nan cna oy ee SS ee 40.00

Total COSt os cciie niecsutiienerete eta els te tale ate beat aoe eae $174.09

It is not necessary to employ skilled labor and the cash
outlay may therefore be reduced by the amount charged
to labor in the foregoing estimates.

THE SOUTH DAKOTA EXPERIMENT STATION SILO.
(125 TONS.)

The silo (See fig. 20) was built in 1896; it is 16 feet
in diameter and 30 feet from sill to plate; its capacity is
125 tons of green fodder, as it comes from the field. It is
built at the west end of the dairy barn and there is a
chute, 4x4 feet, between it and the barn. This chute ex-
tends the entire height of the silo and terminates in a
ventilator about six feet above the ridge of the dairy barn.
Into this chute the four feeding doors of the silo open.
There are also two doors from the dairy barn opening into.
it, one at the bottom from the feeding alley which runs
between the two rows of mangers, and one from the floor
above. This chute makes it very convenient feeding the
silage as it can be thrown from any of the doors into
the chute and it will drop very close to the place where

SILOS. 73

it is needed for feeding. A car and tramway could be put
in at a small cost, so arranged that the silage would drop
into the car when it was run into the chute, and when
it was filled the silage could be distributed by running
the car along in front of the feeding mangers. This chute
also acts as a ventilator for the cow stables. in giving
bill of materials and estimating the cost of the silo this
chute is not included.

FIG. 20. ROUND WOODEN SILO, SOUTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURAL
EXPERIMENT STATION.

The foundation is of native boulders laid in Yankton
cement. The wall is 3% feet high and 2 feet thick at the
base, narrowing to about 8 inches at the top. The mortar
used for laying the wall was made by mixing one-third
Yankton cement and two-thirds sand, while that used for

74 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

the plastering after the stone work was finished was mixed
two-fifths cement and three-fifths sand. The bottom was
made by putting in a layer, 8 inches deep, of broken
stone, and pouring over it cement mixed very thin so
that it would fill all the open spaces between the stones.
After this had hardened the whole inside surface was plas-
tered over with mortar so as to entirely cover all the stone
work.

The sill was made by cutting 2x4 pine into sections
2 feet and 1 inch long at the outer points, and cut at 7
degrees and 30 minutes angle. Forty-eight of these were
required to make a double sill. They were spiked together
with 20d. nails, so as to break joints.

The studdings are 2x4, 16 feet long, lapped 2 feet and
nailed together, making a total length of 30 feet between
sill and upper rim. They are set 12% inches apart from
center to center on their outer faces, and each one comes
directly over a joint in either the upper or lower section
of the sill. The lower ends of the studding were satu-
rated with hot tar and toe-nailed to the sill. After setting
the studding the sheathing was started on both the out-
side and inside. Cement mortar was run in on top of the
sill between the studding to the depth of about 2 inches.
This unites with the cement of the wall and makes an
air tight connection between foundation and superstruc-
ture.

The upper rim was made exactly the same as the sill
and nailed on top of the 30-foot studding.

The inside lining is made of two thicknesses of %4-inch
No. 1 fencing, 6 inches wide, neither planed nor matched.
The first thickness was put on, then painted with a coat
of hot coal tar, a layer of tarred felt was then applied,
then another thickness of %4-inch fencing made to break
joints with the first, and this second or inside lining was
given two coats of hot coal tar, the last coat having
been boiled until it made a hard, glossy surface.

The outside sheathing and siding are of one thickness
of %-inch fencing and one thickness of rabbeted lap sid-

SILOS. "5

ing with tarred felt between. It was found necessary not
only to have the siding rabbeted, but it also had to be
cut into pieces not exceeding 8 feet in length in order to
get it to lie flat against the sheathing without “crimping.”

The Roof.—Plates 8 feet long, made of two 2x4’s nailed
together, were spiked on top of two opposite sections. of
the upper rim. Upon these were erected five pairs of raf-
ters carrying a 2x6 ridge pole 19 feet long. To the lower
ends of these rafters two 2x4’s were spiked to take the place
of the fascia of the cornice. Three shorter pairs of rafters
were then attached to the ridge pole at each side of the
first ones and held in place by stays, and other 2x4’s were
spiked to the end of these. The roof sheathing was then
put on and the short studding were fitted in between the
upper rim and the roof boards, or the rafters, as the case
might be. The stays which had supported the rafters were
removed. The gables were then sided up with %-inch
ceiling and the roof was shingled.

Doors. There are four feeding doors, each 2 feet by 3
feet 10 inches, made of matched flooring on a framework
cut on the same radius as the silo, and with a hollow
space of 4 inches on the inside. These doors are hung on
heavy T hinges, and are each provided with two %x2 inch
hasps extending the full width of the door, and projecting
beyond the front edge about 2 inches. When these doors
are closed for filling the hasps are fastened with a 34-inch
carriage bolt through the silo wall and the projecting end
_ of the hasp. In this way the doors can be so tightly closed
as to make the wall nearly air-tight.

A door, 8x4 feet, for filling, made of 1-inch flooring,
was put in the gable.

Ventilation of Silos——Three %-inch holes were bored
through the outer walls of the silo between each pair of
studding, and the inside sheathing was not continued quite
to the upper rim, but a space of about two inches was
left between the top of the sheathing and the bottom of the
upper rim. This arrangement allows a free passage of air
between the outer and inner walls of the silo during warm

76 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

weather when decay is liable to occur. In cold weather
these holes through the outer wall are covered by tacking a
piece of thin siding over them.

The silo was finished by giving it two coats of paint.

Below is given a bill of material and labor. It is be-
lieved that the price of some of the material is too high,
and that anyone having the cash to pay for it could make
a considerable saving on this bill. The conditions under
which this material was purchased were rct so favorable
to economy as they might have been. The prices given
are, however, those paid; and all material, except the stone,
which we had in abundance close at hand, and all the
labor is included. It is also believed that the foundation
of this silo is more expensive than would be necessary in
most locations. The silo is located on the lower side of
the barn between two stable doors. In the spring the drain-
age from the higher ground, and the tramping of the cat-
tle often make the ground around the silo quite soft and
muddy. On this account it was considered advisable to
make the foundation quite substantial. For a silo of the
same size located on a high, well drained site, a much
cheaper foundation would do equally as well.

BILL OF MATERIAL.

100 2x4 16-foot long studding....1067 feet
41 2x4 12-foot long rafters, sills,

PHM: Oke. 25 ee ce eee CE weve

18 2x4 10-foot rafters and plate.. 120 “

1 2x6 20-foot long ridge plate..... 20%."
1700 feet @ $18.00 $ 30.60
1900 feet No. 1 lap-siding, rabbeted @ $27.50...... 52.20
4500 feet 44-inch fencing, sheathing @ $15.00....... 67.50
120:feet flooring, for doers "@-32500-5- ;.. eee 3.00
2io feet boards, for -root..@> $18.00. 2.4... eee 6.05
200 feet 34-inch ceiling, for gable @ $30.00........ 6.00
1 barrel<coal tar. i... fe vhs - aie se eee eee 7.50
621 pounds. tarred: felt..@. 52:00; “2 ae eee ee 12.40
ai. sningles @ $3.00:..>. 4... Sh se eee 9.00
Scbarrels cement @ $5.00...4 2214 ee eee 30.00

400: pounds nails @.3 cents... cess eee 12.00

Ee ATA TOON 5 se oi Yate Gat nace Siam 2 ES yen tn ols een Kees 4,50
ieavy asps and, bolts..for doors. 202... ..k ese ee 6.20
Labor and Paint— $ 244.65
(etl eecttiG PanGEN es ooo. cea s a cine eles 2" $10.00
Carpenter work @ $3.00 per day....... 60.00
Masen work @ $3.50 per day.......... 10.50
Common laborers @ $1.00 per day..... 8.00 88.15
RRRRN CEA ne Ie Io Nae sory. SPS het Dae w wives oa wrk oe $ 332.80

FIG. 21. CYLINDRICAL BARN, SHOWING MAIN ENTRANCE TO FIRST
AND SECOND STORIES.

Round silo, 23 feet diam., 34 feet high, in center. From
a photograph. (King.)

RovunD WooDEN SILOs may conveniently be built in-
side of large, round barns in a similar manner, as
described in the Seventh Report of the Wisconsin Ex-
periment Station, in case of a three-hundred ton silo at
Whitewater, Wis. The dimensions of the silo, which is
in the center of the barn, are 23 feet inside diameter,

>

78 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

by 34 feet high. It was built from 2x6 studdings, sided
up by two layers of fence boards, sawed in two. For
explanations as to the details of the construction of
barns of this kind the reader is referred to the report
mentioned. Other methods of connecting round wooden
silos with barns will be shown at the close of the discus-
sion of stave silos.
II. Stave Silos,

- The stave silo is the simplest type of the various
separate silo buildings, and partly for this reason, partly

Ea
EEA LL

picaatasaasls

EM
=

i

— <== eA
A——_—SSS SSS ——
—_ S$ SSRs
——— == SS SS SS SS earns
as ————— -
= SS =
_—

FIG. 22. STAVE SILO.

12 ft. diameter, 24 ft. high; capacity, 50 tons. (Elias.)

also on account of its cheapness of construction, more
silos of this kind have been built during the past few
years than of any other silo type. Stave silos are, gen-
erally speaking, similar to large railroad- or fermenta-

SILOS. 79

_ tion tanks, and to make satisfactory silos should be built
at all events equally well as a No. 1 water tank. The
first stave silos were built in this country in the be-
ginning of the nineties; they soon found some enthus-
iastic friends, while most people, and certainly nearly all
writers and lecturers on silo construction, were inclined
to be skeptical as to their practicability. It was objected
that the staves would expand so as to burst the hoops
when the silo was filled with green fodder; that they
would shrink, after having been left empty during the
summer months, so that the silo would fall to pieces, or
at least so that it could not again be made air-tight ;
-and finally, that the silage would freeze in such silos,
and its feeding value thereby greatly lowered. In ad-
dition to this, it was claimed that a substantial stave
silo would cost as much as a first-class ordinary all-wood
silo of the same capacity, and that this would not have
the objectionable features of the former.

In spite of these objections the stave silo has, how-
ever, gained more and more ground until of late years
it has been adopted quite generally in preference to
other kinds of silos, particularly in the Eastern and
Central Hastern states. This being a fact, it follows
that the objections previously made to the stave silos are
not valid, that the staves do not swell so as to burst the
hoops, or shrink so as to cause the silo to fall to pieces
or become leaky. As regards the danger from freezing
of the silage, the criticisms of the stave silo are in
order, as the silage will freeze in cold weather in any. of
the Northern states or Canada, if the silo is built out-
doors, but according to the unanimous testimony of
farmers who have had experience with frozen silage, this

80 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

is more an inconvenience than a loss. The freezing —
does not injure the feeding value of the silage, or its
palatability. When the silage is thawed out, it is as
good as ever, and eaten by cattle with a relish.

The main reasons why stave silos have been generally
preferred by farmers of late years and are likely to be-
come the silo type of the future are, I take it, first,
they can be put up easily, quickly, and cheaply, and the
expense for a small silo of this kind is comparatively
small, so that many a farmer has built a stave silo who
could not afford to build a high-priced silo, and others
have preferred to build two small silos for one
large one, or a small one in addition to an
old, larger one they may already have. Sec-
ondly, manufacturing firms have made a_e spe-
cialty of stave-silo construction and pushed the sale of
such silos through advertisements and neat circulars.
Having made a special business of the building of stave
silos, and having had several years’ experience as to the
requirements and precautions to be observed in building
such silos, these firms furnish silos complete with all
necessary fixtures, that are greatly superior to any which
a farmer would be apt to build according to more or
less incomplete directions.

It follows as a corollary that the stave silos sent out
by manufacturing firms will generally be more expen-
sive than such as a farmer can build himself, because
they are built better. The writer believes that it does
not pay to build a poor silo except to bridge over an
emergency. Poor, cheap silos are a constant source of
annoyance, expense and trouble, whether built square,
rectangular, or round. The cheap silos described in

sos - 81

other places of this book have not been given for the
_ purpose of encouraging the building of such silos, but
rather to show that if a farmer cannot afford to build
a good silo, he is not necessarily barred from the ad-
vantage of having silage for his stock, since a temporary
silo may be built at a very small cash outlay.

We can therefore consistently, in most cases, recom-
mend that parties intending to build stave silos patron-
ize the manufacturers who have made silo construction
a special business; their advertisements will be found in
any of the standard dairy or agricultural papers. These
firms furnish all necessary silo fittings, with complete
directions for setting up the silos, and, if desired, also
skilled help to superintend their.building. Perhaps a
large majority of the farmers of the country cannot,
however, patronize manufacturers of stave silos because
the expense of shipping the lumber and fixtures would
be prohibitory. For. the convenience of such parties
and others who may prefer to build their own stave
silos, directions for their construction are given in the
following. The specifications for a 100-ton stave silo,
printed below, were furnished at the request of the
author by Claude & Starck, architects, Madison, Wis-
consin :

SPECIFICATIONS FOR A 100-TON STAVE SILO.
MASONRY

Excavate the entire area to be occupied by the silo
to a depth of six inchés; excavate for foundation wall to
a depth of 16 inches; in this trench build wall 18 inches
wide and 20 inches high, of field stone laid in rich lime
mortar. Level off top and plaster inside, outside and on
top with cement mortar, 1 part cement to 1 part sand.

BBS = MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Fill inside area with four inches of good gravel, thor-
oughly tamped down; after the woodwork is in place coat
this with 1 inch of cement mortar, 1 part cement to 1
part clean sand. Cement shall be smoothly finished, dished
well to the center and brought up at least 2 inches all
around inside and outside walls.

CARPENTRY.

All staves shall be 26 feet long in two pieces, break-
ing joints, and made from clear, straight-grained cypress
2x6 inches, beveled on edges to an outside radius of 8 feet,
mill-sized to the exact dimensions and dressed on all sides.
There shall be three doors in the fifth, eighth and tenth
spaces between hoops, made by cutting out from staves
28 inches long cut to a 45 degree bevel sloping to the

ie
Tr STs

SS Ss ——_-
2 AAAS

FIG. 23. APPEARANCE OF DOOR iN STAVE SILO AFTER BEING SAWED
OUT, AND SIDE VIEW OF DOOR IN PLACE. (CLINTON.)

inside. (See fig. 23.) The staves shall then be fastened
together with two 2x4 inch battens cut on inside to an
8-foot radius and bolted to each stave with two 44-inch
diameter carriage bolts with round head sunk on inside

and nut on outside. The staves between the doors shall .

be fastened together, top and bottom, with %-inch diam-
eter hardwood dowel pins, and abutting ends of staves
shall be squared and toe-nailed together.

Bottom Plates.—Bottom plates shall be made of 2x4 inch
pieces about Z feet long, cut to a curve of 7 feet 10 inches

i a

SILOS. 83

radius outside. They shall be bedded in cement mortar
and the staves shall then be set on the foundation and
well spiked to these plates.

- Hoops:—Hoops shall be made from two pieces of 54-inch
diameter round iron With upset ends, threaded eight inches,
with nut and washer at each end; as a support for the
hoops a piece of 4x6-inch shall be substituted for a stave
on opposite sides and holes bored in it and the ends of
hoops passed through these holes and tightened against
the sides of the 4x6-inch. The hoops shall be twelve in num-

FIG. 24. A CHEAP ROOF OF STAVE SILO. (CLINTON.)

ber starting at the bottom 6 inches apart and increasing
in distance 6 inches between each hoop until a space of
3 feet 6 inches is reached; from this point up this dis-
tance shall be preserved as near as possible to the top.
Roof.—Roof shall be made to a half-pitch of 6 inches
clear siding lapping joint, nailed to 2x4-inch rafters, 2
feet centers, 1-foot by 4-inch ridge, and 2x4-inch plates.
These plates to be supported on two 4x4-inch pieces rest-

84 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

ing on top of hoops (see fig. 24). Three 1x4-inch collar
beams shall be spiked to end and middle rafters to tie side

of roof together.
PAINTING.

The entire outside of the silo, including roof, shall be
painted two coats of good mineral paint; the entire inside
surface of staves and doors shall be thoroughly coated with
hot coal tar.

Note.—Before filling silo, tar paper should be tacked
tightly over doors and the entire inside of silo examined
and all cracks tightly caulked.

The method of construction specified in the preceding
may of course be modified in many particulars, accord-
ing to the conditions present in each case, cost of differ-
ent kinds of lumber, maximum amount of money to be
expended on silo, etc. A few points in regard to the
building of these silos may properly be discussed in this
place.

Beveled vs. unbeveled staves. The question whether
staves need to be beveled for use in the building of stave
silos has been a subject of controversy in the agricul-
tural press and elsewhere. The New York (Cornell)
Experiment Station, which has made a systematic study
of stave silos (the results of which are published in bull.
No. 167 of this station, The Construction of the Stave
Silo, by L. A. Clinton), as well as farmers who have
had several years’ experience with stave silos made of
unbeveled staves, are of the opinion that “beveling is
unnecessary with silos having a diameter of more than
12 feet, if the staves are not more than six inches wide,
while silos having a diameter of 12 feet or less should
have the staves beveled if these are six inches wide; if
the staves are four inches wide, no beveling is neces-

SILOS. 85

sary. With all stave silos, if the beveling could be guar-
anteed accurate for the silo to be constructed there is
no objection to the beveling. But no beveling is prefer-
able te ‘too much beveling.”*

According to the experience of the well-known writer
and lecturer, John Gould, of Ohio, “unbeveled staves,
well sized, will pinch together on inside edges so as to
be in every way as good as a tongued and grooved stave,
and will dry out and keep better than one where it can
sap-soak so much in the grooves.”

Although practical experience so far seems to con-
firm the correctness of the position stated, it is a fact
that railroad water tanks and large fermentation tanks
are always, so far as known, made of slightly beveled
staves, and the staves in such tanks need to fit at least
as tightly as those of stave silos. Another indication
showing that beveled staves are preferable to unbev-
eled ones is the fact that all the various manufacturers
who have made stave silo construction a specialty are
using beveled staves. They are as interested as their
customers in reducing the cost of their silos, but have
still thought it unwise to vary from the plan of large
water tanks. It is evident from the testimony on hand,
however, that stave silos built of unbeveled staves have
given good satisfaction for at least four seasons; and
it is also evident that the beveling of the staves, if done
at all, must be done carefully, so that too much is not
taken off, which will prevent the making of a tight joint
at the inner edge of the staves when the silo hoops are
tightened.

* Private communication from Prof. Clinton.

86 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Wire fencing for hoops. In the place of round or flat
iron hoops. 2-inch diameter, it has been suggested to
use a band of 52-inch woven wire fencing cut of such
a length that when each end is wrapped about a 4x4-inch
oak scantling, and put round the silo, the end pieces
will come within about 10 inches of each other and
are tied together with two 1-inch bolts with double
burrs. The bands are placed sufficiently far apart te
admit of doors being placed at proper distances. ‘The
coil of the wire takes up all slack, as the silo shrinks
when empty, and expands when the staves swell, so that
the staves are under tension all the time.

By making the stave silo of plain unbeveled 2x4- He
scantling and using wire fencing for hoops, silo con-
struction has been reduced to the lowest cost which it
is likely to ever reach; a 50-ton silo of this kind (12
feet diameter, 24 feet high) of hemlock staves put up at
Cornell Experiment Station cost $34 for materials.
The materials may be obtained at any lumber yard and
hardware shop, and a minimum of mechanical skill is
required for putting up the silo. With the limited ex-
perience at hand at the present time concerning the
longevity of silos built in the manner suggested we
cannot feel certain that they will prove satisfactory
structures in the long run—there are, in fact, good
authorities that are skeptical even as to the value of
such silos for a short period of time, but the evidence
on record shows, as stated, that they have given good
satisfaction for four seasons at any rate, first-class
silage having been made in them during this time, and
at present there are no signs of their giving out. It
would seem therefore that stave silos built as suggested

SILOS. SY

may be safely recommended at least as temporary struc-
tures and to bridge over to when more expensive and
carefully built silos can be erected.

Foundation of stave silos. The method of making
the foundation of a stave silo recommended by a New
York manufacturer is shown in figures 25 and 26.

1
iON
6 INISB

“EARTH
SECTION
SCALE Ya\N TO FOOT.

FIG. 25. FOUNDATION OF STAVE SILO. (HARDER.)

Setting up the staves. The method of setting up a
stave silo recommended by the Cornell Experiment
Station is shown in fig. 27. “Posts of 6x6 material (a),
of the entire length of the silo, are set up vertically and
stayed securely in place. The scaffolding may be con-
structed by setting up 2x4 scantling in the positions
shown in the figure as b. Boards nailed from these
2x4’s to the 6x6 posts will form a rigid frame, across
which the planks for the scaffold platform may be laid.
Before the scaffolding is all in place, the staves should

88 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

be stood up within the inclosure, otherwise difficulty
will be experienced in getting them into position. Some

FIG. 26. BASE OF STAVE SILO. (HARDER.)

caution needs to be exercised in working on the scaf-
folding that the planks do not tip. The first stave set

-- ” ane =
ji-+ Sasa = “v--- see ee ete -,

Ce ee ee Ee Sa -

Sri,
4 SZ a, ~
E AW 2 |

i}
(
'
'
ky
“u EZ

>.
NX
Nee ee

<
ae

ee a are

eeu agi aga, eae
Sy 4 aed)

ry
4
Z

FIG. 27. CROSS-SECTION OF STAVE SILO. THE DOTTED LINES ARE
TO SHOW HOW SCAFFOLDING MAY BE PUT UP. (CLINTON.)

up should be made plumb, and should be toe-nailed at
the top to one of the posts originally set.”

SILOS. 89

A good way of starting the building of a stave silo
is illustrated in figures 28 and 29. Some manufacturers
of stave silos furnish such silo fronts, all joined to-
gether and ready to set in place, at a small extra charge,

with battens D, D,

FIG. 28. SIX-STAVE SILO
FRONT, READY TO
BE PUT UP.

more A Doors; C.-C,
C, Dowell Pins; D, D, D,
' Door Battens (Cap. Lbr.
Co:):

bolted on, and dowel-pinned
together; after the front is
up and braced so that it
stands perfectly perpendicular
every way, the silo is built by
adding a stave at a time to this
front, each stave being firmly
fastened by cleats on the inside,
one near the top, one in the
middle and one near the bot-
tom (fig. 30). According to
Professor Clinton, old staves of
sugar barrels are best adapted
for a silo, 12 feet in diameter,
while the flour barrel stave best
fits the-curve of a 16-foot silo,
and staves of the cement barrel
that of silos 20 feet in diameter
or more. The staves are re-
moved when the silo is all up.
Doors. The arrangement of
doors for stave silos illustrated
in fig. 23 (see p. 82), will
prove satisfactory if the work
be carefully done. Manufactur-

ers of stave silos have shown considerable inventiveness
in constructing doors for such silos, some of which have
some good features, while others are open to criticism in

90 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

several ways. A couple of such patented doors, with stave
silos of different manufacture, are shown in figures
31A-32. The difficulty with several of the patented silo
doors is that they have iron parts which are apt to rust
and wear out, or
they weaken the
silo, or after some
time get out of
shape and fail to
close tightly. Fig.
33 shows a form
of stave silos made
by a New York
manufacturer; in-
stead of doors
there are sections
of staves put in
horizontally across
the opening; these
sections are re-
movable so as to
form a continuous

opening from the
Fig. 29. SETTING UP THE STAVE SILO IN bottom: =to-~ the

SECTIONS. (HARDER.) :
top of the silo,
through which the silage may be easily emptied; in addi-
tion the cross-bars supporting the sections form a ladder

which may be used in ascending or descending the silo ~

(see p. 93).

Before filling the silo the hoops should be drawn
somewhat tight, but not perfectly so, so as to allow
for the swelling of the staves from the moisture which

SILOS. 91

they will take up from the corn. The hoops should be
watched closely for some days after the silo has been
filled, and if the strain becomes very intense the nuts
should be slightly loosened so that the hoops will not be
broken or the thread stripped.

In order to prevent the collapse of the silo during

ail uy, ya
FF
it "7 i
beh ue aH :

ae ee

FIG. 30. USE OF BARREL STAVES IN SS
SETTING UP A STAVE SILO; THEY FIG, 31. STAVE SILO, “KAL-

SHOULD BE REMOVED BEFORE AMAZOO SILO.”’ (WIL-
THE SILO IS FILLED. LIAMS MFG. CO.)

the summer when it is empty and the staves have be-
come thoroughly dried out, the hoops should be
fastened with numerous staples; these will pre-
vent the hoops from sagging or dropping down, and will
also hold the staves in place.

92 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Roof. Tf built inside a barn or another farm build-
ing, there will be no need of putting any roof on the

pe

: $< SSW5

FIG. 32. DOOR OF STAVE SILO. (ELIAS.)

stave silo. If the silo is built out of doors as an inde-
pendent structure, some sort of a roof should be put on
to keep out rain or snow. The roof provided for in the

:
:
:

SILOS. 93

specifications for a 100-ton silo on p. 83 is described in
the New York bulletin previously referred to and may

WW os \ e/a SUL PLL LEI SSS \
VIL Ma Y LLL YUM

FIG. 32A. SIDE VIEW OF DOOR OF STAVE SILO. (ELIAS.)

~- 1B----- = =o f

»-

FIG. 34. A CHEAP ROOF OF STAVE SILO.
Ags sand! he2xoms-) C. 2e41n. > eae.
FIG. 33. STAVE SILO WITH Enlarged Outside End; F, Hinges; G,
CONTINUOUS OPENING IN H, I, Sections of Roof; J, K, 2xd2in.
FRONT. (HARDER.) (Van Norman).

prove fairly efficient. Another construction of a cheap
roof for a stave silo is shown in fig. 34. It was built

94 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

at the Indiana Experiment Station at a total cost of
$10.50, viz., lumber $4, tin put on and painted $6, and
hardware 50 cents. Two 2x6 pieces (A,A) were placed
on edge and toe-nailed to the top of the staves they
rested on; the projection is for supporting the carrier at
filling time. They are tied together by the short pieces
KE. The roof is in three sections, G, H and I. Gand H

Hn:
— ees |) ll

SSS
INuMgdn
HANAUAAHU
RN

MWA JNNNAN

cS

SS aie

Yi. OTe
ef)

FIG. 35. TWIN STAVE SILOS BUILT IN CONNECTION
WITH BARN. (ELIAS.)

are hinged to the frame A, A, and may be tipped up
when the silo is nearly full, to allow filling to the top.
The narrow middle section is light enough to lift off on
either side, and leaves the opening for the carrier to
deliver into.

On the framework B, B, and C, C, cheap sheeting
boards are nailed. This is then covered with tin, sold-
ered joints and painted. The sections should be fast-
ened down by means of staples and hooks, or other
device; the hooks are used on this one. On the inner

SILOS. 95

edge of G and H, 2x2-inch strips, K, are nailed. Close
to these are placed similar strips, J, to which the cross-
boards are nailed, forming the section I of the roof.
The tin’on the section I should come over the edge on to
J. On the other sections it should run up on the side
of K, making a water-tight joint.

The sections G and H have a slope of nearly 3 inches,
being the difference in height of A and C. C is notched
one inch at the outer end. (VanNorman in Hoard’s
Dairyman. )

rt

NN
\

PSS
Cama

Protection against freezing. If the silo is built out-
doors in any of the Northern states, it is necessary to
provide some special means to keep the silage from
freezing in case this is considered a very objectionable
feature. The silo may be inclosed by a wide jacket of
rough boards nailed to four uprights, leaving the sec-
tion of the silo where doors are, easy of access; the
space between the silo and outside jacket is filled with

straw in the fall; this may be taken out and used for
ct

96 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

bedding in the spring, thus allowing ‘the staves to be
thoroughly dried out during the summer, and prevent-
ing the silo from rotting.

The plan of a stave silo given by Prof. King of Wis-
consin Experiment Station is shown in fig. 37. It is
made with tongued and grooved staves four to six inches

| in) eae ania
EN ,

FIG. 37. CONSTRUCTION OF THE STAVE SILO, AND OF A MODIFICATION
OF THE STAVE SILO (H.) (KING.) ~

(SLIP AIIEE: LLL CLL
EEE

wide, and is hooped with metal hoops and metal tight-
eners. In the figure, the construction of the silo is
shown in A-G, while H shows the construction of an
all-wood silo where matched flooring forms the lining
and is put on in the manner of staves. The door, F, G,
is made of two layers of 4-inch matched flooring
with a layer of 2-ply saturated acid- and alkali-
proof paper between ; it is held in place with

SILOS. O%

large screws or lag bolts, and opens inside. The shoulder
against which the door shuts, should be lined with 2-ply
P. and B. Ruberoid paper, or its equivalent. The cleats
for the doors are cut to the curve of the silo, as shown
at G. The staves, C, are beveled to fit the circle. The
hoops are 3-inch round rods provided with iron tight-
eners, as shown at D, instead of wood as is being used
by many. The wood is not durable enough, and is liable
to give way in time when the silo is full. The iron

il =
a

FIG. 38. STAVE SILO BUILT IN CONNECTION WITH A CHEAP AND
EFFECTIVE DAIRY BARN. (ELIAS.)

tighteners are furnished by manufacturers of stave silos.
If staves are spliced, the joint is made tight, as shown in
B at a, by putting a piece of galvanized hoop iron ina
saw-cut in the ends of the two staves where they meet.

In the substitute for the stave silo shown at H, the
outside is much like the all-wood silo, and the lining
consists of matched 4-inch flooring nailed to girts cut
in between the studs as shown at H. In the opinion
of Professor King, such silos, besides being warmer,

AND FEEDING SILAGE.

MAKING

98

"82 ‘DIA NI NMOHS NUVEA AO UOIMAINI ‘6§ “Olt

SILOS. | 99

more durable and tighter, may be built as cheaply as

a first-class stave silo.
The manner of connecting stave, as well as other

\S Ml MA 3 =
= BTM = _— Ba
_—_— — iJ
= ieee a ee OO

7M Ml
IAA

FIG. 40. STAVE SILO BUILT IN CONNECTION WITH A STOCK
BARN. (ELIAS.)

—

iii —

ee
——

——— aaa
— = -

FIG. 41. TWIN STAVE SILOS LOCATED ON THE SIDES OF A
STOCK BARN. (ELIAS.)

round wooden silos with stock barns is illustrated in
many of the pictures of such silos given in this book; a
few more illustrations are shown above which will sug-

Ls of G.

100 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

gest methods that may be adopted in building silos in
connection with barns; see figures 38-41, inclusive.

Calculation of staves required for stave silos. 'The
following table will be found useful in calculating the
number of staves required for silos of different diam-
eters, and the feeding areas which these will give:

CIRCUMFERENCES AND AREAS OF CIRCLES.

: f Circum: Area, : Circum- Area,
aa eae ference, Square eet ference, Square
eet. Feet. Feet. BEE Feet. Feet.
8 25.1 50.3 21 66.0 346.4
9 28.3 63.6 22 69.1 380.1
10 31.4 78.5 23 72.3 415.5
11 34.6 95.0 24 75.4 452.4
12 Short ib eye 25 78.5 490.9
13 40.8 1B Pr 26 81.7 530 9
14 44.0 153 9 27 84.8 572.6
15 AGA 176.7 28 88.0 615 8
16 50.3 201.1 29 91.1 660 5
17 53.4 7.0 30 94.2 706.9
18 56.5 254 5 31 97.4 754.8
19 59.7 283.5 32 100.5 804.2
20 62 8 314.2

To find the circumference of a circle, multiply the
diameter by 3.1416.

To find the area of a circle, multiply the square of
the diameter by 0.7854.

To find the cubical content of a cylinder, multiply the
area of the base (floor) by the height.

Example.—A silo 16 feet in diameter and 26 feet high
is wanted; how many staves 2x6 inches will be needed,
and what will be the feeding area in the silo and its ca-
pacity?

The circumference of a circle 16 feet diameter is 50.3
feet; there will therefore be required 50.3—~1%4—=101 staves,
2x6 inches, 26 feet high, or if staves of this height cannot
be obtained, either 127 staves 21 feet long or 135 staves

SILOS. 101

20 feet long. The feeding area will be 15 2-3X15 2-3xX
0.7854—192.8 square feet, and the cubical content of the
silo 192.8 26—5012.8 cubic feet. Estimating the weight of
a cubic foot of corn silage at 40 pounds, 5012.8 cubic feet
silage would weigh 200,512 pounds, or 100 tons, which is
the approximate capacity of a round silo of the dimensions.
given.
iI1I. Square or Rectangular Wooden Silos.

Nearly all silos built in this country prior to 1891
were square or rectangular, and were built either in
bays of barns or as independent structures. As already
stated, they were relatively shallow, while those built
during late years have had considerable depth, like the
round silos built during this period. Silos of this type
differ in their construction according to whether they are
built inside of barns or as separate buildings, and we
shall therefore consider these two kinds under separate
headings.

A. Silos in the Barn.

A large number of silos have been built in a bay of
the barn. Where the necessary depth can be obtained
and where the room can be spared, such silos can be
built very easily and at less cost than a separate struc-
ture, since lighter materials in construction may be
used in this case, and no roof will be required for the
silo. Silos built in this manner have generally the
advantage over other silos in being near at hand. This
is a very important point; feeding time comes twice
a day throughout the winter and spring, and a few steps
saved in hauling the silage mean a good deal in the
ageregate. Many farmers first made silos of this kind,
and later on, when familiar with the process, built
additional separate structures.

102 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Bays of the barn may be easily changed into silos
according to the following directions given by Professor
Whitcher:

“Remove floors, and if there is a barn cellar, place
sills on the bottom of this and set 2x8 scantling ver-
tically, bringing up the inside edges even with the sills
of the barn. The bottom may or may not be cemented,
according as the ground is wet or dry. If to be cement-
ed, three casks of cement and an equal amount of sharp
sand or gravel will cover a bottom 16x16 and turn up on
the sides two feet, which will give a tight silo. Com-
mon spruce or hemlock boards, square-edged and planed
on one side, are best for boarding the inside of the silo;
these are to be put on in two courses, breaking joints,
and, if thoroughly nailed, will give a tight silo. No
tonguing or matching is needed. Tarred paper may be
put between the boarding, if desired, but I doubt if it
is of great utility. At some point most easily accessible,
an opening extending nearly the height of the silo must
be made, to put in the corn and take out the silage.
The courses of boards should be cut shorter than the
opening, to allow loose boards to be set in, lapping on
the door studding and making an air-tight joint. For
all this work medium lumber is good enough, and a very
limited amount of mechanical skill and a few tools,
which all farms should have, will enable most farmers
to build their own silo. A few iron rods, one-half inch
in diameter, may be necessary to prevent spreading by
side pressure, but this will depend upon the strength
of the original frame of the barn. Narrow boards, from
five to eight inches wide, are better than wide ones, as
they are not likely to swell and split. Might-penny

SILOS. 103

nails for the first boarding and twelve-penny nails for
the second course will hold the boards in place.

“A silo constructed as above outlined will cost from
50 cents to $1 for each ton of its capacity, according as
all materials, including lumber and stone, are charged,
or only labor and nails, rods, and cement.”

JouN GouLp’s $43. S1ro.—The well-known agricul-
tural writer and lecturer, John Gould, of Ohio, has de-
scribed his one-hundred-ton silo built in one-half of a
bay of his barn at a cost of $43. As it may be helpful
to some farmers, we give below the full description of the
silo. Mr. Gould says: “Having become convinced that
cheaper material than that usually employed could be
used, and even stone and cement discarded, I set out
with this end in view. The barn has a basement of
eight feet beneath it. This was utilized to make the
silo deeper, making it twenty-two feet in depth and
fourteen feet square inside.

“Frame of Silo.—On one side (E) I had the backing
of my old silo, and on the opposite side (B) a stone
wall of eight feet: On the two sides, B and C, the stud-
ding only had the center backing of the sill, and cross-
beam at C, eight feet from the basement floor. The
bottom of the silo was leveled off, and a footing made
for the studs on the B and C sides by digging a trench,
about 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep, under where
the studding would come. ‘Two sticks of timber, 6x12
inches, were thoroughly saturated with gas- or coal.tar,
and laid in these trenches, and made solid by tamping
them at sides. The studding, 2x6 inches, were
hoisted in place and set about 18 inches apart, made
perpendicular by the aid of a spirit level, and on the

104. MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

sills toe-nailed with 20-penny wire spikes. The stud-
ding against the wall were allowed to rest against it
without a sill, and the studding of the old silo came
in for double duty, its own wall becoming now a parti-
tion. On the A and B sides, false girths were added
to those of the barn frame by building out with an
8-inch plank, so that they would be flush with the in-
side facing of the sill. This also lends additional
strength to the barn frame, and makes three more back
supports for the silo, and avoids at the same time ‘cob-
bling’ or bridging to connect barn and silo.

“The silo was then sheeted up inside with cheap, but
good, sound, $8 per 1,000 feet, inch-lumber, taking
1,230 feet, costing $9.85. The whole inside was then
papered up and down with a 3-inch lap with tarred
building paper, costing 80 cents per roll, taking some-
what less than three rolls, or $2 more. ‘The silo was
then finished up by covering this inside again with inch
cull pine lumber, single and unfaced, so put on that it
half lapped the cracks of the first boarding, the second
layer being tacked on with 10-penny wire nails. This
lumber was not even jointed or matched, and all put
on horizontally, so that there can be no up and down
cracks for the escape or entry of air. If a board did
not joint closely upon the one below it, a little of its
round or concave was taken off with a draw-shave, and a
nail or two driven ‘toeing’ to bring it down snugly.
This coating of lumber cost, for 1,230 feet, at the rate
of $13 per 1,000, making a bill of $16, and for surfac-
ing $1 more; total, $17.

“Painting the Lining.—Six gallons of gas tar, cost-
ing 24 cents, and 24 gallons of gasoline, costing 25

SILOS. 105

cents, were compounded, and the whole inside of the
silo painted with it, the application being rapidly per-
formed with a wash-brush. The gasoline causes the
gas tar to strike in rapidly and dry quickly. After using
hot tar and resin, and then this last, I greatly prefer
it, and there is less danger of burning one’s self.

“Doors.—Selecting the space between two studs at
the middle of the wall C as the handiest place for tak-
ing out the silage, commencing at about three feet from
the top, the boarding was sawed down close to each stud,
eight feet. A strip was then made for three feet, to
allow the center of the silo the full end strength of
three boards. Another doorway was cut five feet and
to within three feet of the bottom. An inch-by-four
strip was then nailed on to each stud, on the outside
and close up to the boards. The short lengths were all
put back into their places in the order in which they
were cut out, making a very close-fitting door. The
boards were lightly fastened, and over each, on the in-
side, is hung a curtain made of a piece of tarred paper,
two feet longer and a foot or more wider than the door.
When the silo is filled the pressure of the silage against
the paper makes an almost absolutely air-proof door,
and it is the cheapest and best devised.

“Floor of Silo.—For the floor the original clay was
used. Commencing in the center of the pit the clay
was removed and thoroughly packed along the walls,
making the bottom of the silo somewhat concave. This
throws the great weight and pressure of the silage into
this depression, and relieves the silo of so much strain.
If the silo has natural drainage, and one is sure of
reasonably dry footing, clay is in all respects preferable

106 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE,

to a grout or cement bottom, and cheapens the cost of
the silo by so much. I now have my silo complete. The
lumber and labor bill is:

"SPR apa as ey Sg $ 1.00
Studdings') 5. 52's...c. Sas ean eee eee 9.00
Inside facing. cosines pe eme ee eee 17.00
WNalle.e. oc scked Eaten 2S rece eee 1.50
Sheeting... vse. cane seers te kaene a ae 9.85
Pa DePn. . siemin wie ce cite ete ieee ieee eee 2.00
Paint.) 2. a. Gee eee ee es eee 50
Hired mane.c8 so-2e Seeks eG oe eee ee 2.00

Total. ..c2iss » teats sea eae eae $42.85

‘This does not include my own labor for four and a half
days.”
Fig. 42 shows a small, square silo, built inside of a
Michigan barn; dimensions, 8 feet square, and 22 feet

ii
a x

FIG. 42. VIEW OF A SILO, 8 FEET SQUARE, 22 FEET DEEP, BUILT
INSIDE OF BARN. (SMITH.)

SILOS. 107

deep. The capacity of the silo is about 28 tons. It is
built of 2x8 horizontal studding, placed lapped at the
- corners and held together with 5 twenty-penny nails,
wire spikes, in each corner. The spaces between these
frames, from the bottom to the top, are 24, 24, 3, 4, 5
and 5 feet. The siding consists of one thickness of
matched white-pine flooring, six inches wide; it is
nailed on vertically and painted on both sides with
Venetian red and oil. No paper is used. The corners
are filled out by 2x6 scantling properly beveled and
nailed in vertically. Each door is 2 feet wide and made
of sufficient length to lap an inch when placed between
a certain pair of horizontal ribs; toward the bottom of
the silo the doors are therefore 24 feet wide, while
toward the top they are 5 feet high. Battens of 1x4
pine are placed over the cracks on the sides of the doors
and nailed to the wall of the silo. No hinges are used,
the pressure of the silage keeping the doors in place.

The bottom frame, formed by the 2x8 studdings,
rests on the clay bottom of the barn cellar. The silo
has no foundation, but the hard clay bottom is cemented
with Buffalo cement, one inch thick, to keep out rats.
Cost of materials, $30.00. (Mich. Experiment Station,
spec. bull. No. 6.)

B. Separate Square or Rectangular Wooden Silos.

Like other kinds of silos, square or rectangular silos
built as outside independent structures may be made
of wood, stone or grout. In most of the agricultural
States in the Union wooden silos can be built cheaper
than either stone or grout silos. While they may not

108 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

last as long as the latter types, even with the best of care
in both building and maintenance, they will last for a
large number of years if the necessary precautions for
their preservation are taken. The general directions for
building silos of this type are similar to those given on
p. 44. They may be built by placing 2x10 pieces as stud-
ding one foot apart, and boarding on the inside with
matched boards or shiplap, or with two layers of siding
with building paper between; and on the outside, build-
ing paper, over which common boards are
nailed. If double lining is used, the first
one is nailed on the studding horizontally,
and the second vertically.

In building a square or rectangular
silo more than 20 feet deep, Professor
Plumb recommends making sills of
2x12-inch planks, in two layers, halved
and spiked at the
corners (Fig. 43).
These sills are held
in place by bolts,
well anchored in the
foundation wall
(Fig. 44). The stud
(1) should be blocked against a strip (2) nailed
to the sill, and a bolt (4) driven through the sill
(3, 3) into the wall (5, 5). The 2x12-inch studs are
toe-nailed to the sills, 18 inches apart from center to
center. The base of each stud is cut on the outside
against a 2x4-inch piece spiked along the outer line of
the sill, to prevent spreading.

There is a good deal of difference of opinion as to the

FIG. 43, FASTENING OF SILLS AT
THE CORNERS. (PLUMB.)

SILOS. 109

silo lining, several observing farmers claiming: that
aouble boarding, with or without tarred paper between,
will rot before a one-layer ning
of sound matched lumber or
shiplap, free from cracks and
checks, put on horizontally. Mr.
H. B. Gurler, the well-known
Illinois dairyman, says on this
point in a communication to the
author: “My first silo was built
with a single boarding on inside
of studdings. This was a good
quality of matched lumber, and
it is still sound after having been
filled eleven times; I cannot find
any signs of decay, or at least
FIG. 44. FounpaTIoN OF could not before filling last fall.
: eae : The second silo I built was with
strip, 2, nailed to the sil, OUble walls inside, with paper
3; 4, bolt driven through the between. J am confident that
sill into the wall, 5. (Plumb.) deca wilk-eogne aude teenie
y oner cause
with these walls, as I can see the effect of it
now in some places, and this after nine fillings. I
imagine moisture from the corn gets through the joints
before it swells these tight, and saturates the paper, thus
causing decay. I think if building now I should select
sound, kiln-dried lumber for the inside and put on one
thickness.”

Professor Robertson, the Commissioner of Agriculture
of Canada, also recommends a single lining for wooden
silos. He says: “I have found one ply of sound 1-inch
lumber, tongued and grooved, and nailed horizontally

110 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

on the inside of studs, 2 inches by 10 inches or 2 inches
by 12 inches, to be sufficient. I did build silos with four
ply of lumber and tar paper between them; and I could
not keep the silage any better than with one ply of lum-
ber, tongued and grooved or planed on the edges.”

In a letter to the writer, Mr. John Gould, of Ohio,
says on this point: “I suppose that within a few miles

ae i H} i)

TN Kayes

FIG. 45. RECTANGULAR WOODEN SILO.

Dimensions, 48x24 feet, 22 feet high.

of me there are 100 silos built with a single lining of
inch Georgia pine flooring, all giving the best of satis-
faction. I think them a great success.”

Unless the lumber is very carefully selected, a single
lining will not be likely to prove satisfactory. It would
seem, however, that such silos, well built and cared for,
may outlast silos having three or four-ply lumber for
inside lining, which are poorly ventilated.

No filling material is necessary or desirable in the

SILOS. mE

dead air spaces formed by the studding and the outside
and inside facing; air is a better non-conductor of heat
than sawdust, chaff, or any other material which has
been recommended for this purpose.

As before stated, deep silos are better than shallow
ones, and square ones better than rectangular, as they
require less lumber. For the same and other reasons
circular silos are to be preferred to either of these forms.
Another point in favor of the round silo is the absence of
corners in this type of silos, the whole inside forming
a smooth, round
wall; corners are
always objection-
able in a silo on

account of the lia-
FIG. 46. CROSS-SECTION OF bility to loss of
OF A RECTANGULAR SILO. Silage through
Half-inch bolts are used to spoiling, which

1
!
hold the 2x4 and 2x6 to-

| gether. The bolts are not may take place
i]

|

more than 18 inches apart
from the bottom up to there from the
about the middle of the

TAS ANE. studding. Above the mid- (difficulty of en-
LES dle they may be 2 feet ; y 5
‘ apart; they may be re-in- tirely preventing
' ! forced by 30 d. nails. .
(Spillman:) the access of air
at these points.
To avoid the loss of silage in the corners of square
or rectangular silos they should be partially rounded
off by placing a square timber, split diagonally, in each
of the corners; another plan is to bevel the edge of a
ten-inch plank and nail it in the corners, filling in
behind perfectly with dry earth or sand; sawdust has
been recommended, but it should not be used, as it

will draw moisture and cause the plank and silo lining

112 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

to decay; the space back of the plank may also be left
empty.
The difficulty of excluding the air from the corners
of rectangular or square silos may be obviated in the
manner suggested by Spillman and shown in Fig. 46.

The illustration, with legend, is self-explanatory.
Another arrangement for making the corners of a
rectanguiar or square silo air-tight is shown in Fig. 47,
taken from Geneva Experiment Station Bulletin No.
102, by Professor Wheeler. The corners are boarded
up, as shown in the

AS figure, a sheathing
Lx of paper going be-

é\

Ss tween the two
N Gis + courses of boards.
SWE. The partitions at

aVA\
NS
EN
EN
//,
=
WES
IEG)

a
\
NY
NY
(|
Su |
|
=

AY

s Wy A

Lai Ae (nese

py f Ma Bia) the corners can be

Z V7) af 7 7 \Z put across after the
ye ti i i iz ~~ first course of
wi, i‘ ae boards, instead of

after the second
FIG. 47. CORNER OF RECTANGULAR ie a.
SILO. (WHEELER.) lining is in place, as

shown in the illus-
tration. Still another arrangement is explained in
Rural New Yorker, 1899, p. 478.

A PRIMITIVE CoLoRADO S1Lo.—Professor Cooke
gives an account of a wooden silo, made at the Colorado
College Farm, which is still cheaper than Mr. Gould’s
silo, previously described—and also more primitive.
“The climatic conditions in large’sections of the West
are such as to allow silos to be built very deep into the
ground and render roof unnecessary. The silo was built

SILOS. — bb Bs

on a slight slope; a hole, 21 feet square and 8 feet
deep, was dug out with the plow and scraper. The only
hand work necessary was in the corners and on the sides.
Inside this hole a 2x6 sill was laid on the ground; 2x6
studding, 12 feet long, was erected every 2 feet, and a
2x6 plate put on top. This framework was then sheeted
on the inside with a single thickness of unmatched,
unplaned, rough boards, such as can be bought almost
anywhere for $12 per 1,000.

“The inside was lined with a single thickness of tarred
building paper, held in place by perpendicular slats.
The floor was made by wetting and tramping the clay at
the bottom, while the heavens above made an excellent
and very cheap roof. The dirt was filled in against the
sides, and banked up to within two feet of the top, ex-
cept on the lower side, where were doors, reaching from
near the top to within four feet of the bottom. All labor
was done by the farm hands and teams, and could as
easily be done by any farmer on his own farm.

“The bill for material stands as follows:

240 feet, 2x6, for sill and plate.
528 ‘* 2x6, 12 feet long, for studding.
960 ‘‘ rough boards for sides.

1,728- “ lumber, at $12 per M........0.0e0ee $20.74
Nails, lath, and building paper............ 7.00
$27.74

“Had the hole been two feet deeper, and the sides two
feet higher, with one partition, the two pits would then
have been each 10x20 feet, and 16 feet deep, with a total
capacity of 100 tons of silage ; while the cost of materials

114 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

would have been $44. Thus, a silo can be built in Colo-
rado for less than 50 cents for each ton capacity.”

Silos with Horizontal Girts.

The illustration, Fig. 48, taken from Farmers’ Bul-
letin No. 32 (Silos and Silage, by Prof. C. 8. Plumb),

FIG. 48. CONSTRUCTION OF A DOUBLE SILO WITH HORIZONTAL
GIRTS. (GULLEY.)

shows a double silo with a framing consisting of hori-
zontal girts. This kind of silo has been tried with good
results. “In the figure, a, a represents the door, of

SILOS. 115

which the five sections extend from sill to plate. Hach
pit is 18 feet.square inside and 20 feet deep. Hach out-

FIG. 49. CONSTRUCTION .OF CORNER JOINT AND CROSS-WALL INTER-
SECTION OF HORIZONTAL GIRT SILO. (GULLEY.)

side girt is made of three planks, 2x10 inches, 20 feet long.
The plate consists of two such planks. The girts of the

FIG. 50. CONSTRUCTION OF DOOR OF HORIZONTAL GIRT
SILO. (GULLEY.)

cross-wall are made of 2x8 planks. The girts are nearer
together toward the bottom of the silo where greater

ae MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

strength is required. ‘The distances between these hori-
zontal girts, measured from the upper surface of one to
the lower surface of the next higher, beginning at the
sill, are, respectively, 2’6”, 3’, 3'6”, 3’9” and 4’5”.

Fig. 49 shows the details of the joint at the corner
and at the intersection of cross-wall and outer girt. s,s
are short supports of 2x6 plank between the different
girts, a, a cross brace of 2x6 lumber, which, while
strengthening the joints, dispenses with a right angle
inside corner. Two half-inch iron bolts are used in each
joint in addition to a number of 20d. and 40d. nails.

Fig. 50 shows details of the door, of which there is
one section between each pair of girts. Where one section
of the door joins another or touches the silo lining a
lap-joint is formed.

The following shows the materials used for this double
silo, omitting only the sheathing and battens, which
serve as a protection against the weather.

Feet.

105 pieces 2 by 10 inches by 20 feet, sills, girts, and
DIAGESE ies os ig tacts oe bebe Eee 3,500

18 pieces 2 by 8 inches by 20 feet, sills, girts, and
plates scTross=Wwall-s, is 6 obs bos ate ents ee eee 540

35 pieces 2 by 6 inches by 18 feet, supports and cross
Corner: DACGER essen ais site cos os ke a eee 630
300 pieces 1 by 12 inches by 20 feet lining planks.... 6,000
44 pieces 2 by 4 inches by 14 feet rafters............. 462
iby -4: inch: roof “sheathing: >... 2s.0n-cean es pee 800
11,932

3,000 square feet tarred building paper, 10,000 shingles,
75% by 7 inch iron bolts, 150 %4-inch washers, 1 keg
fortypenny nails, 2 kegs twentypenny nails, 2 kegs ten-
penny nails, 1 keg eightpenny nails, 30 pounds fourpenny
nails,

SILOS. 117

Brick foundation wall 12 inches thick, 18 inches high:
4500 bricks, 2 barrels lime, 2 barrels cement.

; IV. Stone or Brick Silos.

These silos are usually more expensive than wooden
ones, but, in return, they will last longer when carefully
built. Some of the first silos built in Wisconsin and
other Northwestern states were made of stone, and are
still in good condition, which can not be said about the
earliest wooden silos made. Stone silos are easily built,
being just like a cellar wall, if possible without any
opening except the door, and provided with a roof like
any other silo. The walls should be at least sixteen
inches thick, and should be jacketed with wood on the
outside, to prevent injury from frost, and to form dead-
air spaces, which will insure perfect preservation of the
silage clear up to the silo wall. The earlier stone silos
built were not protected in this manner, and, as a result,
the silage often spoilt several inches around the walls,
the stone being more or less porous, and being a fairly
good conductor of heat and cold. This applies still
more to brick than to stone walls. With the outside
ccvering nailed to studdings, 2x4, no trouble will, how-
ever, be experienced in either case. Ventilation of the _
silo frame must be provided for as in the case of wooden
silos.

The following arrangement of constructing stone silos
has proved very convenient, and will make good, sub-
stantial silos. The silo is built five to six feet into the
ground, if it can safely be done; the foundation wall is
made two feet thick, and at the level of the ground a
4x6 sill is laid on the outer edge of the wall and bedded

118 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

in mortar; a wooden frame is then erected of 2x6 stud-
ding, sheeted on the inside with common flooring, and on
the outside with ship lap boarding, with or without
building paper on the studding. The stone wall is then
continued on the inside of this wooden frame up to the
plate, the corners well rounded off, and the whole in-
side cemented.

The stone or brick wall must be made smooth by

Ke
Noe OY sf 5

‘<
s

FIG. 51. CONSTRUCTION OF CIRCULAR ALL-STONE SILO. (KING.)

means of a heavy coat of a first-class cement. Since the
acid juices of silage are apt to gradually soften the
cement, it may be found necessary to protect the coating
by a whitewash with pure cement every other year be-
fore the silo is filled. If this precaution is taken, the
silo will last for generations; some of the earliest stone
silos built in this country have now been filled every

SILOS. 119

season for over twenty years without deteriorating per-
ceptibly.

Like the wooden silos, stone silos may be rectangular,
square, or circular; if built according to either of the
first two forms, the corners should be rounded off so
as to assist the settling of the siloed mass, and avoid loss
through insufficient packing of the mass in the corners.

The construction of a round all-stone silo given by
Prof. King is shown in Fig. 51. A shows a section of
the silo, with conical roof, and the arrangement of fill-
ing, and feeding doors. B and (C, are ground plans of
circular and rectangular stone silos; D, E, F show con-
struction of feeding doors. The construction of the door
jambs, to make them air tight, will be seen in the illus-
tration. The doors are made from 2 layers of 4-inch
matched flooring, with a layer of 2-ply saturated acid-
and alkali-proof paper, and are held in place with large
screws or lag bolts, as shown in E and F. The face of
the jambs should be lined with 2-ply P. and B. Ruberoid
paper or its equal; this will act as a gasket to make the
door perfectly air-tight.

V. Grout Silos.

Where stone 1s scarce, and lumber high, the best silo
is made of grout. Grout silos may be made according
to the following directions: “Having excavated for the
silo, dig a trench all around the bottom, and fill it with
cobblestone, and from one corner lead a drain, if pos-
sible, so as to carry off all water. The trench under
the proposed walls of the silo being filled with cobble-
stones, place standards of scantling long enough to ex-
tend 12 inches higher than the top of the wall when it is

120 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

finished. Place these standards on each side of the pro-

posed wall, and if you desire the walls to be 20 inches
thick, place the standards 23 inches apart, a pair of
standards being placed every 5 or 6 feet around the
entire foundation; be particular to have the standards
exactly plumb, and in line; fasten the bottoms of stand-
ards firmly in the ground, or by nailing a strip of wood
across at the bottom of the standards, and a little below
where the floor of the silo will be; fasten the tops of
the standards by a heavy cross-piece securely nailed,
and fasten the pairs of standards in their plumb posi-
tions by shores reaching the bank outside. Planks 14
inches thick and 14 inches wide are now placed edgewise
inside the standards, 20 inches apart, thus forming a
box, 14 inches deep, and running all along and around
the entire foundation of the proposed wall. Fill this
box with alternate layers of cobble-stone or any rough
stone, etc., and mortar or:concrete. First a layer of
mortar, and then a layer of stones, not allowing the
stones to come quite out to the boxing plank, but having
concrete over the edges; the concrete must be tamped
down solid.

The concrete is prepared as follows: One part of good
cement is mixed thoroughly with four parts of dry
sand, and then with six parts of clear gravel; ‘make into
a thin mortar, sprinkling with water over the same by
means of a sprinkler, and use at once. Put an inch or
two of this mortar into the box, and then bed in cobble-
stones; fill in with mortar, again covering the stones,
and again put in a layer of stone. When the box is
filled, and the mortar “set” so that the wall is firm, raise
the box one foot, leaving two inches lap of plank on wall

SILOS. 121

below, and go around again, raising the wall one foot
each day, or every second day, according to the amount
of labor on hand. If no gravel is obtainable, use five
barrels of sand to one of cement, and bed in all the
cobble-stones possible. Stones with rough edges are bet-
ter than smooth ones, as they bind the wall more thor-
oughly, but any flat stones found about the fields will
do as well. A layer of loose cobble-stones should be
placed against the outside wall before the earth is
brought against it, so as to have an air space, and a free
passage for water.

As in case of the stone silos, the inside walls of grout
silos must be made perfectly smooth, and preserved |
from softening by means of occasional whitewashings
with pure cement; they must also be protected from
frost by an outside wooden lining nailed on the 2x4
studding. .

VI. Metal Silos.

Solid steel silos have been put on the market, but it
is not known what kind of results they have given in the
limited number of cases where they have been tried in
practice. They are built of homogeneous steel plate,
lapped and double-riveted so as to make them perfectly
air-tight. According to Professor Waters, the cost is
about $4 per ton capacity, or more than three times the
amount which will build a first-class modern wooden
silo. It is difficult to see what advantage a steel silo on
the whole would have over these; the danger of frost
is far greater in a metal silo than in a wooden one; the
silage juices will furthermore attack the steel, and slowly
corrode the wall, in spite of any paint or preservative
that may be put on the inside.

122 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

VII. Silo Stacks.

The practice of making stack silage has not been
adopted in the United States, except as a mat-
ter of experiment on ranches in semi-arid regions. It
met with great favor in foreign countries when the silo-
ing method first became known, especially in Great Brit-
ain, where, according to official statistics, 1,362 persons
in 1887 reported their intention of making silage stacks,
against twenty-seven in 1886; the number given for
1887 is half of the total number of silos existing in that
year. No official data are at hand during late years,
but as far as we are able to judge, silo stacks have
increased far more rapidly in England than other silos.
The main objections to silage stacks in this country
are the danger of frost and of excessive fermentative
losses on account of the drying-out and spoiling of the ©
fodder on top and the sides. Until practical experiments
have been made, we can not, however, know definitely
how silo stacks would stand our chmate; judging from
the experience of foreign siloists, they are not likely to
ever become adopted here in preference to silo buildings
of one kind or another, except, perhaps, on ranches
in Western semi-arid regions, where silo building ma-
terials are high and forage cheap.

The stack system has been adopted, besides in Great
Britain, in Sweden, on the European Continent, and in
Australia with great success, if the reports of euthusi-
asts be credited. There are mainly two systems in use,
the Blunt and the Johnson silage press; the fodder is
stacked in both systems and the stacks pressed down by
heavy weights or by means of ratchet drums. The

SILOS. 123

capacity of the Blunt press is about 100 tons. ‘The
amount of waste under English conditions is stated to
be about 14 per cent and not to exceed 2 per cent, which

pS

i

ead

ie

f|

2

i

fig

FIG. 52. BLUNT’S SILO STACK, ROUND FORM.

the advocates of the system claim is less than interest
on the money that has to be put into a separate silo
structure. Results of German experiments do not, how-
ever, show such small losses as those given above. Wolff

124 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

placed forty-eight tons of meadow hay in a silo stack,
from which quantity only twenty-four tons of good sil-
age was obtained; forty tons was weighed back in all,
so that sixteen tons or 33 per cent must have spoiled
on the top and the sides of the stack. Miiller obtained

— miseasreeeet) (1s = —

Feng Ia
<n cee i

TTR s A

—< US

FIG. 53. BLUNT’S SILO STACK, SQUARE FORM.

somewhat better results; 132 tons of vetch fodder and
sugar beet leaves were stacked in a Blunt’s silage press ;
there was a loss on the outside and top amounting to
about seven tons (5.4 per cent), while nearly 103 tons
(77.9 per cent) of the silage was fed out to cattle.
Recent Swedish experiments, on the other hand,
showed that 48.4 per cent of the whole mass spoilt in a

SILOS. 125

Blunt Press, and 35.7 per cent in another system of
stack silos (Hermelin stack).

WSS

FIG. 55. CROSS-SECTION OF JOHNSON’S SILO STACK.

There are signs that the stack system of siloing fod-
ders is on the wane in Europe, and that high silos of

126 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

similar materials and types as built during late years
by American farmers and dairymen will gradually take
their place. The writer, during the past winter (Jan.,
1899), received a letter of inquiry from a Swedish
farmer, who has been making and feeding 1,000 tons

er a Cha le

FIG. 56. RAMSTROM’S SILO STACK.

of stack silage or more annually for a number of years
past. I quote from the letter: “The silage has been so
far made by means of Blunt presses; the quality has
always been good, but these press devices have a number
of inconveniences which diminish the economic value of
the method. The total loss of pressed fodder is quite
considerable and amounts, according to my observa-
tions, to 25 to 35 per cent; this loss occurs partly

SILOS. 12%

through spoiling on the outside, partly through fermen-
tation, and partly, not least, through the expression of
plant juices which continue to run off during several
months. The dark-brown juice which runs off contains,
of course, considerable amounts of nutrients, especially
albuminoids; this is confirmed by the fact that where
a silage stack has been standing, the vegetation, even
five to six years later, shows a rank growth, more so than
if a compost heap had been in the same place. The silo-
ing of fodder in a silo stack is furthermore very expen-
sive, and takes a great deal of both labor and time, since
the fodder must be raised high by hand, must be care-
fully spread out evenly, and thoroughly tramped down.
I have, therefore, decided to change to the American
method with tall silos, and intend to build a 150-ton
silo this coming spring—the first one in Sweden.”

VIII. Pits in the Ground.

We mention this primitive form of silos in this con-
nection and last, because they are of no practical im-
portance at the present time and have only an historical
interest.

The first kind of silos made was simple trenches or
pits dug in the ground, in -vhich the grain or fodder to
be preserved was buried, and covered with boards and a
layer of earth. Sometimes the trench was cemented ;
in the earlier stages of underground silos, it was not.
Immense quantities of sugar beet tops and beet pulp
have been siloed-in this way in Europe, especially in
Germany and France. In this country, before silo
structures proper became general, a few farmers, not

wishing to risk much money on a system they knew only
9

iting,

128 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

from hear-say, obtained their first silo experience in this
sumple way.

An excavation about 30 feet long, 15 feet wide, and
24+ feet deep was made in 1889, in a cornfield at the
IXansas experiment station; the soil was dry and sandy ;
corn stalks with ears on were carefully piled in this
pit in October, and the mass rolled with a heavy iron —
roller; the fodder was then covered with a four-inch
layer of straw and twenty inches of earth. When the
pit was opened late in December, the silage was found
to be in a very excellent condition.

This rather crude method of preserving fodder will,
however, always be accompanied by large losses on ac-
count of the excessive and faulty fermentations occur-
ring during the siloing period. It can not, therefore,
be recommended. Much the better plan to follow for
the farmer intending to try silage, is to travel about a
little before building and examine some modern silos;
with the wide distribution of silos at the present date,
he will usually not have far to go to find one or more
of them.

Silo Literature.

The preceding descriptions of the various kinds
of silos and the directions given for their construc-
tion will, it is believed, in general answer the pur-
pose of most farmers and dairymen. The directions
given are, however, necessarily to a certain extent gen-
eral, and each farmer has to use his judgment when it
comes to deciding both which kind of silo he had better
build in his particular case and how a satisfactory, first-
class silo can be built most cheaply under his conditions,

SILOS. 329

as to the materials to be used, the details of construc-
tion, etc. Many of the various government experiment
stations have issued publications describing silo con-
struction, and farmers intending to build silos, who
cannot consult with neighbors and benefit from their
experience in this line, will do well to read what advice
their own experiment station may have given as to the
building of silos in their State. A list of station pub-
lications on the subject of silos and silage is given here
to acquaint the reader with the literature of the subject
published in this country. The experiment stations
furnish their publications free of charge to residents of
their respective States, upon request, and in some cases
publications are sent to non-residents as well. Many of
the bulletins given in the list are, doubtless, now out of
print, but those that are still available may be obtained
by addressing the director of the agricultural experi-
ment station in the State in which the farmer resides.*

LIST OF EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS ON
THE SUBJECT OF SILOS AND SILAGE, 1889-’99.

(b. bulletin; r., report.)

Arkansas.—Silage, A. E. Menke; r. II., 1889, pp. 68-77.

Colorado.—An underground silo, W. W. Cooke and F. L.
Watrous; b. 30, February, 1895, pp. 21-23.

Indiana.—The Silo and Silage in Indiana, C. S. Plumb; b.
40, June, 1892, pp. 65-81.

Kansas.—Silos and Silage, E. M. Shelton; b. 6, June, 1889,
pp. 61-74.

Maryland.—Silos and Silage, A. I. Hayward; r, 1889-1891.

* For a list of the agricultural experiment stations in
the United States and Canada, with names of directors and
post-office addresses, see Woll, Handbook for Farmers and
Dairymen, 2d edition, New York, 1900, p. 409.

130 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Michigan.—Silos and Silage, S. Johnson; b. 47, April, 1889,

45 pp.
- —Building Silos, Clinton D. Smith, spec. b. 6, De-

cember, 1896, 17 pp.

Mississippi.—Silos and Silage, B. Irby; b. 8, August, 1889,
9 pp.

Nebraska.—Silos and Ensilage, Jared G. Smith; b. 17, June,
1891, pp. 7-22.

New Hampshire.—Silage in Dairy Farming, G. H. Whitcher;
b: 14, May, 1891, 8 pp.

New York (Geneva).—Silage and Silos, W. P. Wheeler;
b. 102, N. S., pp. 89-105.
New York (Cornell).—The Construction of the Stave Silo,
L. A. Clinton; b. 167, March, 1899, pp. 473-488.
North Carolina.—Silos and Silage, F. E. Emery; b. 80, Oc-
tober, 1891, 17 pp.
Ohio.—Silos and Silage, J. F. Hickman; b. vol. II., No. 3, S.
S., June, 1889, pp. 73-88.
Oregon.—Silos and Silage, H. T. French; b. 9, February,
1891, 8 pp.
Pennsylvania.—Silos and Silo Building, H. J. Waters; Pa.
Board of Agr., r. 1894, pp. 232-237.
South Dakota.—Silos and Silage, E. C. Chilcott; b. 51, Feb-
ruary, 1897, pp. 20-82.
Virginia.—Silos and Silage, D. O. Nourse; b. 53, pp. 53-80.
—Cheap Silos in Virginia, D. O. Nourse; b. 70, pp.
115-119.
Washington.—Silos and Silage, W. J..Spillman; b. 14, No-
vember, 1894, 19 pp.
Wisconsin.—Silo Building and Filling, L. H. Adams; b.
19, April, 1889, pp. 5-15.
—The Construction of Silos, F. H. King; b. 28, July,
SO 6) pe
—The Construction of Silos and the Making and
Handling of Silage, F. H. King; b. 59, May, 1897, 31 pp.
U. S. Department of Agriculture.—Silos and Silage, ¢. S.
Plumb; Farmers’ Bulletin 32, November, 1895, 30 pp.

SILOS. ' 131

Ontario, Canada.—Ensilage, James W. Robertson; b. 32, Au-
gust, 1888, 10 pp.
—Fodder Corn and the Silo, James W. Robertson;
b. 42, May, 1889, 15 pp.
—The Silo and Corn Ensilage, C. C. James; b. 39
(Bureau of Industries), April, 1892, 8 pp.

Preservation of Silos.

A silo building will prove a rather short-lived struc-
ture unless special precautions are taken to preserve it.
This holds good of all kinds of silos, but more especially
of wooden ones, since a cement coating in a stone silo,
even if only fairly well made, will better resist the action
of the silage juices than the woodwork will be able to
keep sound in the presence of moisture, high tempera-
ture, and an abundance of bacterial life. We have seen
that the inside of the walls of stone silos should be
given a whitewash of pure cement as often as found
necessary, which may be every two years, and perhaps
not as often. The degree of moisture and acidity in the
silage made is, doubtless, of importance in this respect,
as a very sour silage made from immature corn will be
likely to soften the cement coating sooner than so-called.
sweet silage made from nearly mature corn.

In case of wooden silos it is necessary to apply some
material which will render the wood impervious to
water, and preserve it from decay. A great variety of
preparations have been recommended and used for this
purpose. Coal tar has been applied by a large number
of farmers, and has been found effective and durable.
It may be put on either hot, alone or mixed with resin,
or dissolved in gasoline. If it is to be applied hot, some

132 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

of the oil contained in the tar must previously be burnt
off. The tar is poured into an iron kettle, a handful of
straw is ignited and thrown into the kettle, which will
cause the oil to flash and burn off. The tar is suf-
ficiently burnt when it will string out in fine threads,
a foot or more in length, from a stick which has been
thrust into the blazing kettle and afterwards plunged
into cold water. The fire is then put out by placing a
tight cover over the kettle. The kettle must be kept
over the fire until the silo lining has been gone over. A
mop or a small whisk broom cut short, so it is stiff,
may serve for putting on the tar.

Coal tar and gasoline have also been used by many
with good success. About half a gallon of coal tar and
two-thirds of a gallon of gasoline are mixed at a time,
stirring it while it is being put on. Since gasoline is
highly inflammable, care must be taken not to have any
fire around when this mixture is apphed. Asbestos paint
has also been recommended for the preservation of silo
walls, and would seem to be well adapted for this pur-
pose.

I have not seen any silo walls in better condition than
those of a number of Wisconsin silos, preserved by ap-
plication of a mixture of equal parts of boiled linseed
oi] and black oil, or one part of the former to two of
the latter. This mixture, applied every other year, be-
fore filling time, seems to preserve the lining perfectly.
In building round silos, Professor King recommends
painting the boards with hot coal tar, and placing the
painted sides face to face. Ordinary red ochre and lin-
seed oil have also been used by some farmers; others
prefer to line the whole inside with building paper every

SILOS. 133

time the silo is to be filled, in the manner explained by
Mr. Gould. (See page 105.)

Lathing and plastering of the silo walls are used by
some farmers; the method can not, however, be recom-
mended, since the plastering is very apt to crack and
break off, even if great care is taken to preserve the walls
intact. :

Manufacturers of stave silos and fixtures put up
special preparations for preserving the silos, which they
send out with the staves. These are generally simple
compounds similar to those given in the preceding, and
are sold to customers at practically cost prices.

Walls of wooden silos that have been preserved by
one or the other of these methods will only keep sound
and free from decay if the silos are built so as to insure
good ventilation. Preservatives will not save a non-
ventilated silo structure from decay.

Cost of Silos.

The cost of a silo will depend greatly on local condi-
tions, as to price of labor and materials; how much
labor has to be paid for; the size of the silo, etc. The
author, in the spring of 1895, made some inquiries in
regard to this point among farmers in different States
of the Union who have built silos, with the following
results :

The cheapest silos are those built in bays of barns,
as would be expected, since roof and outside lining are
here already at hand. Number of silos included, four-
teen; average capacity, 140 tons; average cost of silos,
$92, or 65 cents per ton capacity.

134 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Next come the square or rectangular wooden silos.
Number of silos included, twenty-five; average capacity,
194 tons; average cost of silos, $285, or $1.46 per ton
capacity.

The round silos follow closely the square. wooden ones
in point of cost. Only seven silos were included, all
but one of which were made of wood. Average capacity,
237 tons; average cost, $368, or $1.54 per ton capacity.
The data for the six round wooden silos are as follows:.
Average capacity, 228 tons; average cost, $346, or $1.52
per ton capacity. The one round cement silo cost $500,
and had a capacity of 300 tons (dimensions: diameter,
' 380 feet; depth, 21 feet); cost per ton capacity, $1.67.

The stone or cement silos are the most expensive in
first cost, as is shown by the data obtained. Number
of silos included, nine; average capacity, 288 tons;
average cost, $577, or $1.93 per ton capacity.

The great difference in the cost of different silos of
the same kind is apparent without much reflection. The
range in cost per ton capacity in the 25 square wooden
silos included in the preceding summary was from 70
cents to $3.60. The former figure was obtained with a
144-ton silo, 20x18x20 feet; and the latter with a 140-
ton silo, built as follows: Dimensions, 14x28x18 feet;
2x12x18 feet studdings, set 12 inches apart; two
thicknesses of dimension boards inside, with paper be-
tween, sheeting outside with paper nailed on studding ;
cement floor. Particulars are lacking as regards the
construction of the first silo, beyond its dimensions.

A good many figures entering into the preceding sum-
maries are doubtless somewhat too low, if all labor put
on the silo is to be paid for, for in some cases the cost of

SILOS. 135

work done by the farmers themselves was not figured in
with the other expenses. As most farmers would do
some of the work themselves, the figures given may,
however, be taken to represent the cash outlay in build-
ing silos. - In a general way, it may be said that a silo
can be built in the bay of a barn for less than 75 cents
per ton capacity; a round or a good square or reetangu-
lar wooden silo for about $1.50, and a stone or cement
silo for about $2 per ton capacity, all figures being sub-
ject to variations according to local prices of labor and
materials.

I believe that cheap, poorly-constructed silos have
done more to prejudice large numbers of farmers against
silage, and impede the progress of the silo, than any
other one cause; if it pays to build a silo at all, it pays
to build a gocd one, and none but silos built to last
should be put up, except to serve as a temporary relief
until a good silo can be built. Many of the early wooden
silos built were not made with an eye to the future, or
rather, it was not then suspected that silos may be as
easily destroyed as a fewyears experience plainly showed.
We now provide against the decay of the silo, as we have
seen, by securing good ventilation, and by preserving
the woodwork; in the cement or stone silo we white-
wash with pure water-lime. In either case, it is gen-
erally found convenient and advantageous to put in a
cement or concrete floor. All these matters increase the
cost of the silo, but in return, silos thus built will last
for an indefinite length of time, and will not require
much outlay after first cost.

Professor King figures that round silos will cost about
14 cents per square foot of surface, and on basis of this

136 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGH.

figure arrives at the following cost of round silos of
different dimensions.
APPROXIMATE Cost or RounD WooDEN SI1os, THIRTY FEET
DEEP, THEIR CAPACITIES AND Cost PER TON OF SILAGE.

1 ° Z ;
G

j ai : g a a
a , a D S) A 5 % °
Ax Ss 6) 3 AS oe) =
ad ae =P uaa 3. See) Aaa =
+t Gey ud S +9 ont Set - ~~
BES) a, ro) @ Zoe a 7
3 3 = fe} = ws = Oo
fe) ie) i>) oO 'S) oO

=| —-———_—

16 feet....} 105/$239.26)$2.28/|24 feet... .| 247)/$379.96/$1.54
17 feet....} 119) 256.06] 2.15)/25 feet... .| 269) 398.58) 1.48
18 feet....] 135} 273.00] 2.03)|26 feet... .) 292) 417.34) 1.48
19 feet....| 150} 290.36) 1.92/27 feet....| 315) 436.52) 1.38
20 fect....| 168} 807.86) 1.8328 feet... | 340) 455.70) 1.34
21 feet....| 187} 325.50} 1.'74/29 feet....| 366] 475.16) 1.30
22 feet....| 206} 848.42) 1.67/30 feet....| 392) 494.76) 1.26
23 fect....| 226] 361.48} 1.60/31 feet....| 419} 514.78] 1.23

The data given in the preceding table show plainly
that large silos are more economical than small ones.
The expense per ton capacity of a 400-ton silo is thus
only a little more than half of that of a 100-ton silo;
the cost per ton capacity of the two silos being $2.28
and $1.23, for a 100- and 400-ton silo, respectively.

The following statements of the cost of the three
types of silos were prepared by the same writer; com-
parisons are made with a stone silo of 200 tons capacity,
costing $500; the silo is 14x24 feet inside, and 30 feet
deep, 22 feet above ground. It is covered on the outside
with dimension boards, battened, extending up and
down, and nailed to 2x4 studding, held in place by
hooked pieces of band irons laid in the wall.

SILOS. 137

Rectangular Silo, 200 Tons.

Foundation, 13.44 perch at $1.20...............00- Na peo. lS
Studding, 2x12, 28 feet, 8,736 feet at $20............. 174.72
Sills, etc., 2x10, 26 feet, 206 feet at $19.............. 4.94
Sills, etc., 2x10, 16 feet, 426 feet at $14.............. 5.96
Rafters, etc., 2x4, 20 feet, 400 feet at $16.............. 6.40
Roof boards, fencing, 450 feet at $15...............--. 6.75
Smciogs SM ato $8 .n. ewes ase rene cee eerste ecee 15.00
Drop siding, 8 inch, 2,779 feet at $16............-++-- 44.46
‘Lining, surface fencing, 4,256 feet at $15............-. 63.84
Tarred paper, 426 Ibs. at 2 cents.........-e eee eeees 8.52
Baal tar. i Darrel . 22/0. nei ees sins Be tes eee icine 4.50
Painting, 60 centS Der SQUATE...... cece eee cece eeeee 15.00
Nails and hinges ....... ick Wis ee ye tod. ae ee bete OG cgenitats 266 10.00
PETE rie ? DOLLOUL: boob ace ois sr, ne ce ae ge eine 2 BN a's eee 5.00
Fighteen 3-4 inch bolts, 18 inches long................ 2.10
Carpenter labor at $3 per M, and board...........-.. 41.16
See te clegteete Ne ean, see ate BGs ware Als Me Se $425.08

Round Silo, 200 Tons.

20 feet inside diameter, 30 feet deen.

Foundation, 7.5 perch at $1.20..........cccseeseeeeees $9.90
Studs 2x4, 14 and 16 feet, 1,491 feet at $14............. 20.93
Rafters, 2x4, 12 feet, 208 feet at $14.............-.-4.. 2.91
Roof boards, fencing, 500 feet at $15...........+6.-..-- 7.50
Peeeieeiee: ty NE Ab GOS 2 cake se ns oat ib ae eee nes wheels SOE 18.90
Siding, rabbeted, 2,660 feet at $23............---e ees 61.18
Lining, fencing, ripped, 2,800 feet at $18. Ee eee eka rie 50.40
Tarred paper, 740 Ibs. at 2 cents............seeeeeeeee 14.80
eit RO DATE Ole es vros Mise eve wwe ein ane Ree Nase rn & 4.50
eer ee es woos chk ee. oc ela shan te wea ds ated a wee ea te 6.90
Painting, 60 cents Per SQUATE........ cece e cere ce eeeee 13.20
eerie OTTO | Foie 65k Spee eae Sawa 8 eee aid we wR aim ee 5.00
Carpenter labor at $3 per M, and Hoare. Gs ase ee ees 5 el a

138 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

“The three silos are outside, and wholly independent
structures, except the entrance and feeding chute shown
in Fig. 10, which connects with the barn. This method
of connection for outside silos, while a little more costly,
is, I feel confident, much the best in the long run.”

It may be in order to state, in comparing the figures
given in the preceding statements with the average data
for the cost of the different silo types obtained by the
writer, that the round silos in the latter summary were
built uniformly better than the rectangular wooden
silos included, and according to modern requirements,
while many of the latter were old and of a comparatively
cheap construction, so that the figures cannot be taken
to represent the relative value of rectangular and round
silos built equally well.

The cost of stave silos will of course vary with the
kind of lumber used, cost of labor, and other expenses, as
in case of other types of silos. It is evident that stave
silos can as a rule be built cheaper than other kinds of
silos, both from the fact that less material is used in
their construction, and because the labor bill is smaller.
One of the first stave silos described, built in Ontario,
Canada, cost $75.00; capacity, 140 tons. Other and
better built stave silos have been put up for $100 for a
100-ton silo, and this may be considered an average
price for such a silo, made of white pine, hemlock or
any lumber that is cheapest in the particular locality
where the silo is to be built. If built of Southern cy-
press and complete with conical roof and doors, the
price of stave silos will in the North come to about $1.50
per ton capacity, small silos being a little dearer, and ~
larger ones a little cheaper than this average figure.

CHAPTER III.—SILAGE.
Filling the Silo.

Having built our silo, we proceed to fill it with the
fodder grown for the purpose. Since Indian corn is our
main silage crop, we shall first consider the siloing of
corn, and afterwards take up other crops. We saw be-
fore that corn should be allowed to pass through the
dough stage before cutting, 7. e., when the kernels are
well dented, or glazed, in case of flint varieties. Where
very large silos are filled, and in cases of extreme dry
weather when the corn is fast drying up, it will be
well to begin filling the silo a little before it has reached
this stage, as the greater portion of the corn would
otherwise be apt to be too dry. There is, however, less
danger in this respect now than formerly, on account
of our modern deep silos, and because we have found
that water applied directly to the fodder in the silo
acts in the same way as water in the fodder, and keeps
the fermentations in the silo in the right track.

CUTTING THE CorN IN THE Frevp.—The cutting of
corn for the silo is usually on small farms done by hand
by means of a corn knife. Many farmers have been
using self-raking and binding corn harvesters for this
purpose, while others report good success with a sled-
‘or platform cutter. If the corn stands up well, and is
not of a very large variety, the end sought may be
reached in a satisfactory manner by either of these

methods. If, on the other hand, much of the corn is
139

140 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

down, hand cutting is to be preferred. A number of
different makes of corn harvesters and corn cutters have
been placed on the market during the past few years;
it is very likely that hand cutting of fodder corn will be
largely done away with in years to come, at least on
large farms; indeed, it looks as if the day of the corn-

knife was passing away, and as if this implement that
has figured so long will soon be relegated to obscurity
with the sickle of our fathers’ time.

Fig. 57 shows one of the latest and most improved
machines that cuts corn and binds it into bundles of a
convenient size, thus saving considerable of the work
necessitated by handling loose stalks in the field and at

Ss

FILLING THE SILO. 141

ihe cutter. According to the testimony of the farmers
who have in use the tens of thousands of machines
of this kind that have been sold during the past half a
dozen years, the corn harvester is a perfect machine for
its purpose.

A platform cutter, which was used with great suc-
cess, is described by a veteran Wisconsin dairyman, the
late Mr. Charles R. Beach, in a communication to the
author :

“We use two wagons, with platforms built upon two
timbers, eighteen feet long, suspended beneath the
axles. These platforms are about eighteen inches from
the ground and are seven feet wide. The cutting-knife
is fastened upon a small removable platform, two feet
by about three and one-half feet, which is attached to
the side of the large platform, and is about six or eight
inches lower. One row is cut at a time, the knife strik-
ing the corn at an angle of about forty-five degrees.
One man kneels on the small platform and takes the
corn with his arm; two or three men stand upon the
wagon, and as soon as he has gotten an armful, the
men, each in turn, take it from him and pile it on the
wagon. If the rows are long enough a load of one and
ene-half to two tons can be cut and loaded on in about
eight to ten minutes. The small platform is detached
from the wagon, the load driven to the silo, the plat-
form attached to the other wagon, and another lcad is
cut and loaded. None of the corn reaches the ground ;
no bending down to pick up. One team will draw men,
cutter, and load, and I do not now well see how the
method could be improved. With a steam engine, a
large cutter, two teams and wagons, and ten men, we

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FILLING THE SILO. 143

filled our silo, 22x24x18 feet (190 tons), fast, in less
than two days. Mr. owned the whole outfit, and
filled his own and several silos for his neighbors, the
same gang of men doing the work.”

Professor Georgeson, late of Kansas Experiment
Station, has described a one-horse sledge-cutter which
has given better satisfaction than any fodder-cutter tried
at that station. It is provided with two knives, which
are hinged to the body of the sled, and can be folded in
on the sled when not in use. It has been improved
and made easier to pull by providing it with four low
end broad cast-iron wheels. It is pulled by a single
horse and cuts two rows at a time. Two men stand
upon the cutter, each facing a row; as the corn is cut
they gather it into armfuls, which they drop in heaps
on the ground. A wagon with a low, broad rack fol-
lows, on which the corn is loaded and hauled to the
silo.

Similar corn cutters have been made by various man-
ufacturers of late years and have proved quite satisfac-
tory, although they require more hand labor than the
corn harvesters and do not leave the corn tied up and
in as convenient shape for loading on the wagons as
these do.

A low-down rack for hauling the cut corn to the
cutter is shown in the accompanying illustration (Fig.
59). It has been used for some years past at the Wis-
consin Experiment Station, and is a great convenience
inhandling corn, saving both labor and time. These racks
not only dispense with a man upon the wagon when
loading, but they materially lessen the labor of the man
who takes the corn from the ground, for it is only the

144 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

top of the load which needs to be raised shoulder-high ;
again, when it comes to unloading, the man can stand
on the floor or ground and simply draw the corn toward
him and lay it upon the table of the cutter, without
stooping over and without raising the corn up to again
throw it down. A plank that can easily be hitched on
behind the truck will prove convenient for loading, so
that the loader can pick up his armful and, walking up
the plank, can drop it without much exertion.

FIG. 59. LOW-DOWN RACK FOR HAULING FODDER CORN.

A very cheap and convenient sled for hauling fodder
corn from the field has been recommended by Professor
Hickman of Ohio Experiment Station; it is said to
answer all purposes if the silo corn is not too far from
the silo: The sled can be made out of a couple of 2x10
or 2x12 planks, say twelve feet long. Four 2x4 cross
pieces, well mortised into the planks, and fastened by
20-penny nails, will finish the sled, except the trimming
of the runners so that they will have a well-formed '
curve on the front end. Loose boards thrown upon this
kind of sled will enable one to haul very easily a ton
of fodder at a load; and by placing the butts of the
fodder corn all one way and putting a 3x3 scantling

FILLING THE SILO. 145

under the tops the load can be unloaded when it arrives
at the cutter by two hands taking each an end of the
scantling, and raising that side of the load until the
fodder corn is turned completely over. In hauling the
fodder corn long distances a low-down rack similar to
the one shown in Fig. 59 should be used.

If wilted fodder corn is to be siloed it should be
shocked in the field to protect’ it as much as possible
from rain before hauling it to the cutter.

WHOLE AGAINST Cur SrLace.—One important mat-
ter to be decided at this point is whether or not the
ecrn is to be’cut before being filled into the silo. In
the large majority of cases corn is run through a feed-
cutter on being siloed. This is, however, not absolutely
necessary, as it may be siloed whole with perfect suc-
cess; in some localities and by some farmers, this prac-
tice is followed exclusively. The advocates of whole
silage claim, with a good deal of plausibility, that there
will be smaller losses from fermentations with whole
than with cut silage, and that silos will be less subject
to decay when corn is siloed whole than the other way.
No direct proof of either of these statements 1s, how-
ever, at hand, and the practice followed must be de-
cided by the greater ease of handling the fodder and
silage, and the relative economy of one system or the
other in the opinion of each farmer.

In experiments with whole and cut corn silage, con-
ducted at the Massachusetts Experiment Station in
1884-85, the conclusion was drawn that the silage ob-
tained from whole plants was in a better state of preser-
vation than that which had been obtained from the
same quality of corn previously cut into pieces of from

146 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

14 to 1$ inches in length. The mechanical condition
of the whole corn silage was less satisfactory for feeding
purposes, so far as an economical consumption of the
same weight of both is concerned, than that produced
from corn previously cut. }

The saving of machinery, cutter, and carrier makes an
important point in favor of the whole silage, especially
_ for small farmers, while the greater ease with which the
cut silage may be placed in the silo as well as fed out,
is in favor of the cutting of the corn crop. Professor
Cook, late of Michigan Agricultural College, says on
this point: “My silo, fifteen feet square and twenty feet
high, cost less than $130, and my feed-cutter, with an
eighteen-foot carrier, also costs more than $100. But
the same tread-power enables me to cut all my dry corn
stalks and oat straw at a great saving, and to grind all
my oats and corn at a slight expense, with one of the
excellent American grinders, while the cutter is also
used as just indicated. For safety and convenience in
feeding I prefer to run all the corn through a cutter,
1 believe that silos will soon be so common that engines
and cutters will go from farm to farm, as threshers do
now; then even the small farmers may cut the material
for the silo, and yet not need to own the expensive
machinery. I believe that it will pay even the small
farmer to own the machinery, if he can purchase with-
out incurring debt.”

In siloing fodder corn whole, it is well to grow the
smaller varieties and to plant rather thickly. One suc-
cessful whole-silage farmer thus uses as much as twenty
to twenty-four quarts of seed to the acre, which gives a
stalk of corn nearly every inch in the row, with rows

Fe Ii Ae '

FILLING THE SILO. 147

33 feet apart. We have seen that a maximum yield of
food materials per acre can not ordinarily be expected
from such close planting. Others use only half this
amount and have equally good, or most likely even bet-
ter, whole silage. Too close planting is to be avoided,
both on account of the decreased yield of dry matter
from the land and the large amount of acid found in
silage made from very immature corn. A medium-
thick planting, obtained by using, e. g., ten to twelve
quarts per acre, is preferable for whole silage, for two
reasons—the corn may be handled more easily, both in
filling it into the silo and in feeding it out, and there is
no waste in feeding, since cattle will eat the slender
stalks and leave nothing of the silage.

In siloing corn whole it is put into the silo in a
systematic manner; beginning with a small armful in
one corner of the silo, bundles of the same size are
placed along the wall in a tier; then another tier is
formed close up to the first one, being laid in the
opposite direction, and successive tiers are formed in
the same way until the whole bottom of the silo is cov-
ered. When the first layer has been formed, a second
one is put on top of it, starting with bundles where the
first layer was finished, and completing it where the
first layer was begun; in the same way layer after layer
is put on until the silo is full. Every time a corner is
reached a number of stalks are bent in the middle and
pressed down solidly in the corner, so as to leave no
empty space. When the silage is to be fed out, the silo
is emptied from the top in exactly the opposite direction
from that in which it was filled; the different bundles
and tiers will then separate from the rest of the silage

148 ~ MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

without much trouble, although at best the process of
feeding out whole silage must be considered back-aching
work.

Farmers who can not very well afford to buy the
machinery necessary for cutting corn for the silo should
make whole silage until they find themselves able to
invest in a cutter, if they should prefer a change, as they
will be likely to. While siloing whole corn may not be
any saving in the end, the first cost of making silage
will be greatly lessened by following this method. Bet-
ter whole silage than none at all; better cut silage than
whole, in the majority of cases, at least.

SILOING Corn “Ears anp Atu.”’—It is the practice
of a great many farmers to silo the whole-corn plant
without previously husking it. If the ear corn is not
needed for hogs and horses, or for seed purposes, this
practice is in the line of economy, as it saves the ex-
pense of husking, cribbing, shelling, and grinding the
ear corn. The possible loss of food materials sustained
in siloing the ear corn speaks against the practice, but
this is, as we shall see, very small, and more than coun-
terbalanced by the advantages gained by this method of
procedure. In proof of this statement it may be well
to give here briefly the results of a somewhat extended
feeding trial with milch cows, conducted by the author
in 1891, at the Wisconsin Experiment Station.

Corresponding rows of a large corn field were siloed,
“ears and all” and without ears, the ears belonging to
the latter lot being carefully saved and air-dried. The
total yield of silage with ears in it (whole-corn silage)
was 56,459 pounds; of silage without ears (stover
silage), 34,496 pounds, and of ear corn, 10,511 pounds,

FILLING THE SILO. 149

The dry matter content of the lots obtained by the two
methods of treatment was, in whole corn silage, 19,950
pounds; in stover silage 9,484 pounds, and in ear corn
9,122 pounds, or 18,606 pounds of dry matter in the
stover silage and ear corn combined. This shows a loss
of 1,344 pounds of dry matter, or nearly 7 per cent, sus-
tained by handling the fodder and ear corn separately
instead of siloing the corn “ears and all.”

In feeding the two kinds of silage against each other,
adding the dry ear corn to the stover silage, it was found
that seventeen tons of whole-corn silage fed to sixteen
cows produced somewhat better results than fourteen
tons of stover silage, and more than two tons of dry ear
corn, both kinds of silage having been supplemented by
the same quantities of hay and grain feed. The yield
of milk from the cows was 4 per cent higher on the
whole-corn silage ration than on the stover silage ration,
and the yield of fat was 6.9 per cent higher on the same
ration. It would seem then that the cheapest and best
way of preserving the corn crop for feeding purposes, at
least in case of milch cows, is to fill it directly into the
silo; the greater portion of the corn may be cut and
siloed when the corn is in the roasting stage, and the
corn plat which is to furnish ear corn may be left in
the field until the corn is fully matured, when it may
be husked, and the stalks and leaves may be filled into
the silo on top of the corn siloed “ears and all.” This
will then need some heavy weighting or one or two
applications of water on top of the corn, to insure a
good quality of silage from the rather dry stalks. (See
page 157.)

An experiment similar to the preceding one, con-

150 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

ducted at the Vermont Experiment Station, gave results
going in the same direction. The product from six acres
of land was fed to milch cows; the results showed that
corn siloed “ears and all” produced 3.3 per cent better
results than siloed stalks and ground ear corn from
the same; when the yield of milk and fat per acre of
corn was considered in either case, the whole corn silage
from an acre of land, fed with 4,313 pounds of clover
rowen and 2,157 pounds grain, produced 8,113 pounds
of milk and 333 pounds of fat; while in case of the
stover silage fed with ground ears and the same quan-
tity of other feed, 6,399 pounds of milk and 264 pounds
of fat were produced; that is, it would have taken the
product from 1.26 acres to give an equal amount of milk
and milk products in the latter case as was produced
by the silage from whole corn plant. This shows
that husking, shelling, and grinding the corn, processes
that may cost more than a quarter of the market value
of the meal, are labor and expense more than wasted,
since the cows did better on the corn siloed “ears and
all” than on that siloed after the ears were picked off
and fed ground with it.

Tre Fit~inc Process.—If the corn is to be cut be-
fore being filled into the silo, it is unloaded on the
table of the fodder-cutter and run through the cutter,
after which the carrier elevates it to the silo window
and delivers it into the silo. The length of cutting
practiced differs somewhat with different farmers, and
aecording to variety of corn to be siloed. The general
practice is to cut the corn in one-half to one-inch
lengths; a few cut in two-inch.lengths. The corn will
pack better in the silo the finer it is cut, and cattle will

FILLING THE SILO. 151

eat the larger varieties cleaner if cut into inch lengths
or less. On the other hand, it is possible that fine cut-
ting.implies larger losses through fermentations in the
silo; fine cut. silage may, furthermore, not keep as long
as silage cut longer after having been taken out of the
silo. There is, however, not sufficient experimental
evidence at hand to establish either of these points;
the majority of farmers filling silos, at any rate, practice
cutting corn fine for the silo.

The carrier should deliver the corn as nearly in the
middle of the silo as possible; by means of a chute at-
tached to the carrier, the cut corn may be delivered to
any part of the silo desired, and the labor of distributing
and leveling the corn thus facilitated. If the corn is
siloed “ears and all,” it is necessary to keep a man or a
boy in the silo while it is being filled, to level the sur-
face and tramp down the sides and corners; if left to
itself, the heavier pieces of ears will be thrown farthest
away and the light leaves and tops will all come nearest
the discharge; as a result, the corn will not settle evenly,
and the feeding value of different layers of silage will
differ greatly. To assist in the distribution of the corn
it is reeommended to hang a pyramidal box in front and
below the top of the carrier; this may be made about
three feet square at the base and tapering to a point, at
which a rope is attached for hanging to rafters. The
descending mass of cut corn will strike the top of the
box and be divided so as to distribute to all parts of
the silo. Another simple device is to place a board
vertically, or nearly so, in front of the top of the carrier,
against which the cut corn will strike; or to tie a bag
open at the bottom over the top of the carrier.

152 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Powers and Cutters for Silo Filling.

The cutter used in filling the silo should have ample
capacity to give satisfaction; a rather large cutter is
therefore better than a cutter that is barely large enough.
The size required depends on the rapidity with which it
is desired to fill the silo and on the power at hand. Where
a steam engine is available it is the cheapest power for
filling a large silo, as the work can then be finished in
afew days. For small farms and silos, engines come too
high, however, and here a two- or three-horse tread
will prove most economical. According to King, a three-
horse tread will give about twice the power of a two-
horse tread, and will nicely manage a No. 4 cutter,
elevating silage 24 feet. During the past years large
self-feeding cutters have been placed on the market,
which will take whole bundles of corn as delivered by the
corn harvester and as taken off the wagon, there being
no need of cutting bands and feeding the corn a few
stalks at a time. With one of these cutters as much
corn can be cut as 3 or 4 teams can haul, if the corn
field is at some distance from the silo. The machines
also have a hopper-box under the carrier which mixes
the grain and fodder and insures an even distribution of
these in the silo at much less labor than was formerly
required. 3

Pneumatic Elevators.

A new method of elevating the fodder in filling
silos has been introduced by the use of pneumatic
elevators (“blower silage elevators,’ “————’s Hum-
mer,” etc.) which practically fans or blows the cut

FILLING THE SILO. 153

fodder into the silo through a continuous pipe or spout.
This machine therefore takes the place of an ordinary
carrier elevator; they have been used in some sections
of the United States and Canada, but so far only to a
limited extent. The capacity of the machines may reach
12 tons an hour. Where steam power is available for
cutting, there seems to be no difficulty in elevating the
cut fodder 30 to 40 feet with these elevators when a 12-
horse power engine is used. The pneumatic elevators
have the advantage of ordinary carriers in some respects,
but they require considerable power, and but limited
prectical experience as to their workings is as yet at
hand.

Fast or Stow Fitiinc.—The original practice in
filling silos was to fill as rapidly as the conditions pres-
ent would possibly admit; other outdoor farm work
was therefore dropped at the time of silo filling, and all
energies concentrated on completing this job. It was,
however, found later on, perhaps by accident, that no
harm will result if the filling be interrupted for some
time, and the practice of slow filling gradually devel-
oped. The theory of the practice was worked out by
the late Prof. M. Miles of Michigan, and he was one
of the early champions of the slow-filling process in this
country. The advantage claimed for the slow filling
was, besides appreciably facilitating the work of filling
the silo, the superior quality of the silage produced,
viz., so-called sweet silage. We shall be able to discuss
this subject more fully when we have considered the
chemical composition of silage, and the changes occur-
ring in the silo. (See page 170.) It will only be neces-
sary here to state, concerning the slow or rapid filling

154 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

of silos, that the silage produced by either method will
be good, provided the corn is not too immature. It is,
therefore, mainly a matter of convenience, which meth-
od proves preferable. Generally speaking, rapid filling
has the advantage in point of economy, both of labor and
of food materials. The fermentations are left to proceed
farther in case of slow filling than when the silo is filled
rapidly, being greatly aided by the oxygen of the air,
which then has better access to the separate layers; this
is plainly shown by the higher temperature reached in
slowly filled silos. The rise in the temperature is due
to the activity of bacteria, and a high temperature,
therefore, means greater losses of food constituents.
More silage can be obtained in the same silo by slow
than by rapid filling, as the fodder will settle more in
the former case than when the silo is filled at once,
and refilled after a few days.

As there may be some farmers who still hold slow
filling to be preferable, we give the directions for filling
the silo in this way: When enough corn has been added
to fill three to six feet of the silo, the filling is discon-
tinued and the mass allowed to heat up to 120° to 140°
Fahrenheit. This may take a day or two; the filling
is then continued, and another layer of three feet or
more filled in, which is left to heat as before. This
method of intermittent filling is continued until the
silo is full.

Dauger from Carbonic=-Acid Poisoning in Silos.

As soon as the corn in the silo begins to heat, carbonic-
acid gas is evolved, and if the silo is shut up tight, the
gas will gradually accumulate directly above the fodder,

FILLING THE SILO. 155

since it is heavier than air and does not mix with it
under the conditions given. If a man or an animal
goes down into this atmosphere, there is great danger.
of asphyxiation, as is the case under similar conditions
in a deep cistern or well. Poisoning cases from this
cause have occurred in filling silos where the filling
has been interrupted for one or more days, the car-
bonie acid generated in the meantime having replaced
the layer of air immediately above the corn, and men
who have gone into the silo to tramp down the cut corn
have been asphyxiated. If the doors above the siloed
mass are left open when the filling is stopped, or at
least the first door above the surface of the corn, and
the silo thus ventilated, carbonic-acid poisoning cannot
take place, since the gas will then slowly diffuse into
the air. It is therefore most important in building a
silo to place the doors not too far apart, and in filling it
to leave the doors open when the filling is discontinued,
and exercise care about going into the silo when the fod-
der has been settling for a time and become heated. Car-
‘bonic acid being without odor or color, to all appear-
ances like ordinary air, it cannot be directly observed,
but’ may be readily detected by means of a lighted lan-
tern or candle. If the light goes out when lowered into
the silo, there is an accumulation of carbonic acid in it,
and a person should open feed doors and fan the air in
the silo before going down into it.

After the silage is made and the temperature in the
silo has gone down considerably, there is no further
evolution of carbonic acid, and therefore no danger in
entering the silo even if this has been shut up tight.
The maximum evolution of carbonic acid, and conse-

156 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

quently the greatest danger of carbonic-acid poisoning,
comes during or directly after the filling of the silo.

COVERING THE SILOED FoppErR.—A great many de-
vices for covering the siloed fodder have been recom-
mended and tried, with varying success. The original
method was to put boards on top of the fodder and to
weight them heavily by means of a foot layer of earth
or sand, or with stone. The weighting having later on
been done away with, lighter material, as straw, marsh
hay, sawdust, etc., was substituted for the stone or
sand. Building paper was often placed over the fodder,
and boards on top of the paper. ‘There is no special
advantage derived from the use of building paper, and it
is now rarely used. Many farmers run some corn
stalks or green husked fodder through the cutter
after the fodder is all in. In the South, cotton seed
hulls are easily obtained and form a most efficient and
cheap cover.

None of these materials or any other recommended
for the purpose can perfectly preserve the uppermost
layer of silage, as far as my experience goes, some six
to eight inches of the top layer being usually spoilt.
Occasionally this spoilt silage may not be so bad but
that cattle or hogs will eat it up nearly clean, but it
is at best very poor food and should not be used by any
farmer who cares for the quality of his products. The
wet or green materials are better for cover than dry
substances, since they prevent evaporation of water
from the top layer; when this is dry, air will be ad-
mitted to the fodder below, thus making it possible for
putrefactive bacteria and molds to continue the de-

+ le

FILLING THE SILO. 157

structive work begun by the fermentation bacteria, and
causing more of the silage to spoil.

During the past couple of years the practice of apply-
ing water to the fodder in the silo has been followed
in a large number of cases. The surface is tramped
thoroughly and a considerable amount of water added.
In applying the method at the Wisconsin Experiment
Station, Professor King, a few days after the completion
of the filling of the silo, added water to the fodder corn |
at the rate of about ten pounds per square foot of sur-
face, repeating the same process about ten days after-
wards. By this method a sticky, almost impervious layer
of rotten silage, a couple of inches thick, will form on
the top, which will prevent evaporation of water from
the corn below, and will preserve all but a few inches
of the top. The method seems to have worked very sat-
isfactorily, and can be recommended in cases where
the corn or clover goes into the silo in a rather dry condi-
tion, on account of drought or extreme hot weather,
so as not to pack sufficiently by its own weight. While
weighting of the siloed fodder has long since been done
away with, it may still prove advantageous to resort
to it where very dry fodder is siloed, or in case of shal-
low silos. Under ordinary conditions neither weighting
nor applications of water should be necessary.

None of the different methods given in the preceding
will preserve all of the silage intact, and the author
knows of only one way in which this can be accom-
plished, viz.: by beginning to feed the silage within a
few days after the silo has been filled. This method is
now practiced by many farmers, especially dairymen,
who in this manner supplement scant fall pastures.

158 MAKING’ AND FEEDING SILAGE.

By beginning to feed at once from the silo, the siloing
system is brought to perfection, provided the silo strue-
ture is air-tight and constructed so as to admit of no
unnecessary losses of nutrients. Under these conditions
there is a very considerable. saving of food materials
over silage made in poorly-constructed silos, or over
field-cured shocked fodder corn, as we shall presently
see.

Before leaving the subject of filling and covering the
silo it may be of interest to give an extract of an address
by the well-known Ohio siloist, Mr. John Gould, in re-
gard to these points, delivered in 1895: “I have flung
aside all machinery for cutting the standing corn, and.
now have the crop hand-cut. I get it cut for about 80
cents an acre and the board of one man. A corn har-
vester costs $130, and will not last more than eight years,
and $18 interest on money and wear of the machine
yearly will cut my corn by hand twice over each year.
A man cutting by hand can take three rows at a time,
and a good man can cut three acres a day if he works
alone. Never allow corn when cut to drop into the
furrows. Let it be put crosswise of the rows, so that
the man who comes along to take it up can do so with-
out using his finger nails for a rake. In picking up
the corn we do not use a low wagon, but an ordinary
high one, and one man loads and unloads his own
wagon. We have four men in the field—the cutter,
a loader and two ‘pick-me-ups.’ A great deal depends
upon careful loading. Get the driver to load his wagon
seven bundles high, and keep it there until the wagon
is loaded. Formerly in operating the cutting machine
we had two men to feed it and one man to boss the job.

FILLING THE SILO. 159

Now we have one man to feed the machine and no one
to boss him. He must simply keep feeding the machine
or get buried.

“We used to put two men in the silo when filling;
now we find that one man can attend to that part of the
work, look after the engine, and do odd jobs. A load of
corn weighs more than a man, and that is why we do
not do any tramping now. In filling a silo you should
always aim to keep the highest portion near the walls.
We place a sort of table or small platform over the
center of the silo, run the ensilage on to it, making a
pyramid; then the corn must fall toward the walls, and
not to the center. Now and then it may take five min-
‘utes’ work with the fork to make things even and level
up. Do not cover your silo. Ten pails of water evenly
distributed over the top, when the corn is all in and the
top well tramped, is best of all. Then come away and
put your trust in Providence. The moisture on top of
the silo will quickly develop a fine mold, which is better
than anything else by way of preserving that which is
beneath. You will lose only about ten bushels of ensi-
lage by the molding, and that costs less than would
a day’s work making an artificial covering.”

The change that has taken place in the methods of
silo filling during late years in this country has, how-
ever, modified the views of the well known siloist quoted
in the preceding. In 1899, he writes in the Rural New
Yorker: “The filling of silos about here (Northwestern
Ohio) is taking on a radical change, and is being corre-
spondingly cheapened; some farmers put it, by 33 per
cent. The low-down corn harvesters have superseded
hand cutting entirely; the gavels are tied in small com-

11

160 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

pass, and are easily picked up and put on wagons, two
men easily doing the work of three with untied ones.”
The greater efficiency of the modern silage cutters, with
self-feeding arrangement, is also commented on.

“Dry” Silage.

The objection has been raised that we handle an
unnecessarily large quantity of water in siloing green
fodder corn, nearly three-fourths of the crop being made
up of water, and it has been argued that some of this
amount might advantageously be removed before plac-
ing it in the silo, by partially wilting or curin§ the
fodder. The efforts to silo such wilted fodder have,
however, often been unsuccessful, because of insufficient
pressure in the silo; the wilted fodder will not pack
sufficiently by its own weight to exclude the air, and
as a result white, moldy spots are apt to appear in the
silage, destroying large amounts of the contents. This
may possibly be avoided in deep silos by weighting the
fodder or by applying a liberal quantity of water to the
well-tramped surface of the fodder corn. An experi-
ment in siloing wilted fodder, made at Wisconsin Ex-
periment Station in 1887, showed great losses of mate-
rials, more than half of the fodder being destroyed
during the siloing process. The silage was dry and
very light, with an odor similar to that of drying tobacco
leaves. Chemical analyses made by the author showed
the composition of the silage and the corresponding
partly-cured fodder corn (yellow dent) to be as follows:

SILAGE. 161

PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF ‘‘' Dry” SILAGE AND CORRE-
SPONDING PARTLY CURED FODDER CoRN.

~ ‘ of fos wo re)
8 : 3 ss Cie ae ae
= )@ 152] £2 | sPs/ Gu [sess
e Pa -\(of) oe laa | a aise
Dry Silage ....:..+.. 30. 76|4.38)6. 18/21. 48/35 .84/1.36).14)...
Partly Cured Fodder
ee ee 34.77/38 .52/4.87'23 .37/82.51| .96)...]...

Scattered reports of success in siloing wilted corn fod-
der are at hand. Professor Sanborn, late director of
Utah Experiment Station, reports very favorable re-
sults from silage prepared from such fodder. He says:
“Tn seventeen years’ experimental work in animal nutri-
tion, during every year of which there has been some
feeding trial or trials with fodder corn or corn fodder,
and during the time several trials with methods of pre-
serving the corn plant, I have never found a method of
preserving this plant that has given so much satisfaction.
Not the slightest change of the plant in Silo 3 was
visible to the eye except that it was softer or more pli-
able. It was eaten better than I have ever known corn
fodder to be eaten; fully as well as hay is usually eaten.
I believe that no appreciable loss occurred under this
system of storage, and I am sure that it is far less than
by the regular silo system of green storage.”

Mr. John Gould says in regard to dry silage: “While
those who have tried this dry fodder silage are satisfied
with it, none claim it as superior to putting up the
green fodder. It is far more difficult to cut. The silo
cannot restore to the dry fodder what it has lost, nor
its original digestibility, but it does make it more pal-
atable and easier fed, creating a large saving by having

162 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

the coarser parts consumed. Instead of cutting fodder
each day for the stock, the fodder is cut at one job and
time economized. The chief point is, that it is possible
by this process to save a big surplus corn crop, which
otherwise would rapidly deteriorate.”

Shredded Silage.

The practice of running the green fodder through a
fodder shredder as it goes into the silo has become
somewhat general in certain sections in the East, and
very enthusiastic reports have been published as to the
value of the silage thus obtained. The writer has not
had any personal experience with the making or the
feeding of such shredded silage, but from the testimony
of disinterested and discerning parties who have had
such experience the practice seems well worthy of further
trial. The advantages claimed for shredded silage
over silage from corn run through a feed cutter are,
first, closer packing in the silo, about 20 per cent more
going into the silo in case of shredded silage; second,
a more fibrous texture of the silage, which enables it
to be easily handled with a pitchfork, and third, on
account of the finely comminuted butts and stalks, it will
not make the mouths of cattle sore and all will be eaten
up clean. As against these advantages we have the re-
quirement for greater power in shredding fodder, the
amount of which has not been determined.

The Director of Farmers’ Institutes for the State of
New York, Mr. F. E. Dawley, in recent letters to the
writer, speaks as follows concerning shredded silage:
“T am not apt to become very enthusiastic over any
agricultural implement which I use, but I think the

~

SILAGE 163

nearest I have ever come to it is over the shredder. i
have had ten years’ experience with silage, and two with
the shredder, so I feel that I know a little something
about the keeping qualities of corn silage. I am in-
clined to think that the idea which is probably correct
scientifically, that the more you break down the tissues
of the corn plant, thus exposing a large surface io the
air, the more sour the silage will be, is generally also
correct in practice. But I find by these two seasons’
experience that the corn which is cut off finely by the
shredder will pack in the silo very much more com-
pactly, and in these two instances at least, the silage has
been the sweetest we ever had. . . . The material packs
more closely than even the shortest cut silage that I have
ever put in, no matter how finely it was cut. The ears
are all torn to pieces so that the grain is more thor-
oughly distributed through the mass than it is in cut-
ting, and as the stalk is all torn to pieces, this and the
leaves are more thoroughly intermingled. I have
weighed corn into my silo and know from actual expe-
rience that I got practically one-fifth more corn in when
shredded than when cut... . So far as the results in
feeding are concerned I can see no particular difference,
the advantage of shredding being in the finer cutting of
the corn, compactness of the material in the silo, and
the results in keeping which one would naturally expect
from this condition. ... The only disadvantage that
I have ever noted is that a little more power is re-
quired. .. . As an indication of the favor with which
shredded silage is received here I can say to you that
from the small beginning which I made two years ago,
three or four shredders have been purchased in this sec-

164 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

tion, and if I wished to send my machine out with men
to run it, I believe that nine-tenths of the silos in this
community would be filled with shredded silage.”

The corn is cut for shredded silage at the same time
as when cut by square-cutting machines, viz., when it Is
beginning to glaze or dent. It is well to cut the corn
the day before it is to be shredded so that it is slightly
withered. The shredded mass is very carefully trodden
down in the silo, and the filling continued till the silo
is full; after the mass has settled for a couple of days,
the silo is again filled to the top.

No accurate information is at hand as to the differ-
ence in the power required for shredding and for cut-
ting, say 100 tons of fodder corn. Nor have the losses of
nutrients in the silo been determined in case of shred-
ded silage, or the comparative value of the two kinds of
silage for the feeding of farm animals. Judging from
the practical testimony at hand the method of making
shredded silage is well worth looking into. Machines
of great capacity are now on the market, shredding 12-
15 tons of fodder per hour. In the better forms of
shredders, the feed rolls are speeded at about 160 revolu-
tions per minute, while the shredder head rotates at the
rate of 1,500-1,600 revolutions. The manufacturers
state that it requires 12 to 15 horse power to run the ma-
chine.

Clover Silage.

Green clover may be siloed whole or cut; when the
former method is followed, it should be put into the silo
in a systematic manner, in a similar way as explained in
case of whole corn silage (p. 147). The silo may be filled

SILAGE. 165

by means of a hay fork, or by hand; the hay fork makes
harder work of the feeding out of the silage, so that
generally it is preferable to fill by hand. Since whole
clover does not pack very solidly, most farmers either fill
the lower half of the silo with whole clover, putting
clover cut in two-inch lengths in the upper half, or cut
all the clover put into the silo. The arguments for and
against whole clover silage are the same as in case of
whole corn, although whole clover silage is more easily
handled than whole corn silage. The clover should not
be left to wilt between cutting and siloing, and the silo
sheuld be filled rapidly, so as to cause no unnecessary
losses by fermentations.

The different species of clover will prove satisfactory
silo crops; ordinary red or medium clover is most used
in Northwestern States, along with mammoth clover ;
the latter matures later than medium or red clover, and
may therefore be siloed later than these. Alfalfa or
lucern is, as previously stated, often siloed in the West.
Under the conditions present there it will generally
produce much larger yields than corn, and, preserved
in a silo, will furnish a large supply of most valuable
feed. Professor Neale and others recommend the use of
scarlet clover for summer silage, for Delaware and
States under similar climatic conditions.

By filling clover into the silo at midsummer, or before,
space is utilized that would otherwise be empty; the
silage will furthermore be available for feeding in the
latter part of the summer and during the fall, when the
pastures are apt to run short. This makes it possible
to keep a larger number of stock on the farm than can
be the case if pastures alone are to be relied upon, and

166 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

thus greatly facilitates intensive farming. Now that
stave silos of any size may be easily and cheaply put up,
it will be found very convenient, at least on dairy farms,
to keep a small separate silo for making clover silage
that may be fed out during the summer, or at any time
simultaneously with the feeding of the corn silage.
This extra silo may also be used for the siloing of odd
lots of forage that may happen to be available (see p.
35). It is a good plan in siloing clover or other compar-
atively light crops in rather small silos, to put a layer of
corn on top that will weight down the mass below and
secure a more thorough packing and thereby also a
better quality of silage.

In several instances where there has still been a sup-
ply of clover silage in the silo, green corn has been filled
in on top of the clover, and the latter has been sealed and
thus preserved for a number of years. A sample of two-
year-old clover silage which the author saw during the
past season was perfectly preserved in the manner given,
and, aside from being somewhat drier than ordinary
clover silage (possibly due to exposure during trans-
portation), it looked like first-class silage, of a uniform
brown color, and of a sweet, aromatic odor. I may
mention in this connection that corn silage will also
keep perhaps indefinitely when left undisturbed in the
silo. At the laree Havemeyer dairy farm at Mahwah,
N. J., there are twenty-four silos, ranging in capacity
from fifty to seventy-five tons each; about 2,000 tons
of corn silage are fed out each year and the practice has
been to keep the silage for two years before feeding;
I am informed by the manager that the best silage he
ever had was seven years old. While it is difficult to see

SILAGE. - R67

the advantages of this system, it shows that corn silage,
once settled and left ‘“‘sealed up,” will keep for a series
of years without suffering noticeable deterioration.

Freezing of Silage.

Freezing of silage has sometimes been a source of
annoyance and loss to farmers in Northern States, and
in the future, with the progress of the stave silo, we
shall most likely hear more about frozen silage than we
have in the past. As stated in the discussion of the stave
silo, however, the freezing of silage must be considered
an inconvenience rather than a positive detriment ;
when the silage is thawed out it is eaten with the same
relish by stock as is silage that has never been frozen,
and apparently with equally good results. If frozen
silage is not fed out directly after thawed it will spoil
and soon become unfit to be used for cattle food; thawed
silage will spoil much sooner than ordinary silage that
has not been frozen and thawed out. A feeding experi-
ment conducted by Alvord at Houghton Farm with
young cattle failed to give any evidence that silage
which had been frozen and slowly thawed out, was less
palatable or nutritious than silage of the same kind
which had been kept free from frost.

The difficulty of the freezing of silage may be avoided
by checking the ventilation in the silo and by leaving
the door to the silo carefully closed in very cold weather.
If the top layer of silage freezes, some of the warm
silage may be mixed with the frozen silage an hour or
so before feeding time, and all the silage will then be
found in good condition when fed out. Professor Cook

168 | MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

recommends keeping a layer of straw as a cover over
the silage; this will prevent it from freezing, and may
easily be cleared off when silage is to be taken out.

Cost of Silage.

Corn silage will generally cost $1 to $1.50 per ton,
including cost of seed, preparation of land, interest on
same, cultivation of corn, cutting, filling into the silo
and ready for use. The cost will vary according to local
conditions, yield, price of land and labor, facilities for
work, ete. Professor King found that the average
cost of cutting and putting corn into the silc on a num-
ber of Wisconsin farms was 58.8 cents per ton, when it
was put in cut; adding to this amount the interest and
taxes on the silo investment per ton and 2 per cent for
insurance and maintenance, he finds that the cost of
harvesting and feeding.a ton of silage amounts to 73.2
cents. Various American experiment station men have
given the cost per ton of the silage as put into the silo.
Professor Henry, in a trial at the Wisconsin Experiment
Station, put thirty-one tons into the silo at a net cost
of 89 cents a ton. The late Professor Porter found the
cost of one ton of silage to be 88 cents, according to
Minnesota prices. Professor Whitcher gives $1.62 as the
cost per ton in New Hampshire; this sum includes 55
cents paid for fertilizers and manure, an item consid-
erably smaller for Western farmers. Professor Plumb
of the Indiana (Purdue) Experiment Station states that
“estimating on the cost of plowing, harrowing, plant-
ing, seed, manure, interest and taxes, cultivating, cut-
ting and hauling from field, and placing in silo,” a
ton of silage will cost about $1.50. Dr. Goessmann

SILAGE. 169

obtained the same figure in siloing fodder corn at the
Massachusetts Experiment Station.

Clever silage will usually cost less than corn silage
on account of the smaller expense of growing the crop.
The cost may be estimated at about $1 a ton. (See
page 28.)

The yields of silage crops are of direct importance in
determining the cost of the silage. Corn of Northern
flint or dent varieties will seldom yield over eighteen
tons to the measured acre, and yields over twelve tons
may be considered satisfactory; fifteen tons will be
counted a good crop by most farmers. The large
Southern varieties, on the other hand, will yield to-
ward twenty or more tons of green fodder per acre,
ordinarily containing, as we have seen, somewhat larger
quantities of dry matter than yielded by Northern
smaller varieties under similar conditions. Green
clover will yield toward fifteen tons per acre, twelve tons
being a good yield.

Chemical Composition of Silage.

The chemical composition of silage will of course
depend on the character of the siloed fodder and on the
intensity of the fermentations occurring in the silo. The
main components affected by the siloing process are
starch and sugar (non-nitrogenous matter) and the ni-
trogenous bodies ; carbonic acid, water, and organic acids
are formed from the former, and from the latter, de-
composition products of simpler constitution than the
flesh-forming substances proper, the so-called amides.
The percentage composition of silage will, as a result,
differ somewhat from that of the siloed fodder. The

170 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

following sets of analyses made by the author will illus-
trate the changes in the chemical composition of fodder
corn before and after the siloing period.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GREEN AND OF SILOED FODDER
Corn, IN PER CENT.

Yellow Dent Corn. Southern Be Corn

Composi- : : Composi-
a Ae tion of 5 = tion of
2 BS Dry 2 3S Dry
Oo oo} Matter O D Matter
Green load Green igsa
Wiater. casts ane Siete FOO O262 hye cee eee 82:30) 82260 5. cteel seer
Mineral Matter........ 2.22) 2.59] 7.65} 8.82]| 1.59] 1.83! 9 00) 10.58
Crude Protein......... 2.49} 2.70) 8.59) 9.17] 1.81] 1.73] 10 22) 9.95
Crude#iber—. {<2 ....- 7 82) 9.68] 26.96] 32.94]| 6.80] 6.89] 388.43) 39.73
Starch, Sugar, etc..... 15.98} 13.69] 55.12) 46.63]| 7.22) 6.23] 40.75) 33.00
Hther He Xtracten cess. .49} .72} 1.68) 2 44 «28| 265) 1260) aad
100 00/100 .00}100 .00}100.00}|100. 00/100 .00}100.00/100.00
MGACHICVACIO sees celacenicalenene AOE SoS | Sa eel eee Re erica ace
ACCHE A CIE: F305 fac 8c lide ass SOB] ye iets eee leans AN Ae rirs| bape cee
otal Nitoren, os. . scsi. asa: presen es aed soa ne 5 del 164i elebo
Amid er Nitrogen)... ost e o[oeme en 31 4515) |epapee de) stevie .55| = 68
Per Cent in Amide
Moi esidand ne patnnel nose Pra SA Se llgee ee 83.8 | 42.5

RELATION OF MOISTURE AND ACIDITY IN SILAGE.—
Silage will contain varying quantities of free organic
acids formed during the siloing period, mainly lactic,
acetic, and butyric acids. The amounts of acid in the
silage will depend largely upon the water content of the
siloed fodder, or, more correctly speaking, upon the
intensity of the fermentation processes taking place in
the silo, one important factor of which is the percentage
of water in the fodder. I have prepared the following
table showing the relation of the water in the siloed
fodder, the temperature in the silo, and the acidity of

SILAGE. 171

the silage. The analyses and observations were taken by
the author in silo experiments conducted at Wisconsin
Experiment Station during 1887. Six one-inch gas pipes
were placed in each of the six experimental silos; one
set of three pipes, which went down, respectively, to
within three, six, and nine feet from the bottom of the
silo, was placed in the middle of the silo, and a similar
set within two feet from one of the outside walls; ob-
servations of thermometers kept at the bottom of the
closed pipes were taken three times a day during the
first couple of weeks and later on twice or once a day.
Only the maximum temperatures observed in the three
‘silos are here given.

RELATION OF WATER CONTENT OF FODDER, ACIDITY OF

SILAGE, AND TEMPERATURE IN SILO.

VaRIETY OF FODDER CORN.

Silage.
Silage.

Per Cent Water
in Fodder
Silo.

Lactic Acid in
Acetic Acid in

Max. Temp. in

ES

Per ct..| Per. ct. |. *
Stowell’s Evergreen sweet corn) 77.22 | 1.10 .21 | 125.6
Pride of the North, yellow

enh CHER cai ass 5s aaa eis 71.00 .40 .08 | 120.0
Same, partially cured......... 34.77 By as 153.0
B. & W. ensilage corn........ 82.30 85 .31 | 129.5
Same, siloed whole........... 82.72 .36 ag, | | I eee gy!

Stowell’s Evergreen sweet corn| 66.40 82 -16 | 126.5
B. & W. ensilage and yellow

flint corn, mixed........... 65.65 .80 08 | 122.0
OVOP RUOPE 5. o0.s 50 cus ona’ 61.39 65 A Bees

We notice that, as a general rule, the more water in
the fodder, the higher the acidity of the silage, and the
lower the temperature. In case of the dry silage only a

172 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

very slight acidity was found, and the temperature in
the silo went up to 153° F. A high temperature, as
we have seen, means a great loss of nutritive materials,
and large losses have usually also been observed where
the conditions favoring high temperatures have been
present. The following analyses, made at Michigan
Agricultural College, plainly show the relation of water
content of siloed fodder, and acidity of silage. Differ-
ent lots of corn were siloed from the time of tasseling
till the ears were glazed.

RELATION OF WATER CONTENT TO ACIDITY. ~

So Bae) Ne gee ee
DaTE OF CUTTING. bh bi 8 bi =f J J
ae ey
Water content of corn,
Per Celtic cn: Moen sk 90.00/87 . 30/84. 40/82. 00/78 . 60/75. 73/70.10
Acidity (calc. as acetic
acid), per cent..... 1.26) .84[ 246) 272) 72) ae

The influence of the percentage of water in the siloed
fodder and of methods of filling the silo is well illus-
trated in the following experiments, conducted by the
Bath and West of England Society in 1886. The de-
scription of the experiments is taken from R. Henry
Rew’s treatise on Stack Ensilage (London, 1888).
“The object was to obtain the comparative results, as
ascertained by chemical analysis, from grass made into
(1) hay, (2) sweet silage, (3) sour silage. Six small
silos, each having a capacity of about 250 cubic feet,
were carefully filled. The grass was all taken from the
same meadow, and the conditions of making both silage

SILAGE. 173

and grass equalized with great pains. The following
were the six different descriptions made:

‘Wo. 1. Sour Ensilage—rammed and compressed as rap-
. idly as possible. The temperature to be kept down to 50
degrees F., or as near thereto as possible. The silo to be
filled and covered in one day. It is anticipated that the
only acid present in this ensilage will be lactic, and per-
haps a little butyric acid.

“No, 2. Sour Ensilage—temperature to be kept below
120 degrees F. This to be trodden and compressed as much
as would be practicable in a general way. The filling of
this silo may extend over a week. The acid in this ensil-
age, it is expected, will be both lactic and acetic.

PER CENT WATER, ACIDITY AND PROTEIN COMPOUNDS IN
SAMPLES OF GRASS SILAGE.

No. 4 Dry Silage.

No.1 Silage.
No. 2 Silage.
No. 3 Silage.
No. 5 Silage
No. 6 Silage.

LOT. 3 Sale SSE 70.50/15 .60)79 .40/79.17\77.12)49.'75)76.90/77.91
CHG ACIS. cle ce Sales ws OG 1a) la Sd 2G AG
WMceiie aciel. : i). dele so cone Stale: s, 06) “+. 04)- oT ON Gee
Total nitrogen.| .42) 1.45) .34) .32) .37) .86) .37) .35
Amide nitro-

1 ne ee LOS? aoa 18 AO Seek & ae as
Per cent loss in
eross weight./..... 73.97) 9.10) 9.28/18. 40/60.61) 4.56| 9.89

“No. 3. Sweet Ensilage—made by carting the grass as
cut direct to the silo, treading it well in at the sides, but
not in the center. Temperature regulated from 140 degrees
to 150 degrees F. This should produce a fruity type of
sweet ensilage.

“No, 4. Sweet Ensilage—the grass allowed to lie in the
field one day after cutting, and then made in the same way

174 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

as No. 3. Intended to produce an aromatic type of sweet
ensilage.

“No. 5. Sour Ensilage—the grass to be chaffed and the
silo filled at once and covered, as in No. 1.

“No. 6. Sweet Ensilage—the same as No. 8 silage, with.
the exception that the grass is to be chaffed.’’

We notice that the analyses by Doctor Voelcker,
given in the preceding table, do not corroborate the pre-
dictions made concerning the acidity of the different
kinds of silage. On the other hand, the largest amount
of acetic acid was obtained in No. 1 silage, which was
not expected to have any volatile acid, while No. 6
silage, made at a temperature from 140° to 150° F.,
contains the same amount of acetic acid as No. 1 and
two-tenths of one per cent more lactic acid. The aver-
age losses of dry matter in the different kinds of silage
were about 14 per cent.

SWEET AND Sour S1Lace.—The analyses of silage
given in the preceding do not show the differences be-
tween sour and sweet silage as we understand the terms.
The former is rich in water and in volatile organic acids,
while the latter is as a rule comparatively dry, only
slightly acid, and contains especially but a very small
quantity of acetic (volatile) acid. ‘There has been a
good deal of discussion on the subject of sweet and
sour silage, and various theories have been advanced
in explanation of the fermentations taking place in the
silo at different temperatures.

Mr. George Fry was one of the earliest advocates of
sweet silage; his book, “The Theory and Practice of
Sweet Ensilage,”’ published in 1885, has been trans-
lated into German, and has had a good deal of influence

SILAGE. 175

in England and on the European continent in spread-
ing the siloing system and making its underlying prin-
ciples better understood.

It may be stated in passing that the term sweet silage,
correctly speaking, is a misnomer, since all kinds of
silage will contain a quantity of acid. Acetic acid seems
to be present in the sour silage in larger quantity than
in sweet silage, and being volatile, will at once be noticed.
The popular idea that there is no acid in sweet silage
may come from the fact that it does not give off a strong
acid odor like sour silage, the acid in this case being
largely present as non-volatile acid which cannot be
detected by the smell. The “optimum” temperature of
the acetic acid bacteria lies lower than that of the lactic
acid bacteria, and the temperatures at which these bac-
teria are killed, very likely stand in the same relation
to one another.

The English have made careful observations concern-
ing the question of temperature in silage making. In
the silo stacks which are very common in England, the
temperature of the mass may be closely followed with-
out any difficulty, and may be largely governed by
applications of greater or smaller pressure. Doctor
Fream, in his “Elements of Agriculture,” gives the
following discussion of the appearance of silage in dif-
ferent layers, and of the relation of temperature to
acidity in the silo:

“Tf an open-air silage stack is viewed in section from
top to bottom, the lower layers will be seen to be greener
than the upper, whilst the color gradually becomes
browner toward the top, which will be almost of a burnt-
coffee color. The bottom layers have been converted

176 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

into green or sour silage, because the pressure of the
material above has excluded the air, and fermentation
has taken place at a low temperature, there not having
been sufficient air to supply the oxygen for a high-
temperature fermentation. As less weight was applied
to the upper portion, there was freer access of air to it,
and more air was retained among the mass, hence a
higher fermentation. The color thus affords an indica-
tion of the temperature at which the fermentation took
place. It is generally recognized that silage made at a
temperature below 120° Fahrenheit is sour silage, whilst
that which has not risen above 90° Fahrenheit is com-
monly spoken of as ‘low-temperature sour, and that
which has exceeded 90° Fahrenheit as ‘high-temper-
ature sour.’ Between 120° and 130° there are generally
veins or seams of sweet and sour silage intermingled.
From 150° to 140° a shade of brown is discernable.
Between 140° and 160° it is decidedly brown, and
above 160° it is over-heated and very similar in appear-
ance to over-heated hay, whilst the flavor denotes burn-
ing. In any case fermentation ceases as soon as all
available oxygen is used up, the air that exists amongst
the herbage being then rich in carbonic acid gas.”

In our modern system of siloing fodders in deep sepa-
rate silo structures we rarely have low-fermentation
silage, since the somewhat dry condition of the siloed
fodder necessarily admits of considerable air in the silo,
which gives the bacterial hfe a chance to flourish for a
short time. On the other hand, our deep silos increase
the pressure of the mass so as to hold the fermentations
in check to a certain extent. The temperature in most
-of our silos will not be likely to exceed 130° Fahrenheit,

SILAGE. 177

at least not in the lower layers. While silage produced
at this temperature would not be termed sweet silage
according to the preceding definitions, the comparative
absence of free volatile acids in it, its pleasant aromatic
odor and not marked sour taste, properly bring it with-
in the term as used by American writers. In the system
of slow filling of silos, the various layers of silage have
ample time to heat up and temperatures above 150°
are reached. Silage produced at this temperature con-
tains less acid than that produced below 150°, but the
losses of food materials are at the same time larger.

Digestibility of Silage.

A considerable number of digestion experiments with
various kinds of silage have been made. The author, in
1888-89, conducted a digestion experiment with corn
silage and with corresponding field-cured fodder corn,
feeding two cows exclusively on these feeds in two suc-
cessive periods. The average digestion coefficients
obtained for both cows were as follows:

DIGESTION COEFFICIENTS OF CORN SILAGE AND FODDER
Corn.

Nitrogen :
Dry Crude | Crude Ether |Albumi-
2. Ash. |Protein.| Fiber. | F¥€° Ex. Extract| noids.

tract.
Corn silage.| 63 20 54 47 72 82 24
Cured fod-
der corn.| 60 19 49 56 65 69 30

This statement shows a somewhat lower digestibility
of the dry matter, protein, nitrogen-free extract, and
ether extract of the field-cured fodder corn, than of the
corresponding components of corn silage, and a higher
digestibility of the crude fiber and the true albuminoids.

178 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

As these data were obtained in a single trial with only
two cows, too much importance should not be
attached to the detailed results. We may only call
attention to the fact that the digestibility of the corn
silage proved fully equal to that of the dry fodder corn
of the same origin.

Since this experiment was conducted, a number of
digestion experiments have been made with different
kinds of silage and fodder corn. The average digestion
coefficients obtained have been computed by Jordan,
and include the work done with twenty-four samples of
fodder corn and seventeen samples of corn silage, fifty
and thirty-seven single trials for fodder corn and
corn silage, respectively, having been made. The aver-
age digestion coefficients for green fodder are also given,
and include thirty trials, with fifteen different samples.

The digestion coefficients for dry matter are prac-
tically the same in all four cases, since the differences
appearing may be considered within the limits of ex-
perimental errors; the same holds true for the coefti-
cients for crude protein, except in case of immature
fodder corn, the protein of which is more digestible
(by at least 9 per cent) than that of any of the other
feeding stuffs. The crude fiber and the ether extract
of silage are more digestible than the same components
in the corresponding silage. In case of ether extract,
this is due to the fact that lactic acid is formed during
the siloing period which would appear as wholly digest-
ible. The nitrogen-free extract of corn silage is some-
what less digestible than that of fodder corn, although
the difference in case of ripe corn is too small to be
considered.

SILAGE. gg

It may be said, in general, that so far as our present
knowledge goes, there is no appreciable difference in
the digestibility of corn silage and dry fodder corn
made from ripe corn, and that both of these foods are
somewhat less digestible than the immature fodder corn.
The small differences found in the digestion coefficients
for ripe fodder and corresponding silage are in favor
of the latter. (For table see page 189.)

Losses of Food Materiais in the Silo.

In the early stages of the silo movement in this coun-
try and abroad, a great deal was said about the losses of
food materials in the silo, and scientific men were rather
inclined to take a stand against the silo on account of
the results of the investigations made on this point.
Neither is this to be wondered at when we remember
that chemical analyses had repeatedly shown that one-
third to one-half of the total dry matter put into the
silo had disappeared during the siloing period through
the fermentation processes taking place in the silo.
Later investigations with deep silos, where modern
siloing methods were followed, have shown, however,
that these results were due to the imperfect silo meth-
ods followed, and not inherent in this process of pre-
serving green forage. It was furthermore not known
at that time that similar, or, in fact, still greater losses
take place in ordinary field-curing and handling of dry
fodder corn.

Losses IN FIELD-Curine FoppER Corn.—The ex-
periments conducted at the Wisconsin Experiment Sta-
tion in 1887 by Professor Henry and myself were, as

180 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

far as I know, the first attempts to ascertain the amount
of the loss of nutritive elements of fodder corn, on being
field-cured in large shocks and stored during the greater
portion of the winter. Corn fodder was left shocked in
the field for a month, and then stored in a barn until
fed out. By analyses of the fodder as it was shocked,
and when fed out, it was found that a yellow dent corn
had lost in the interval 18.55 per cent of the dry matter
originally contained in it, while a large sweet corn, that
bad to be reshocked in the field on account of its begin-
ning to heat, lost 36.61 per cent of dry matter. Nearly
nine tons of green fcdder was cut and shocked in each
case.

These losses were surprisingly large, and the work
was carefully repeated the following year in a similar
way as before. The quantities of fodder corn shocked,
and the losses of dry matter and protein obtained are
shown below. At the same time that these shocks were
put up, strictly comparative lots of the same varieties
were cut for the silo, and the quantities of dry matter
and protein put into and taken out of the silo determined
as in case of the shocked fodder. The results obtained
with both lots of fodder are shown in the following table:

SILAGE. 181

LosskEs IN FIELD-CURING AND IN SrILoInG INDIAN CoRN.—
1887-88.

Field-Cured Fodder Corn. Siloed Fodder Corn.

-

VARIETY OF CoRN. a a Loss ts eS Loss
Seel6e2| A Woleée2! Z2} 4 &S
VWertow Fumr:...|11,401 . (8,847 >| 7,554 oe. oc ce. feeca des [eee dees |e ues
Dry Matter.......] 2, "552. 7 2. 256 eG (ide Glee atee ea lester Ceara Ber
Crude Protein... 159 138 PATI YS | ease eb Re A eid ae
SHEEP’s TOOTH.. “14, 972 5,142.5] 9 829.5). 14,002 [12,225 [1,717 12.7
Dry Matter...... 4, 689 6 3,669 | 1,020.6 21. 8 By "431.5 2. 800.7| '630.8/18.4
Crude Protein. ..|. 322.1 "308.9 13 214.1] °235.8] 182.9] 42.9/22.4

SMEDLEY YELLOW

DENT 224220... 15,464 |5,076 |10,3888 |. 15.288 |12,151 |3, 137 20.5
Dry Matter...... 3,997 .9/3,483 514.9 12. 9 4,150.3] 3,373.5] 776.8/16.7
Crude Protein.. 292.2) 277 15.2| 5.2] 303 3] 281.7 M1. 6/23.6
YELLOW FuintT.. 14, 890 |4,358.5/10,531.5} [17,218 [14,540 |2,677 |15.5
Dry Matter...... 4,197 3,357 840 |20 | 3, 844 | 3.355 "489 |12.7
Crude Protein...| °343.4 "282 61.4/17.9| 7314.4] 258.3] 56.1/17.8

| | | |

AVERAGE LOSSES..
Ta fla So Ses RS Cesena Stents 11) pees eae] ees incor se 15.9
eTUGEEETOLelD ctl. eekce kt fee Saemc'| denies ss E :

As shown by the table, the average loss of dry matter
in the shocked corn was but slightly higher than in the
small experimental silo used (8x7, 14 feet deep; capac-
ity about 12 tons), while the loss of crude protein was
less than half as much.

These results led to a further study of the losses in
field-curing and siloing fodder corn during 1889, when
the problem was investigated in a more systematic man-
ner and under a greater variety of conditions than
before. We cannot here give the results in detail; suf-
fice it to say that 149 shocks of corn, of nine different
varieties, were put up in all, and the amounts of dry
matter and protein contained in the shocks when fresh
and when cured were determined in all cases; the
shocks presented a large variety of conditions, small

182 “MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

and large, husked and unhusked corn, shocks left in the
field for different lengths of time, and shocks cured
indoors, etc. The losses of dry matter found ranged
from 6.9 per cent to 33.9 per cent. The former result
was obtained in case of four shocks of Pride of the
North yellow dent corn, and the latter in case of ten
shocks of Stowell’s Evergreen sweet corn, husked and
left in the field for 24 months, on the average. Eleven
shocks of large sweet fodder corn, cured under cover,
lost, on the average, 8.2 per cent of dry matter. The
averages of the results obtained during this year at the
Wisconsin Station are given below.

Lossks IN FIELD-CURING AND IN SILOING INDIAN CorRN.

Field-Cured Fodder Corn. Siloed Fodder Corn.

és x i = if Loss. sf i. Loss.
ou vd . a Sa oD ° ~Y
od - HUD m A] ouU - cs} Digg
an\isgow Q n ow
See \oe2!5 Wdloee| 22 | alas
Av. for 9 Varieties, peer
149 Shocks.......
Dry Matter.......... 14,906 |11,979.2/2,926.8]i9.6]12,781 {10,040 |2,741/21.5
8/22.8] 1024.6 876 6] 158/15.4

Crude Protein...... aie 905.7] 266.

This investigation was continued during the season of
1890, on a larger scale than in-previous years. Sixty-
five tons of green fodder corn was siloed, and the same
quantity was cut and shocked in the field. The result-
ing losses of dry matter and protein found in both cases
are shown in the following table, with a summary of
the work done in this line for four consecutive years.

SILAGE. 183

LOossEs IN FreLp-CuRING AND IN SILOING INDIAN CORN.

- i ef = io Loss. i i 2 Loss.
ss |S | a [nal 83a| 2a] we
So 2s oer Ooo| FO@| eB 2 oD ©
se2\on2) A |sO| S&a mi 4 |oO
= —— eS | —_or TT ——_— —— —
Ay. For Two VAR..
ToTAL WEIGHT. 129,014 |31,735 |.------|---; 129,014 |105,824 23,190 |18

39 432 |23,270 | 9,162 |28.3 32,432 | 29,090 | 3,342 |10 3

Dry Matter....--- ;
2,580.5) 1,682 898.5134 8| 2,580.5) 2,557 323.5/12.5

Crude Protein....
ReEsuLts oF Four
YEARS’ WORE..
Dry Matter... ..--

72,164 |54,937 17,227 |23.8| 68,034 57,411 |10,623 15.6
Crude Protein.... 3

5,706. 4)4,317 .5|1,888.9|24. 5,490.8| 4,569.5| 921.3/16.8

The results given in the preceding table show that
15.6 per cent and 23.8 per cent of dry matter were lost
in the siloing and the field-curing of fodder corn, re-
spectively, while the protein (flesh-forming substances )
Jost amounted to 24.3 per cent in the field-curing pro-
cess, and 16.8 per cent in the siloing process.

Later researches have proved that these average fig-
ures must be considered rather low losses for the field-
curing of fodder corn, and rather high losses for the
silo. The results given in the last table concerning the
losses in field-curing fodder corn have been corroborated
by similar work at the New Jersey, Vermont, Pennsyl-
vania, Colorado, and other experiment stations, where
shocks of fodder corn were carefully kept in the field,
or under cover, for a period of one to several months,
and the dry matter contents at shocking time, and when
the shocks were taken down, were carefully determined
by chemical analysis. As the conditions described in
the investigation at the Colorado Experiment Station
will apply to most places on our continent, particularly
‘n the Northwest and West, we quote rather fully from

184 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

the account of the experiments given by Professor
Cooke:

“Tt is believed by most farmers that, in the dry chmate
of Colorado, fodder corn, where cut and shocked in
good shape, cures without loss of feeding value, and that
the loss of weight that occurs is merely due to the dry-
ing out of the water. A test of this question was made
in the fall of 1893, and the results obtained seemed to
indicate that fully a third of the feeding value was lost
in the curing. This result was so surprising that the
figures were not published, fearing that some error had
crept in, though we could not see where there was the
possibility of a mistake.

“Tn the fall of 1894, the test was repeated on a larger
scale. A lot of corn was carefully weighed and sampled.
It was then divided into three portions: One was spread
on the ground in a thin layer, the second part was set up
in large shocks, containing about five hundred pounds
of green fodder in each, while the rest was shocked in
smali bundles. After remaining thus for some months,
until thoroughly cured, the portions were weighed,
sampled, and analyzed separately. The table gives the
losses that occurred in the curing.

Large Shocks. | Small Shocks. |On the Ground.

Total | Dry Total | . Dry Total | Dry
Weight.) Matter. |Weight.| Matter. |Weight.| Matter.

When Shocked.....| 952.) 217 | 294) 7% 186 | 42
ATER Ourin gS et. 7, 258 | 150 64 | 44 33 | 19
Loss in Weight..... 694 67 | 230 | 33 153 | 23

Per Cent of Loss. . 73 ot 78 | 48 82 | 55

SILAGE. 185

“So far as could be told by the eye, there had been
no loss. The fodder had cured in nice shape, and the
stalks on the inside of the bundles retained their green
color, with no sign of molding or heating. And yet the
large shocks had lost 31 per cent of their dry matter, or
feeding value; the small shocks, 43 per cent, and the
corn spread on the ground, 55 per cent.

“On breaking or cutting the stalks, these losses were
explained. The juice was acid, and there was a very
strong acid odor, showing that an active fermentation
was taking place in this seemingly dry fodder. We had
noticed this strong odor the fall before and all through
this winter. When the fodder corn for the steers is
put through the feed cutter, that same strong smell is
present.

“Tt can be said, then, that the dryness of the climate
in Colorado does not prevent fodder corn from losing
a large part of its feeding value through fermentation.
Indeed, the loss from this source is fully as great as in
the damp climate of New England.

“As compared with the losses by fermentation in the
silo, the cured fodder shows considerably the higher
loss.”

In the experiments by the author during the fall of
1889, quoted above, eleven shocks cured under cover in
the barn lost on an average over 8 per cent of dry
matter and toward 14 per cent of protein. In a recent
experiment at Maine Experiment Station, 14.13 per
cent of dry matter was lost in the process of slow dry-
ing of a large sample of fodder corn under the most
favorable circumstances. “It is interesting to note that
this loss falls almost entirely on the nitrogen-free ex-

186 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

tract, or carbohydrates, more than two-thirds of it be-
ing actually accounted for by the diminished percent-
age of sugars.”

Since such losses will occur in fodder cured under
cover with all possible care, it is evident that the average
losses of dry matter in field-curing fodder corn, given
in the preceding, by no means can be considered exag-
gerated, but must, on the contrary, be too small, as a
careful study of the conditions of the various experi-
ments will readily show. Exposure to rain and storm,
abrasion of dry leaves and thin stalks, and other factors
tend to diminish the nutritive value of the fodder, aside
from the losses from fermentations, so that very often
only one-half of the food materials originally present in
the fodder is left by the time it is fed out. The re-
maining portion of the fodder has, furthermore, a lower
digestibility and a lower feeding value than the fodder
corn when put up, for the reason that the fermentations
occurring during the curing process destroy the most
valuable and easily digestible part, 7. e., the sugar and
starch of the nitrogen-free extract, which are soluble,
or readily rendered soluble, in the process of digestion.

Necessary LOsses IN THE S1tto.—The losses of dry
matter and protein during the siloing period previously
given amounted to 15.6 and 16.8 per cent, respectively,-
as an average of four years’ trials at the Wisconsin Ex-
periment Station. There is, however, an abundance of
evidence at hand showing that these figures are higher
than those found in actual practice, and that they
considerably exceed the necessary losses sustained in the
silo. During the last half-dozen years our methods of
siloing green fodder have been greatly perfected, mainly

SILAGE. 187

through improvements in the construction and form of
silo buildings. The old silos were shallow, and the ex-
perimental silos in the experiments reviewed in the pre-
ceding, as well as elsewhere, were both shallow and very
small. Under these conditions it is but natural that the
losses found should be excessive, since two of the essen-
tials in siloing fodders were absent—sufficient pressure
to largely exclude the air from the siloed mass, and a
minimum of wall space in proportion to the quantity
of fodder siloed.

There are now plenty of cases on record showing
that the results obtained by the author in the experi-
ments of 1890 amply cover the necessary losses of dry
matter in siloing fodder corn and that 10 per cent rep-
resents the maximum loss of dry matter in modern
deep, well-built silos. The losses of dry matter obtained
in siloing corn at the Wisconsin Experiment Station
during the last eight years have come at or below this
figure. It is possible to reduce this loss still further by
avoiding any spoilt silage on the surface, which we saw
may easily be done by beginning to feed immediately
after the filling of the silo. Experiments conducted on
a small scale by Professor King in 1894 gave losses of
only 2 to 3 per cent of dry matter, on the strength of
which results, amongst others, he believes that the neces-
sary loss of dry matter in the silo need not exceed 5
per cent.

Summarizing our considerations concerning the rela-
tive losses of food materials in the field-curing and the
siloing of Indian corn, we may say that far from being
less economical than the former, the silo is more so,
under ordinarily favorable conditions for both systems,

188 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

and that therefore a larger quantity of food materials
is obtained by filling the corn crop into a silo than by
any other method of preserving it known at the present
time.

Necessary Losses 1n Sriornc Crover.—Only a
few siloing experiments have been made with clover,
but enough has been done to show that the necessary
losses in siloing this crop do not much, if any, exceed
those of the green corn. Lawes and Gilbert of the
Rothamsted Experiment Station, England, placed 264,-
318 pounds of first- and second-crop clover into one of
their stone silos, and: took out 194,470 pounds of good
clover silage. Loss in gross weight, 24.9 per cent. This
loss fell, however, largely on the water in the clover.
The loss of dry matter amounted to only 5.1 per cent,
very nearly the same amount of loss as that which the
same experimenters found had taken place in a large
rick of about forty tons of hay, after standing for two
years. The loss of protein in the silo amounted to 8.2
per cent. In another silo 184,959 pounds of second-
crop grass and second-crop clover were put in, and
170,941 pounds were taken out. Loss in gross weight,
7.6 per cent; loss of dry matter, 9.7 per cent; of crude
protein, 7.8 per cent pounds.

In a siloing experiment with clover, conducted at the
Wisconsin Experiment Station, on a smaller scale, Mr.
I. G. Short obtained the following results: Clover put
into the silo, 12,279 pounds; silage taken out, 9,283
pounds; loss, 24.4 per cent; loss of dry matter, 15.4
per cent; of protein, 12.7 per cent.

There is nothing in any of these figures to argue
against the siloing of green clover as an economical

SILAGE. 189

process. On_the other hand, in view of what has been
previously stated concerning clover silage, we conclude
that this method of preserving the clover crop is highly
valuable, and, in most cases, to be preferred to making
hay of the crop.

No extended investigation has been made as to the
losses sustained in the siloing of alfalfa, but there can
be little doubt but that they are considerably smaller
than in making alfalfa hay, if proper precautions
guarding against unnecessary losses in the silo are taken.
According to the testimony of Prof. Headden of the
Colorado Experiment Station, the minimum loss from
the falling off of leaves and stems in successful alfalfa
hay making amounts to from 15 to 20 per cent, and in
cases where the conditions have been unfavorable, to as
much as 60 and even 66 per cent of the hay crop. Aside
from the losses sustained through abrasion, rain storms,
when these occur, may reduce the value of the hay one-
half. The losses from either of these sources are avoided
in preserving the crop in the silo, and in their place a
small loss through fermentation occurs, under ordinary
favorable conditions, amounting to about 10 per cent
or less.

AVERAGE DIGESTION COEFFICIENTS FOR CORN SILAGE AND
FOR GREEN AND CURED FODDER Corn.

Dry ahh Crude | Crude |N. Free| Ether
Matter. 3 Protein.| Fiber. | Extract. | Extract.
Green foddercorn| 68 35 61 61 74 74.
Cured fodder corn| 6 34 55 66 69 72
Corn silage .--.-- 66 31 53 67 70 81

CHAPTER IV.—FEEDING OF SILAGE.

Silage may be fed with advantage to all classes of
farm animals, milch cows, steers, horses, mules, sheep,
swine, and even poultry. Neither does this enumera-
tion finish the list of animals that take readily to silage.
Kiihn states that not only did the various European
breeds of cattle in the herd of the Agricultural College
of Halle (Germany) eat corn silage with a relish, but
this was also the case with the long-horned Sanga, di-
rectly imported from Africa; the Yak, a native of the
plains of Central Asia; and the crosses of Yak and
Gayal. The corn silage was also eaten by ali of the
common breeds of sheep, and by the Asiatic and African
breeds; the fine-wooled Electoral, Negrettis, and Ram-
bouillet, especially, took to it kindly. The Mouflon
crosses also ate it, but less readily. It was liked by
goats, and especially by those of the Angora breed. The
same was true of the asses and the mules bred at the
Halle College.

Silage should not be fed as an exclusive coarse feed
to farm animals, but always in connection with some
dry roughage. The nearer maturity the corn is when
cut for the silo, the more silage may safely be fed at a
time, but it is always well to avoid feeding it excessively.

The silo should always be emptied from the top in hor-
izontal layers, and the surface kept level, so as to expose
as little of the silage as possible to the air. It should
be fed out sufficiently rapidly to avoid spoiling of the
silage; in ordinary Northern winter weather a couple

190

FEEDING OF SILAGE. tos

of inch layer should be fed off daily. (See p. 44.) A
convenient cart for hauling silage and a silage truck
are shown in Figs. 60 and 61.

Silage for Milch Cows.

Silage is par excellence a cow feed. Since the intro-
duction of the silo in this country, the dairymen, more
than any other class of farmers, have been among the
most enthusiastic siloists, and up to the present time we
find a larger number of silos in dairy districts than in
any other regions where animal husbandry is a promi-
nent industry. As with other farm animals, cows fed
silage should receive other roughage in the shape of
corn stalks, hay, etc. The quantities of silage fed should
not exceed forty or, at the outside, fifty pounds per day
per head. It is possible that a maximum allowance of
only 25 to 30 pounds per head daily is to be preferred
where the keeping quality of the milk is an important
consideration. The silage may be given in one or two
feeds daily, and, in case of cows in milk, always after
milking, and not before or during the same, as the
peculiar silage odor will, in the latter case, be apt to
reappear:in the milk.

Silage exerts a very beneficial influence on the secre-
tion of milk. Where winter dairying is practiced, cows
will usually drop considerably in milk toward spring,
if fed on dry feed, causing a loss of milk through the
whole remaining portion of the lactation period. If
silage is fed there will be no such marked decrease in
the flow of milk before turning out to grass, and the
cows will be able to keep up well in milk until late in

the summer, or early in the fall, when they are to be
13

PHL

4 Hf Hy
TTT TLL

7
=

LY

VY
7 7 hy
h WUE,
Yee
Uipys

NX
TN

From a photograph.

CART FOR HAULING SILAGE.

as
SU
_

nu | :
CEN UU

FIG. 60.

i |
i KK
EH AH ERKXKXQWWIW?@~S RK KK

K'i:W@«éW Kb [I{iwwr

wi -AM(«WCW&« CQ

a

A W'W’™W™’W’'; «Q«@G 5™) §
WW GGG£])])]] &

SSDS GGA SESE

sete Ara eddie

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 193

dried up preparatory to calving. Silage has a similar
effect on the milk secretion as green fodder or pasture,
and if made from well-matured corn, so as not to con-
tain an excessive amount of acid, 1s more like these
feeds than any other at the disposal of the farmer.

FIG. 61. SILAGE TRUCK.

The feeding of silage to milch cows has sometimes
been objected to when the milk was intended for the
manufacture of certain kinds of cheese, or of condensed
milk, and there are instances where such factories have
enjoined their patrons from feeding silage to their cows.
When the silage is properly prepared and properly fed,
there can be no foundation whatever for this injunc-
tion; it has been repeatedly demonstrated that Swiss
cheese of superior quality can be made from the milk
of silage-fed cows, and condensing factories among
whose patrons silage is fed have been able to manufac-
ture a faultless product. The quality of the silage made
during the first dozen years of silo experience in this
country was frequently very poor, being sour and often
spoilt in large quantities, and, what may have been still

194 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

more important, it was sometimes fed in an injudicious
manner, cows being made to subsist on this feed as
exclusive roughage. Under these conditions it is not
to be wondered at that the quality of the milk should be
lowered, and that manufacturers preferred to entirely
prohibit the use of it rather than to teach their patrons
to follow proper methods in the making and feeding of
silage. There is an abundance of evidence at hand
showing that good silage fed in moderate quantities
will produce an excellent quality of both butter and
cheese. According to the testimony of butter experts,
silage not only in no way injures the flavor of butter,
but better-flavored butter is produced by judicious silage
feeding than can be made from dry feed.

The combinations in which corn silage will be used
in feeding milch cows will depend a good deal on local
conditions; it may be said in general that it should be.
supplemented by a fair proportion of nitrogenous feeds
like clover hay, wheat bran, ground oats, linseed meal,
cotton-seed meal, etc. To illustrate the quantities and
combinations in which silage may be fed to milch cows,
we give below a number of practical feed rations pub-
lished in two bulletins by the author, viz.: Nos. 33 and
38, of the Wisconsin Experiment Station (October, |
1892, and January, 1894). The former of these pub-
lications includes the rations fed to the herds of milch
cows of fifteen Wisconsin dairymen, and the latter those
fed by one hundred dairymen and breeders scattered
over different parts of the United States and Canada.
Only rations which include silage are given here; they
are the outcome of practical feeding experience under
varied conditions, and may be used as guides in making

FEEDING OF SILAGE. — 195

up feed rations for dairy cows. While they may not all
be theoretically correct, they may easily be modified, if
need be, so as to conform to our best knowledge on the
subject.

It will serve as an illustration of the present general
use of silage among progressive dairymen in our country
to state that of the one hundred farmers furnishing the
feed rations fed to their dairy cows, in the latter bulle-
tin mentioned, sixty-four were feeding silage to their
stock, this feed being used a larger number of times than
any other single cattle food, wheat bran only excepted.

AMERICAN SILAGE RATIONS FOR DAIRY COWS.

1. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; hay, 61% lbs.; corn and cob
’ meal, 5 lbs.; ground oats, 5 lbs.; linseed meal, 3 lbs.

2. Corn silage, 27 lbs.; dry fodder corn, 8 lbs.; clover
hay, 6 lbs.; oat straw, 11% lbs.; wheat bran, 4 lbs.; linseed
meal, 4 Ibs.

3. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; hay, 5 lbs.; malt sprouts, 4 lbs.;
wheat bran, 214 lbs.;- cotton seed meal, 1% lbs.

4. Corn silage, 30 lIbs.; cut sheaf oats, 6 lbs.; mixed
meadow hay, 10 lbs.; wheat bran, 4 lbs.; linseed meal, 2 lbs.

5. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; cut cornstalks, 12 lbs.; wheat
bran, 3% lbs.; corn meal, 3 lbs.; oats, 3% lbs., with a
sprinkling of peas.

6. Corn silage, 32 lbs.; clover silage, 22 lbs:; clover and
timothy hay mixed, 5 lbs.; wheat bran, 6 lbs.; ground
oats, 4 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 3 lbs.

7. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; hay, about 11 lbs.; wheat bran,
3 1-3 lbs.; ground oats, 2 1-3 lbs.; linseed meal (0. P.}
21-3 lbs.

8. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; hay, 8 lbs.; corn fodder, 5 lbs.;
ground oats, 4 lbs.; pea meal, 2 lbs.

9. Corn silage, 40 1bs.; clover hay, 8 lbs.; wheat bran,
6 lbs.; pea meal, 2 lbs.

196 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

10. Whole corn silage, 25 lbs.; clover hay, 10 lbs.;
wheat bran, 10 lbs.

11. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; clover hay, 5 lbs.; timothy hay,
5 lbs.; wheat bran, 4% lbs.; middlings, 414 lbs. .

12. Corn silage, 45 lbs.; clover hay, 12 lbs.; wheat
shorts, 8 lbs.; corn meal, 4 lbs.

13. Corn silage, 24 lbs.; corn fodder, 15 lbs.; clover hay,
5 lbs.; wheat bran, 5 lbs.

14. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; alfalfa hay, 15 lbs.; wheat bran,
4 1bs.; corn chop, 4 lbs.

15. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; hay, 10 lbs.; wheat bran, 3 lbs.;
corn and cob meal, 3 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 2 lbs.; gluten
meal, 2 lbs.

16. Corn silage, 50 lbs.; wheat shorts, 4 lbs.; grano-
gluten feed, 4 lbs.

17. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; clover hay, 5 lbs.; corn fodder, 3
lbs.; straw, 2 lbs.; wheat bran, 5 lbs.; linseed meal, 2 lbs.;
cotton seed meal, 2 lbs.

18. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; timothy and clover hay, 5 lbs.;
wheat bran or shorts, 7 lbs.

19. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; English hay, 5 lbs.; clover hay,
5 lbs.; wheat bran, 2 lbs.; gluten meal, 2 lbs.; cotton seed
meal, 1 lb.; linseed meal, 1 lb.

20. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; hay, 6 lbs.; gluten meal, 2 lbs.;
corn and cob meal, 2 lbs.; wheat shorts, 2 Ibs.

21. Corn silage, 50 lbs.; hay, 8 lbs.; wheat bran, 3 lbs.;
wheat shorts, 2 lbs.; ground rye and oats, 3 lbs.; barley, 2
Ibs.

22. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; clover hay, 10 lbs.; oat straw, 2
lbs.; corn meal, 5 lbs.; wheat bran, 5 lbs.; oats, 5 Ibs.

23. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; hay, 7 lbs.; brewers’ grains, 20
lbs.; gluten meal, 11% lbs.; cotton seed meal, 11% lbs.; wheat
shorts, 1% lbs.; linseed meal, 114 lbs.

24. Corn silage, 24 lbs.; corn meal, 8 lbs.; wheat bran, 2
lbs.; oats, 4 lbs.; linseed meal, 2 Ibs.

25. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; corn fodder, 10 Ibs.; cotton seed
meal, 214 lbs.; N. P. linseed meal, 2 1bs.; wheat bran, 4 lbs.

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 197

26. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; timothy hay, 10 lbs.; wheat
bran, 5 lbs.; corn meal, 3 lbs.; linseed meal, 2 lbs.

27. Corn silage, 50 lbs.; hay, 5 lbs.; wheat bran, 4 lbs.;
linseed meal, 2 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 1 1b.; ground rye,
1 lb.

28. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 3 lbs.; corn
starch feed, 18 lbs.

29. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; clover hay, 12 lbs.; wheat mid-
dlings, 8 lbs.; linseed meal, 1 lb.

30. Corn silage, 42 lbs.; clover and timothy hay, 5 Ibs.;
corn and cob meal, 8 lbs.; dried brewers’ grains, 114 lbs.

31. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; fodder corn, 8 lbs.; corn meal, 3
lbs.; wheat bran, 3 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 1 lb.

82. Corn silage, 50 lbs.; clover hay, 8 lbs.; wheat shorts,
5 lbs.

33. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; corn stover, 8 lbs.; wheat bran,
5 lbs.; malt sprouts, 4 lbs.; linseed meal, 1 Ib.

34. Corn silage, 50 lbs.; clover hay, 9 lbs.

35. Corn silage, 45 lbs.; mixed hay, 7 lbs.; wheat bran, 6
Ibs.; cotton seed meal, 2 lbs.

36. Corn silage, 15 lbs.; sugar beets, 22 lbs.; hay, 10 lbs.;
oats, 5.4 lbs.; corn meal, 7 lbs.

37. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; clover hay, 8 lbs.; coarse linseed
meal, 6 lbs.

38. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; sorghum hay, 13% lbs.; corn
meal, 1.3 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 2.6 lbs.; cotton seed, 2.2
lbs.; wheat bran, 1.3 lbs.

39. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; mixed hay, 10 lbs.; wheat bran,
2 lbs.; corn meal, 3.2 lbs.; linseed meal, 1 lb.; cotton seed
meal, .8 lbs.

40. Corn silage, 20 lbs.; hay, 14 lbs.; wheat bran, 3 lbs.;
gluten meal, 2 lbs.

41. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; hay, 10 lbs.; corn meal, 2 lbs.;
gluten meal, 2 lbs.; wheat bran, 2 Ibs.

42. Corn silage, 48 lbs.; corn and cob meal, 2% lbs.;
ground wheat, 2% lbs.; oats, 2% lbs.; barley meal, 2% lbs.

43. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; hay, 5 lbs.; straw, 5 lbs.; wheat

bran, 4% lbs.; oats, 41% lbs

198 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

44. Corn silage, 15 lbs.; turnips, 45 lbs.; wheat chaff, 7
lbs.; oats, 214 lbs.; pea meal, 2% Ibs.

45. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; hay, 12 lbs.; ground oats, 10 lbs.

46. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; turnips, 30 lbs.; clover hay, 8
lbs.; straw, 1% 1b.; oats, 2 lbs.; wheat bran, 2 lbs.

47. Corn silage, 50 lbs.; clover hay, 10 lbs.; straw, 3 lbs.;
pea meal, 5 lbs.; oats, 2 Ibs.

48. Corn silage, 30 lbs.; hay, 7% lbs.; straw, 6% Ibs.;
turnips, 25 lbs.; pea meal, 1.3 lbs.; oats, 2.5 lbs.; barley,
ie ADB:

49. Corn silage, 35 lbs.; English hay, 8 lbs.; carrots, 30
lbs.; wheat bran, 1.2 lbs.; wheat middlings, 1.8 lbs.; cotton
seed meal, 3 Ibs.; oats, 1 lb.; wheat, 2 lbs.

50. Corn silage, 40 lbs.; clover hay, 7% lbs.; straw, 3
lbs.; oats, 1 1-3 lbs.; barley, 1 1-3 lbs.; pea meal, 1 1-3 lbs.;
wheat bran, 3 lbs.; cotton seed meal, 1 Ib.

The rations given were fed in the following States: Nos.
1-13, Wisconsin; No. 14, Colo.; No. 15, Conn.; No. 16, Ill;
No. 17, Ind.; No. 18, Ia.; Nos. 19-20, Mass.; No. 21, Minn.;
No. 22, Neb.; No. 23, N. H.; No. 24, N. J.; Nos. 25-30, N. Y.;
No. 31, N. C.; Nos. 32-34, Ohio; Nos. 35-37, Penna.; No. 38,
Texas; Nos. 39-41, Vt.; No. 42, W. Va.; and Nos. 43-50,
Canada.

Silage for Steers.

Silage may be fed with advantage to steers, in quanti-
ties up to forty or fifty pounds a day. The health of
the animals and the quality of the beef produced on
moderate silage feeding leave nothing to be wished for.
If the silage is made from immature corn, care must be
iaken not to feed too large quantities at the start and to
feed carefully, so as not to produce scouring in the
animals. Professor Henry says in regard’ to the value
of silage for steer feeding: “As with roots, silage
makes the carcass watery and soft to the touch. Some

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 199

have considered this a disadvantage, but is it not a de-
sirable condition in the fattening steer? Corn and
roughage produce a hard, dry carcass, and corn burns
out the digestive tract in the shortest possible time.
With silage and roots, digestion certainly must be more
nearly normal, and its profitable action longer con-
tinued. The tissues of the body are juicy, and the whole
svstem must be in just that condition which permits:
rapid fattening. While believing in a large use of silage
in the preliminary stages, and its continuance during
most of the fattening period, I would recommend that
erzdually more dry food be substituted as the period
advances, in order that the flesh may become more solid.
Used in this way, I believe silage will become an im-
portant aid in steer feeding in many sections of the
country. Results from Canada, Wisconsin, and Texas
experiment stations show the broad adaptation of this
_ food for stock-feéding purposes.”

Young stock may be fed half as much silage as full-
grewn ones, with the same restrictions and precautions
as given for steers. Experience obtained at the Kansas
Experiment Station, suggests that corn silage is not a
fit food for breeding bulls, unless fed only as a relish;
fed heavily on silage, bulls lose virility and become slow
and uncertain breeders.

Silage for Horses.

When fed in moderate quantities, not to exceed
twenty pounds a day, silage is a good food for horses.
lt should be fed twice a day, a light feed being given at
first and gradually increased as the animals become
accustomed to the food. Some farmers feed it mixed

200 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

with cut straw, two-thirds of straw, and one-third of
silage, and feed all the horses will eat of this mixed feed.
Some horses object to silage at first on account of its
peculiar odor, but by sprinkling some oats or bran on
top of the silage and feeding only very small amounts
to begin with, they soon learn to eat and relish it.
Some horses take it willingly from the beginning.
Horses not working may be fed larger quantities than
work horses, but in neither case should the silage form
more than a portion of the coarse feed fed to the
horses. Silage-fed horses will look well and come out
in the spring in better condition than when fed almost
any other food.

Professor Cook says in regard to silage as a horse
food: “It has been suggested by even men of high
scientific attainments that silage is preéminently the
food for cattle and not for other farm stock. This is
certainly a mistake. If we raise fall colts, which I find
very profitable, then silage is just what we need, and
will enable us to produce colts as excellent as though
dropped in the spring. This gives us our brood mares
in first-class trim for the hard summer’s work. I find
silage just as good for young colts and other horses.”

Mr. James M. Turner, an extensive Michigan farmer
and horse breeder, gives his experience in regard to
silage for horses as follows: “Last winter we had nearly
two hundred horses, including Clydesdales, standard-
bred trotters, and Shetland ponies. They were wintered
entirely upon straw and corn ensilage, and this in face
of the fact that I had read a long article in a preminent
horse journal cautioning farmers from the use of en-
silage, and citing instances where many animals had~

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 201

died, and brood mares had aborted from the liberal use
of corn ensilage.

“Desiring to test the matter to the fullest extent,
our stallions and brood mares, as well as all the young
stock, were fed two full rations of ensilage daily, and
one liberal ration of ‘wheat or oat straw. The result
with our brood mares was most phenomenal, for we now
have to represent every mare that was then in foal on
the farm, a weanling, strong and vigorous, and appar-
ently right in every way, with only one exception, where
the colt was lost by accident. Of course there may have
been something in the season more favorable than usual,
but this was the first year in my experience when every
colt dropped on the farm was saved.”

Professors Thorne and Hickman give their experience
in feeding silage to horses and to other farm animals
at the Ohio Experiment Station: “Our silo was planned
and filled with special reference to our dairy stock, but
after opening the silo we decided to try feeding the
silage to our horses, calves, and hogs. The result was
eminently satisfactory. We did not find a cow, calf,
horse, colt, or hog that refused to eat, or that did not
eat 1t with apparent relish, not only for a few days, but
for full two months. The horses were given one feed
of twenty pounds each per day in place of the usual
amount of hay, for the period above named, and it was
certainly a benefit: Their appetites were sharpened,
and the healthfulness of the food was further manifest
in the new coat of hair which came with the usual spring
shedding. 'The coat was glossy, the skin loose, and the
general appearance was that of horses running upon
pasture.” . :

202 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Doctor Bailey states that silage has as good an eftect
on work and driving horses as an occasional feed of
carrots or other roots, and Rew informs us that there
is a demand for silage in London and of‘ier large Hng-
lish cities, especially for omnibus, cab, and tram horses.
According to the testimony of Mr. H. J. Elwes, the
cart horses fed silage “looked in better condition and
brighter in their coats than usual at this time of the
year.”

From experiments conducted at Virginia Experiment
Station, Prof. Nourse concludes that “it would appear
that silage would make a good roughage for horses,
when used in connection with hay or stover or grain,
but that these animals should become accustomed to the
food by degrees, and that this is as important as when
changing from old to new corn, or from hay to grass.”

What has been said about silage as a food for horses
will most likely apply equally well to mules, although
only very limited experience has so far been gained with
silage for this class of farm animals.

Silage for Sheep.

Silage is looked upon with great favor among sheep
men; sheep do well on it, and silage-fed ewes drop
their lambs in the spring without trouble, the lambs
being strong and vigorous. Silage containing a good
deal of corn is not well adapted for breeding stock, as
it is too fattening; for fattening stock, on the other
hand, much corn in the silage is an advantage. Sheep
may be fed a couple of pounds of silage a day and
not to exceed five or six pounds per head. Professor

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 203

Cook reports as follows in regard to the value of silage
for sheep: “I have fed ensilage liberally to sheep for
three winters and am remarkably pleased with the re-
sults. I make ensilage half the daily ration, the other
half being corn stalks, or timothy hay, with bran or oats.
The sheep do exceedingly well. Formerly I was much
‘troubled to raise lambs from grade Merino ewes. Of
late this trouble has almost ceased. Last spring I hard-
ly lost a lamb. While ensilage may not be the entire
cause of the change, I believe it is the main cause.
It is positively proved that ensilage is a most valuable
food material, when properly fed, for all our domestic
animals.”

Mr. J. 8S. Woodward, the well-known New York
farmer and Farmers’ Institute worker, who has made
a specialty of early lamb raising, says, in an address
before the New York Agricultural Society, regarding
silage as feed for lambs: “In order to be successful
in raising fine lambs it is imperative that the ewes and
lambs both should have plenty of succulent food. Noth-
ing can supply the deficiency. For this purpose roots of
almost any kind are good. Turnips, rutabagas, man-
golds are all good. Corn silage is excellent. Could I
have my choice I would prefer both silage and roots. If
I were depending on silage alone for succulent food I
would give four pounds per hundred pounds live weight
of sheep, all at one feed, at the forenoon feed; but when
feeding both silage and roots I would feed silage in the
morning and roots in the afternoon.”

Mr. J. M. Turner of Michigan says concerning silage
for sheep: “Of late years we have annually put up
3,200 tons of corn ensilage, and this has been the princi-

204 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

pal ration of all the live stock at Springdale Farm, our
Shropshire sheep having been maintained on a ration of
ensilage night and morning, coupled with a small ration
of clover hay in the middle of the day. This we found
to fully meet the requirements of our flock until after
lambing, from which time forward we of course added
liberal rations of wheat bran, oats, and old-process lin-
seed meal to the ewes, with a view to increasing their
flow of milk and bringing forward the lambs in the most
vigorous possible condition. Our flock-master was some-
what anxious until after the lambs dropped, but now
that he saved 196 lambs from 122 ewes, his face is
wreathed in smiles, and he gives the ensilage system
the strongest endorsement.” Mr. Turner states that,
after becoming accustomed to the silage, his horses,
cattle, and sheep would all push their noses down
through the hay, if there was silage at the bottom of
the manger, and little or no hay would be eaten until
the silage was first taken.

The following interesting experience illustrating the
value of silage for sheep feeding is given by Mr. Wil-
liam Woods, a celebrated English breeder of Hamp-
shire-Downs: “Last year, in August, I found myself
with a flock of some 1,200 Hampshire-Down ewes, and
about twelve or fourteen acres of swedes, on a farm of
4,000 acres, and these were all the roots there were to _
feed them and their lambs during the winter. Know-
ing how we should suffer from want of milk after lamb-
ing in January and February, I thought I would try
(which no doubt has often been tried elsewhere, though
not in this district) the effect of ensilage on ewes after
lambing, having learned by hearsay that it increased the

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 205

milk of cows nearly 30 per cent. I at once set to work
to irrigate what water meadows I could spare, and in
the month of October had a crop of grass that, had
it been possible to make it into hay, would have made a
ton of hay to the acre. I bought from the Aylesbury
Dairy Company one of their Johnson’s ensilage rick
presses, and put some seventy to eighty tons of cut
meadow grass under pressure. It must, however, be
borne in mind that second-cut water meadow grass is
some of the poorest stuff that is consumed, either green
or in hay, and, therefore, my ensilage was not as good,
and consequently not as favorable a trial, as if it had
been made of better material.

“In January, when well into lambing, i opened the
stack, and began to feed it to the ewes that had lambed.
At first they hardly cared to eat it, but by degrees they
seemed to hike it more. They had a night and morning
meal of best sainfoin hay, and a small lot of ensilage
with the cake given at midday. After three weeks’
trial, what the shepherd observed was this: That when
best sainfoin hay, worth £4 a ton, was put in the cages,
and ensilage in the troughs at the same time, half the
sheep would go to the hay and half to the ensilage,
although there was sufficient accommodation for the
whole flock at either sort, and we now observe that with
the ewes that are most constant to the ensilage, their
lambs are nourished better than the others. We have
not lost a single lamb from scour, and have some 470
lambs from 380 ewes lambed as yet, which I think proves
the value of the experiment. As soon as the stuff ar-
rives in carts the ewes are crazy for it, and almost come
over the hurdles, so eager are they to get at this new sort

206 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

of feed, which, as I have stated, is only water meadow
grass ensilaged.”

Silage for Switie.

The testimony concerning the value of silage as a
food for swine is conflicting, both favorable and un-
favorable reports being at hand. Many farmers have
tried feeding it to their hogs, but without success. On
the other hand, a number of hog-raisers have had good
success with silage, and feed it regularly to their swine.
It is possible that the differences in the quality of the
silage and of the methods of feeding practiced explain
the diversity of opinions formed concerning silage as
hog food. According to Professor Cook, Col. F. D. Cur-
tiss, the great American authority on the swine indus-
try, states that silage is valuable to add to the winter
rations of our swine. Mr. J. W. Pierce of Indiana
writes in regard to silage for hogs: ‘“‘We have fed our
sows, about twenty-five in number, for four winters,
equal parts of ensilage and corn meal put into a cooker,
and brought up to a steaming state. It has proved to
be very beneficial to them. It keeps up the flow of
milk of the sows that are nursing the young, equal to
when they are running on clover. We find, too, when
the pigs are farrowed, they become more robust, and
take to nursing much sooner and better than they did
in winters when fed on an exclusively dry diet. We
also feed it to our sheep. To sixty head we put out
about six bushels of ensilage.” Dr. Bailey, the author
of “The Book on Ensilage,” fed large hogs ten pounds
of silage, and one pound of wheat bran, with good
results; the cost of the ration did not exceed 2 cents

FEEDING OF SILAGE. 207

per day. He states that clover silage would be excel-
lent, and would require no additional grain. Young
pigs are exceedingly fond of the silage. Feeding ex-
periments conducted at Virginia Experiment Station
show that silage is an economical maintenance feed for
hogs, when fed in connection with corn, but not when
fed alone.

In feeding silage to hogs, care should be taken to feed
only very little, a pound or so, at the start, mixing it
with corn meal, shorts, or other concentrated feeds.
The diet of the hog should be largely made up of easily
digested grain food; bulky, coarse feeds like silage can
only be fed to advantage in small quantities, not to
exceed three or four pounds per head, per day. As in
_ ease of breeding ewes, silage will give good results when
fed with care to brood sows, keeping the system in order,
and producing a good flow of milk.

Silage for Poultry.

Many farmers are feeding a little silage to their
poultry with good success. Only small quantities should
be fed, of course, and it is beneficial as a stimulant and ~
a regulator, as much as a food. A poultry man writes
as follows in Orange Judd Farmer, concerning his
experience in making and feeding silage to fowls. De-
vices similar to that here described have repeatedly
been explained in the agricultural press. “Clover and
corn ensilage is one of the best winter foods for poultry
raisers. Let me tell you how to build four silos for
$1. Buy four coal-oil barrels at the drug-store, burn
them out on the inside, and take the heads out. Go
to the clover field when the second crop of the small

208 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

June clover is in the bloom, and cut one-half ton three-
eighths of an inch in length, also one-half ton of sweet
corn, and run this through the feed cutter. Put into
the barrel a layer of clover, then a layer of corn. Hayv-
ing done this, take a common building jack-screw and
press the silage down as firmly as possible. Then put
on this a very light sprinkling of pulverized charcoal,
and keep on putting in clover and corn until you get the
barrel as full as will admit of the cover being put back.
After your four barrel silos are filled, roll them out
beside the barn, and cover them with horse manure,
allowing them to remain there thirty days. Then put
them away, covering with cut straw or hay. When the
cold, chilling winds of December come, open one of
these ‘poultrymen’s silos,’ take about twenty pounds for
one hundred hens, add equal parts of potatoes, ground
oats, and winter rye, place same in a kettle and bring
to a boiling state. Feed warm in the morning, and the
result will be that you will be enabled to market seven
or eight dozen eggs per day from one hundred hens
through the winter, when eggs bring good returns.”

CHAPTER V.—COMPARISON OF SILAGE AND
; OTHER FEEDS.

I. Economy of Production.

We shall briefly consider in this chapter the com-
parative value of silage and feeds that may take its
place in the feeding of farm animals. The first point to
examine in this connection is the question of the cost
of production of the different foods. Silage may be
replaced by roots and by dry roughage, like hay of.
various kinds, dry fodder corn, corn stalks, straw, ete. .

Corn S1LacEe vs. Roots.—In our country, the com-
parison of roots and corn silage will come out more
favorable to the latter feed than almost anywhere else,
since corn is wonderfully well adapted to our climate,
requiring a hot growing season and an occasional good
supply of moisture for its perfection; roots, on the
other hand, do best in a cool and moist climate, and
yields obtained under such conditions are much larger
than we can hope to reach here in normal seasons. This
being true, it follows that, if roots are considered a more
expensive crop than corn in countries where they will
do best, they must be still more so with us.

R. Henry Rew discusses the relative value of the two
foods from the standpoint of the English farmer, as
follows: “The root crop has, for about a century and a
half, formed the keystone of arable farming; yet it is
the root crop whose position is most boldly challenged

by ensilage. No doubt roots are expensive—say £10 per
209

210 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

acre as the cost of producing an ordinary crop of tur-
nips—and precarious, as the experience of the winter of
1887-8 has once more notably exemplified in many parts
of the country. In a suggestive article in the Farming
World Almanac for 1888 Mr. Primrose McConnell dis-
cusses the question: ‘Are Turnips a Necessary Crop?’
and sums up his answer in the following definite con-
clusion :

“<Hverything, in short, is against the use of roots,
either as a cheap and desirable food for any kind of live
stock, as a crop suited for the fallow break, which cleans
the land at little outlay, or as one which preserves or
increases the fertility of the soil.’

“Tf the growth of turnips is abandoned or restricted,
ensilage comes in usually to assist the farmer in sup-
plying their place. . . . When one comes to com-
pare the cultivation of silage crops with that of roots,
there are two essential points in favor of the former.
One is their smaller expense, and the other is their
practical certainty. The farmer who makes silage can
make certain of his winter store of food, whereas he who
has only his root crop may find himself left in the lurch
at a time when there is little chance of making other
provision.”

A number of our American experiment stations have
furnished data for comparing the yields and the cost of
production of corn silage and roots in our country. The
Ohio, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Ontario Experiment
Stations raised roots in comparison with corn for one
or more years. The average yields of green substance
and dry matter are shown in the following table.

SILAGE AND OTHER FEEDS. — 211

YirLtps Per AcrE oF Roots AND FODDER CoRN.

Maine Pennsylva- Ohio Ontario
Station. || nia Station. Station. College.
os 3 S S
a - || % ; || 3 ; || 2 :
ie Mee 2 | 5 =) = 5
Br = = = =) 3S = ney
ala a | = a | & a | a
2 RP zB ce x P|. 2 5
es) = es) a io) = es) a

Lbs. | Lbs. |} Lbs. | Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. |} Lbs. | Lbs.

Ritabagas..J.....0.<: BIGGS Plies arenes eal eine cerehee tees 42780] 4877
MAM IOIGS! scutes 3%. = = 15375] 1613)] 16177] 2382)! 31500} 3000}| 55320) 5034
Turnips 2) Secor nce PSEOO mi eongl eu cael eaLelheee ee abaebes 46120] 4382
Sugar Beets......... ae ee pu | eee One 32663} 4737
Fodder Corn ...... 1 30643| sseol| i850il “$522I|""...'| “coool diizel “sia5

In the Pennsylvania experiments a careful account
of the cost of growing, harvesting, and storing the two
crops was kept, with results as follows:

Cost for one acre of beets in the pit.......... $56.07
Pleo ncn ch i “GOT iit -bne BIOs >, .'fa%s a ab

These figures can only be considered approximations,
but it is believed that the ratio between the cost for an
acre of roots and of corn, expressed by them, is, at all
events, not too unfavorable to the former. According
to official statistics, the average cost of raising an acre
of ear corn in the United States is $11.71. The siloing
of the whole corn crop will not be likely to exceed much
the expense of harvesting or gathering, housing, and
marketing included in this estimate, and amounting to
$2.98. On the other hand, the cost of raising a crop of
beets has, in different States, been found to range from
$31.36 to $60 per acre.

212 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Corn SILAGE vs. Hay.—Two tons of hay per acre is
generally considered a very good crop in humid regions.
The average yield for a number of years will.seldom
exceed 14 tons with the best farmers. Since hay con-
tains about 86 per cent dry matter, an average crop of
1$ tons means about 1} tons of dry matter (2,580
pounds). Against this yield we have yields of 5,000
to 9,000 pounds of dry matter, or twice to three and a
half times as much, in case of fodder corn. An average
crop of green fodder will weigh twelve tons, of Northern
varieties, and eighteen tons, of Southern varieties. Hs-
timating the percentage of dry matter in the former at
30 per cent, and in the latter at 20 per cent, we shall
have in either case a yield of 7,200 pounds of dry matter.
The expense of growing the crop is, of course, higher
in case of the corn, but by no means sufficiently so to
offset the larger yields. It is a fact generally conceded
by all who have given the subject any study, that the
hay crop is the most expensive crop used for the feeding
of our farm animals.

Sir John B. Lawes, of Rothamsted Experiment Sta-
tion (England) says, respecting the relative value of
hay and (grass) silage: “It is probable that when both
(1. e., hay and silage) are of the very best quality that
can be made, if part of the grass is cut and placed in a
silo, and another part is secured in the stack without
rain, one might prove as good food as the other. But
it must be borne in mind that while the production of
good hay is a matter of uncertainty—from the elements
of success being beyond the control of the farmer—good
silage, by taking proper precautions, can be made with
a certainty.”

SILAGE AND OTHER FEEDS. 213

The amount of space required for storing one ton of
hay or of silage speaks very strongly for the latter.
One ton of hay stored in the mow will fill a space of at
least 400 cubic feet; one ton of silage, a space of about
50 cubic feet. Considering the dry matter contained in
both feeds, we have that 8,000 pounds of silage contains
about as much dry matter as 2,323 pounds of hay, or
160 against 465 cubic feet, that is, it takes nearly three
times as much room to store the same quantity of food
materials in hay as in silage.

CorN SILAGE vs. FoppeR Corn.—The cost of pro-
duction is the same for the green fodder up to the time
of siloing, in case of both systems; as against the ex-
pense of siloing the crop comes that of shocking, and,
later on, placing the fodder under shelter in the field-
curing process; further, husking, cribbing, and grind-
ing the corn, and cutting the corn stalks, since this is
the most economical way of handling the crop, and the
only way in which it can be fully utilized so as to be of
equal value with the silage. As an average of five Wis-
consin farms, Professor King, as we saw, found the
cost of placing corn in the silo to be 58.6 cents per ton,
cr, adding to this amount, interest and taxes on silo
investment, and insurance and maintenance of silo per
ton, 73.2 cents. The expense of shocking and sheltering
the cured fodder and, later cutting the same, will greatly
exceed that of siloing the crop; to obtain the full value
in feeding the ear corn, it must, furthermore, in most
cases, be ground, costing 10 cents or more a bushel.
The advantage is, therefore, decidedly with the siloed
fodder in economy of handling, as well as in the cost of
production.

214 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

As regards the space required for storing dry fodder
corn compared with silage, the former will take up still
more room than the hay, since it can not be packed
closely, but must be set up rather loosely in bundles, to
prevent the fodder from heating. According to Pro-
fessor Alvord, an acre of corn, field-cured, stored in the
most compact manner possible, will occupy a space ten
times as great as if in the form of silage. While hay
will contain about 86 per cent of dry matter, cured
fodder corn often does not contain more than 60 and
sometimes onlv 50 per cent of dry matter; the quantities
of food materials in fodder corn that can be stored in a
given space are, therefore, greatly smaller than in case
of hay, and, consequently, still smaller than in case of
silage.

II. Comparative Feeding Experiments.

While the economy of production speaks decidedly in
favor of silage as compared with roots and dry, coarse
fodders, it might happen that the nutritive materials
of the latter were sufficiently superior to those of silage
to more than make up for their greater cost. Such is,
however, not the case. In comparative feeding experi-
ments with the various crops, silage has, as a rule, pro-
duced the better results, or practically no difference in
the nutritive effect of the different feeds has been found.
We shall briefly summarize some of the data at hand
bearing on this phase of our subject.

SILAGE vs. Roors.—We previously gave the average
digestion coefficients obtained for green and dry fodder
corn and for corn silage (p. 178). Only a limited num-
ber of digestion experiments have been conducted with

SILAGE AND OTHER FEEDS. 215

roots, but enough has been done to ascertain that they
are highly digestible, the digestion coefficients for dry
matter found ranging from 78 to 98, against about 66
for corn silage. Nevertheless, owing to the larger yields
per acre of dry matter, the total quantity of digestible
matter obtained from an acre of corn under our con-
ditions is much larger than that obtained from an acre
of roots. In the Pennsylvania experiments, as much
digestible matter was produced on one acre when planted
to corn, as was obtained from 1.91 acres of mangolds or
2.05 acres of sugar beets. ;

Feeding experiments have been conducted with milch
cows, steers, sheep, and swine for the comparison of
roots and silage.

In feeding experiments with milch cows at the Ohio
Station, conducted for four consecutive years, the silage
rations always gave somewhat the better results. The
average gain in milk per 100 pounds of dry matter eaten
amounted to 4 per cent in favor of the silage rations.
The results of the different years are as shown below.

POUNDS OF MILK PRODUCED PER 100 POUNDS OF
DRY MATTER CONSUMED.

Ration. 1889 1890 1891 1892 Av.
GOED 0% cise sie. wrete dane G 59 59 62 69 62
Se PALIOU. sos <'e cs a eb-65b 9.0% 62 60 66 76 3866

Similar experiments conducted at the Pennsylvania
and Vermont Stations gave corresponding results, the
conclusion drawn being that “beets cost more to grow,
harvest and store, yield less per acre, and produce at
best no more and no better milk than corn silage.”

216 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

Steer feeding experiments with roots vs. silage have
been conducted at the Ontario Agricultural College,
where six steers, divided into three even lots, were fed
as follows: Lot 1, corn silage ad libitum, with about
twelve pounds of corn meal; lot 2, thirty pounds of
corn silage, about twelve pounds of corn meal, and hay
ad libitum; lot 3, forty-five pounds of sliced roots, corn
meal, and hay as in lot 2. The trial lasted 146 days;
the average gains per day for the different lots were:
Lot 1, 1.90 pounds; lot 2, 1.53 pounds; lot 3, 1.84
pounds. The total value of the animals at the close of
the experiments was, $197.07, $188.24, and $189.67
for lots 1, 2, and 3, respectively, making the percentage
gain on investment, calculated according to Canadian
prices of feed and labor, 22.7 per cent for lot 1, 20.0 per
cent for lot 2, and 15.0 per cent for lot 3.

The Ottawa Experiment Station in 1893 conducted
experiments for the comparison of roots and silage as
feed for fattening steers, and found that a daily gain
of 1.05 pounds was made on a hay, root, and straw
ration, and of 1.35 pounds on a corn silage and straw
ration. The average cost per head per day was 13.78
cents on the former ration, and 9.26 cents on the latter ;
calculated per 100 pounds of increase, the cost was
$13.35, and $6.95 for root and silage rations, respect-
ively, 7. e., a difference of 92.08 per cent against the
root ration.

Silage vs. roots for fattening lambs have been com-
pared in several experiments at Michigan Experiment
Station. Sugar beets proved superior to silage for lambs
in the first year’s experiment; the conclusion drawn
was that either feed may enter largely into the fatten-

SILAGE AND OTHER FEEDS. 217

ing ration and may be fed with profit. In comparing
rutabagas with silage for fattening lambs the same gain
was obtained in both cases, viz.: seventeen pounds per
week per head. Although the quantity of grain fed was
the same, the lambs fed rutabagas consumed a con-
siderably larger quantity of hay than those fed silage,
and the amount of rutabagas eaten as compared with
silage was very large. The profit on the root-fed lot was
22 cents on each lamb; that on the silage-fed lot, 63
cents. The silage, therefore, produced the same gain
in fattening lambs at a greatly diminished cost, as com-
pared with rutabagas.

Corn silage was compared with beets as foods for
Merino ewes, at the Cornell Experiment Station. As
the average of two experiments it was found that the
ewes gained 3.33 pounds per week when roots were fed,
and 3.49 pounds when silage was fed. “The ewes
learned to like the silage as readily as they did the
beets.”

The relative feeding value of silage and roots for
swine was studied in a single experiment at. Ontario
Agricultural College. The pigs fed silage and grain
did not do very well, and gained less than those fed
grain, or turnips and grain.

SILAGE vs. Dry RoucHace.—A large number of ex-
periments have been conducted with the various classes
of farm animals for the study of the comparative feed-
ing value of silage and dry roughage, either hay, fodder
corn, or cornstalks. We can here only mention a few
typical experiments.

In an experiment with milch cows conducted at the
New Hampshire Station, where silage was compared

218 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

with hay, the silage ration, containing 16.45 pounds of
digestible matter, produced 21.0 pounds of milk, and the
hay ration, containing 16.83 pounds digestible matter,
produced 18.4 pounds milk; calculating the quantities
of milk produced by 100 pounds of digestible matter in
either case, we find on the silage ration 127.7 pounds of
milk, on the hay ration, 109.3 pounds, or 17 per cent in
favor of the silage ration.

In a feeding experiment with milch cows at the Maine
Experiment Station, in which silage was compared with
hay, the addition of silage to the ration resulted in a
somewhat increased production of milk solids, which
was not caused by an increase in the digestible food
materials eaten, but which must have been due either to
the superior value of the nutrients of the silage over
those of the hay or to the general physiological effect
of feeding a greater variety of foods. 8.8 pounds of
silage proved to be somewhat superior to 1.98 pounds
of hay (mostly timothy), the quantity of digestible ma-
terial being the same in the two cases.

In another experiment, conducted at the same station,
where silage was compared with hay for steers, a pound
of digestible matter from the corn silage produced some-
what more growth than a pound of digestible matter
from timothy hay. The difference was small, however,
amounting in the case of the last two periods, where the
more accurate comparison is possible, to an increased
erowth of only 15 pounds of live weight for each ton
of silage fed.

Feeding experiments with milch cows were conducted
for a series of years by the author and others, at the
Wisconsin Experiment Station, in which the relative

SILAGE AND OTHER FEEDS. 219

value of corn silage and corresponding field-cured fod-
der corn was investigated. The earlier of these experi-
ments were made with only a couple of animals each,
and no great reliance can, therefore, be placed on the
results obtained in any single experiment. In later
years a larger number of cows have been included in the
experiments, and these have been continued for a suffi-
ciently long time to show what the animals could do
on each feed. In 1891 a feeding experiment with twen-
ty cows was conducted by the writer, in which a daily
ration of 4 pounds of hay and 7 pounds of grain, fed
with corn silage or field-cured fodder corn ad libitum,
was fed during sixteen weeks; a total quantity of 19,-
813.4 pounds of milk was produced during the silage
periods, and 19,801.2 pounds of milk during the fodder
corn periods. When the areas of land from which the
silage and the fodder corn were obtained are considered,
we find that the silage would have produced 243 pounds
more of milk per acre than the dry fodder, or the equiv-
alent of 12 pounds of butter, which is a gain of a little
more than 3 per cent in favor of the corn silage. Simi-
lar results, or more favorable to silage, have been ob-
tained in feeding experiments with which cows of a
number of stations, notably New Jersey, Vermont, and
New York (Geneva).

This may appear a very small difference to some,
but it must be remembered that in this, as in all similar
previous experiments, the fodder corn was handled in
the most careful manner, so as to avoid losses by fer-
mentations or abrasion. It was left in shocks in the field
for about a month, then carefully transferred to the
station barn, tied up in bundles, and cut before feeding.

220 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

The results, therefore, show what dry fodder can do
under the most favorable conditions. In ordinary farm
practice the loss of food materials in the silo would be
no larger than found by us, if as large, owing to
the small size of the experimental silo then used, while
the fodder corn, most likely, would not be as well cared
for, being often kept shocked in the field until needed
for feeding; in a majority of cases not even cut and
shocked, and often fed whole in the yard, with losses of
food materials ranging from 30 to 60 per cent, accord-
ing to data found at the Kansas Station. Cutting the
corn fodder before feeding, according to Professor
Henry’s experiments, may save more than one-third of
the food value of the fodder. We can not, therefore,
hope to obtain equally good results with silage and field-
cured fodder unless special pains are taken throughout .
to guard against deterioration of the fodder; precau-
tions, it will readily be granted, more laborious and
costly than making silage of the corn crop.

A few more experiments illustrating the value of
silage as a stock food, may be quoted. Professor Henry
fed two lots of steers on a silage experiment. One lot
of four steers was fed corn silage exclusively, and
another similar lot, corn silage with shelled corn. The
former lot gained 222 pounds in thirty-six days, and
the latter lot 535 pounds, or a gain of 1.5 pounds per
day per head for the silage-fed steers, and 3.7 pounds
per day for the silage and shelled-corn fed steers. Pro-
fessor Emery fed corn silage and cotton-seed meal, in the
proportion of eight to one, to two three-year-old steers
at the North Carolina Experiment Station. The gain
made during thirty-two days was, for one steer 78

SILAGE AND OTHER FEEDS. Ral

pounds, and for the other 85.5 pounds, or 2.56 pounds
per head per day.

The late well-known Wisconsin dairyman, Hon.
Hiram Smith, in 1888 gave the following testimony
concerning the value of silage for milch cows: “My
silo was opened December 1st, and thirty pounds of
ensilage was fed to each of the ninety cows for the
night’s feed, or 2,700 pounds per day, until March 10th,
one hundred days, or a total of 135 tons, leaving suf-
ficient ensilage to last until May 10th. The thirty
pounds took and well filled the place of ten pounds of
good aay. Had hay been fed for the night’s feed in place
of the ensilage, it would have required 900 pounds per
day for the ninety cows, or a total for the one hundred
days of forty-five tons.

“It would have required, in the year 1887, forty-five
acres of meadow to have produced the hay, which, if
bought or sold, would have amounted to $14.00 per
acre. The 135 tons of ensilage were produced on 83
acres of land, and had a feeding value, as compared
with hay, of $74.11 per acre.” As the conclusion of
the whole matter, Mr. Smith stated that “three cows
can be wintered seven months on one acre producing 16
tons of ensilage, while it required two acres of meadow
in the same year of 1887, to winter one cow, with the
same amount of ground feed in both cases.”

Professor Shelton, formerly of Kansas Agricultural
College, gives a powerful plea for silage in the follow-
ing simple statement: “The single fact that the pro-
duct of about two acres of ground kept our herd of fifty
head of cattle five weeks with no other feed of the fodder
kind, except a small ration of corn fodder given at noon,

RRA MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

speaks whole cyclopedias for the possibilities of Kansas
fields when the silo is called in as an adjunct.”

The Ohio Experiment Station sums up the value of
silage for stock food in the following words: “The
logical conclusion of all this work is that the process
of siloing adds nothing to the nutritive value of a feed-
ing stuff. It does add to its palatability, however, when
the method has been properly employed, and in conse-
quence a larger proportion of the fodder will be con-
sumed. In regard to the cost of this method, we do
not consider it any greater than that of the ordinary
method of cutting and husking and stacking the stover,
and not so great as cutting, husking, and stacking and
erinding the grain, and certainly all this must be done
if the food materials are to be as thoroughly preserved
and made as completely available as they are in well-
cured silage.”

CHAPTER VI—THE SILO IN MODERN AGRI-
CULTURE.

In closing our discussion of the making and feeding
of silage, it may be well to consider briefly the main
advantages of the system of preserving green forage in
silos. In doing so, we shall summarize the conclusions
previously arrived at, concerning the economy of the
system, and shall call attention to some points that we
have not before had an occasion to touch upon. The
advantages of the silo enumerated below will not be
apt to hold good simultaneously in individual cases ;
but it is believed that a majority of them will be of
general importance, thus showing the decided superior-
ity of the siloing method over other systems of preserv-
ing coarse fodders for the feeding of farm animals.

I. The silo enables us to preserve a greater quantity
of the food materials of the original fodder, for the
feeding of farm animals, than is possible by any other
system of preservation now known. We have seen that
the necessary losses of nutrients incurred in the siloing
process need not exceed 10 per cent, and that by be-
ginning to feed from the silo soon after it has been filled,
the loss will be reduced to a minimum which may not
be far from 5 per cent. In haymaking or field-curing
of coarse fodders, there is an unavoidable loss ‘of leaves
and other tender parts, and in case of curing fodder corn
there will be a fermentative loss of toward 10 per cent
under the best of conditions, or about as much as is lost

in the silo. The loss of dry matter will approach 25 per

15 223

224 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

cent in ordinary farm practice, and will even exceed
this figure unless special precautions are taken in the
handling of the fodder.

II. Rainy weather is a disadvantage in filling silos
as in most other farm operations, but when the silo is
once filled, the fodder is safe, and the farmer is inde-
pendent of the weather throughout the season.

III. Less room is required for the storage in a silo
of the product from an acre of land than in cured condi-
tion in a barn. Hay placed in the mow will take up
about three times as much room as the same quantity of
food materials put into the silo; in case of field-cured
todder corn, the comparison comes out still more favor-
ably to the silo, on account of the greater difficulty in
preserving the thick cornstalks from heating when placed
under shelter.

IV. Since smaller barns may be built when silage is
fed, there is less danger of fire, thus decreasing the cost
of insurance.

-Y. .An acre of corn can be placed in the silo at less
cost. than the same quantity can be put up as cured
fodder. To derive full benefit from the food materials
in the field-cured fodder corn, it must be run through a
feed cutter in small portions at a time; the corn must,
in most. cases, be husked, cribbed, and either ground,
cob and all, or shelled and ground. In siloing the whole
corn plant, the cutting is all done at once, thus econo-
mizing labor and doing away with the separate handling
of the ear corn. .

VI. The silo furnishes a feed of uniform quality,
available at any time during the whole winter or year. -
This is of advantage to all classes of farm animals, but

THE SILO IN MODERN AGRICULTURE. 220

perhaps particularly so in case of dairy cows and sheep,
since these animals are especially sensitive to sudden
changes in the feed.

VII. © Silage is of special value for feeding prepara-
tory to turning cattle on to the watery pasture grass in
the spring. The loss in weight of cattle on being let
out on pasture in spring is often so great that it takes
them a couple of weeks to get back where they were
when turned out. When turned out in the spring, steers
will be apt to lose weight, no matter whether silage or
dry feed has been fed, unless they are fed some grain
during the first week or two after they are let out.

VIII. Succulent food is nature’s food. The influence
of well-preserved silage on the digestion and general
health of animals is very beneficial, according to the
unanimous testimony of good authorities. It is a mild
laxative, and acts in this way very similarly to green
fodders. The good accounts reported of the preven-
tion of milk fever by the feeding of silage are explained
by the laxative influence of the feed.

IX. By filling the silo with clover or other green
summer crops early in the season, a valuabie succulent
feed will be at hand at a time when pastures in most
regions are apt to give out; then again, the silo may be
filled with corn when this is in the roasting stage, and
the land thus entirely cleared earlier than when the
corn is left to mature and the corn fodder shocked on the
land, making it possible to finish the fall ploughing
sooner and to seed the land down to grass or to winter
grain. caera ) |

X. Crops unfit for haymaking may be preserved in
the silo and changed into a palatable food. This is not

226 MAKING AND FEEDING SILAGE.

of the importance in this land of plenty of ours that
it is, or occasionally has been, elsewhere. Under silage
crops were mentioned a number of crops which could
not be used as cattle food in any other form than this,
as ferns, thistles, all kinds of weeds, etc. In case of
fodder famine the silo may thus help the farmer to
carry his cattle through the winter.

XI. Where haymaking is precluded, as is some-
times the case with second-crop clover, rowen, etc., on
account of rainy weather late in the season, the silo
will preserve the crop, so that the farmer may derive
full benefit from it in feeding it to his stock.

XII. More cattle can be kept on a certain area of
land when silage is fed than is otherwise the case. The
silo in this respect furnishes a similar advantage over
field-curing fodders as does the soiling system over
that of pasturing cattle; in both the siloing and the
soiling system there is no waste of feed, all food grown
on the land being utilized for the feeding of farm ani-
mals, except a small unavoidable loss in case of the
siloing system incurred by the fermentation processes
taking place in the silo.

Pasturing cattle is an expensive method of feeding,
as far as the use of the land goes, and can only be
practiced to advantage where this is cheap. As the
land increases in value, more stock must be kept on the
same area in order to correspondingly increase the prof-
its from the land. The silo here comes in as a material
aid, and by its adoption, either alone or in connection
with the soiling system, it will be possible to keep at
least twice the number of animals on the land that can
be done under the more primitive system of pasturing

THE SILO IN MODERN AGRICULTURE. R27

and feeding dry feeds during winter. Goffart’s ex-
perience on this point is characteristic. On his small
farm, of less than eighty-six acres (thirty-five hectares),
at Burtin, France, he kept a herd of sixty cattle, besides
fattening a number of steers during the winter, and
eye-witnesses assure us that he had ample feed on hand
to keep one hundred head of cattle the year round.

According to the testimony of hundreds of intelligent,
observing dairymen, the silo is next to a necessity in
modern dairying in most sections of our country. It
is also largely considered so by agricultural writers, and
by farmers generally. It is, however, of no less im-
portance where other branches of animal husbandry are
followed more or less as a specialty. This, we think,
is abundantly proved by the data and the results of
practical experience and systematic investigations pre-
_ sented in the preceding pages. The building of the silo,
therefore, should not stop, and will not do so, until
_dairy- and stock farmers in the width and breadth of
our land have become acquainted with the siloing sys-
tem, and are aware of its value. It is the hope of the
author that this little book will, in some measure, help
to make the system better known and understood among
the mass of our farmers, and will assist them in their
efforts to reduce the cost of production of their products,
and thus enlarge the income from their farms.

PAGE
Advantages of the silo:. =. 22-2 2222. 2! 32. 223
Alfalfa silage: sso ks a eee 30, 165, 189
Barn; silos inthe 2o2r2.23 3 ee eee 101
Bays of barn, directions for changing into silos__-_-....-._-- 102
Beet-pulp silage ase 22 355 Glo. ace es ee 34
Beets, cost of, per: acre 2...) 222 22. eee 211
Brick -sil0s 22-. 2 222t00¢ Ges 0 Le 117
Bulls, breeding, stlage for ..2.25-- 2 ..._-. ae eee 199
Carbonic-acid poisoning in silos, danger from __.-..-...-._- 154
Chemical composition of silage_._..- 1... 52.232. ee 169
Chute fora round-wooden silo~:. 2-2 2.2... 20. See 59
Circles, circumferences and areas of .. ......-_ 2 See 100
Clover silage s..'.0 7s. Js 22. S28 ta ent eee 28, 164
Clover silage; cost of -. .- 2.0.2 -Le dc ee eee 28, 169
Clover, time of cutting, for the silo... =... 2: 1. J. Sane <9
@lover,;yield'per-acre of =. i22 2 2.51... 26) 29
Conerete,- directions for preparing... .. __ = 222 ee eee 120
Corn, broadcast sowing of:—_.: 22.2.5. 2252 eee 26
Corn, ‘cutting of, inthe field’... .5.: 3. 55-222) ee 139
Corn ‘Harvesters 2 222.222. 2 cei. ee ee See 139
Corn: land, preparation Of... io 4 .. 2.23.22 ee eee 27
Corn, methods:of planting .2 2: 22% =. 2@22 2-22-28 2 ee ee 22
Corn silage vs. dry roughage, feeding experiments with- _-_- 217
Corn ‘silage vs. fodder com >-22<. 22 <.4225 6 eee 213
Corn silage vs. hay }..2-- 4223.4. 2. 4526 eee 212
Cor silage ve: TOOts 3 ee ee pee en 209
Corn, siloing’ of,/““ears and all” _-_.-). 42. oS eee 148
Corn, see also Indian corn and Fodder corn.

Corners of square silos, methods of excluding air from------ 112
Cost of beets per acre sou. $2... 22 26s 2 Se See 211

PAGE
Cost of corn silage --..---- ef ee ees os ai ee ee ee 2 Sree 168
Rema entero SOW ee OE Oe tS ae ES oo et ee 183
Deere RE tae 6) be oa le Se TS se ea pete dls 156
Dae a td eee ee eden oe en She ack 32
Seer miGis/ Of terms USER 2. to. Da lake See Le ek 11
Descriptions of round wooden silos___.....--..------------ 60
SPE MOUILNNOF BUARS ng eee ee oS Bee A
Digestibility of Southern and Northern varieties of corn..-. 21
Digestion coefficients for corn silage......-..---------.---- 178
Digestion coefficients for green and cured fodder corn ------ 178
Digestion coefficients for ieee Dent fodder-cormé222 2 22. es 17
RAE CREE See sy ISN So Sige | a a PO ES Joe 160
Early lamb-raising, importance of feeding succulent feeds in. 203
ears) SUOINE OF CORN. 8 20s Fe os JR ee 148
Pe idire, SNCUIA UE. cts eed Noo eet a wee ee Oe 152
Pmptlare 22 2 os 2. eee: © ecm ie Sista: eh teat wake ae Pernt yee 11

Ensilage, see Silage.
Feeding experiments, comparative, with silage and other

Nie eh ee Phe Sa a a Sek os See 23: a i4
Reremenmeetr iiaipy so 2S 8S ee es So ee ee 190
Ped-cunne of fodder corn, losses in 2. 2 2. 222-2 eee. 179
our tamer Blow, Of silos! = 5. ji... 52.2- eee es GAs 153
RN (EO eo ea Pe 8s se ee st eS eas 139, 150
Fodder corn and roots, yields of, per acre...-.---..---...--- 211
Fodder corn compared with corn silage __.-....-..----- 213, 218
Fodder corn, composition of dry matter of-_-___-- ss oD 15
Fodder corn, green, digestion coefficients for__...._-------- 17
Fodder corn, storage room required for, compared with corn

CE SS eae ee OE SN elt Rae EDM es weeny yes kote 214
Fodder corn, yield of food ingredients of __.....+....:..--+ 15
Fodder corn, see also Indian corn and Corn.

Freezing of silage -_----.--- ee tt ps eS MO, a eee ee 95, 167
eminem: p4 sno Of. a. 23-250 Se ee So ee 103
OTE ELE 0 SRE eg cape, RN Re a Aa eg ye SORE ot 119
Baur corm from field, rack or’sled for: .»....--32-4=2---5 143
Piny-eompared with corn silage... ue gecc. 38 Se seen 4s 212

Hay, storage room required for, compared with corn silage.. 213
Pevardrilis; planting Of COr in 2). 222. ence ho fue 25

230 INDEX.

PAGE

Horizontal girts; silos with... .----. 2-2-2. --= 72 114
Horses; silage for 2. 2_22s0 4508 2 ee 199
indian Om: 2.2.- 225 365.2. -0 ea ee 11, 13
Indian corn, chemical changes in, with maturity_---.--- -- 16
Indian corn, comparative yields of Northern and Southern

Varieties... 02) eee eee 20
Indian corn, development of-_------- Le eee 13
Indian corn, increase in food ingredients from tasseling to

ripeness --= i 42... Se 16
Indian corn, varieties of, to be planted for the silo _....__-- 18
Indian corn, see also Corn and Fodder corn.
Introduction: 2.2 est Se ee eee eee fj
Lateral: pressure in’silos = 224 jo22 02 .2..2002 5 322. eee AT
Literature on:silos and Silage. _.-..:.:. 2... [22 2. aeeeeeee 128
Losses in field-curing: fodder corn’)... .12... 5.2 2a 179
Losses\in siloing clover 2-....2..t240..-. 20-3 eee 188
Losses in-siloimecort: 22. 2.0 2s. 224224 20s 2 181
Losses of food: materials in-silo-.s.22..2-... eee 179
Lucern, see Alfalfa.
Metal silos sas, 209.20 2.7320: 3 ee ee a eee 121
Milch cows, American silage rations for_-_-.2.,.2_-22o32ee 195.
Milch.cows, silape-for-.2 222) 2 ee Ace eS 191, 215, 218, 221
Missouri Experiment Station silo, description of__...._....! 70
Mules, silage for. 222002 2 ols el ee 202
New Jersey Experiment Station silo, description of ________- 63
Pits in: the ground as‘silos ---22.1)-2. 22.2 eee 126
Planting corn, in hills or in drills_. -. .2 422-22 ee 25
Planting corn; methods of -_ =. 2./Li Ae eae 22
Plante corn; thickness.of 2-25. wd." eee re aes
Pneumatic elevators 2-22 Se ee eee 152
‘¢Poultrymen’s silos” = 22. 2.55.. 8. 2 eS ee 207
Poultry,silage for 52220 2 eee 207
Preparationjof corn land} >-4.2.2.<2622 eS 27
Preservation of silos... 220-22. 9.22. See 131
Rack, low-down, for hauling corn._2.-_222.)_ 22. See 143
Rations, silage, for dairy cows .-._ 2222-222 2 eee 195
Respiration; intermolecular®.2...22.2 3.3 232_2 ee

Robertson’s ensilage mixture... -2..... 52. 222k. 2 eee 33

INDEX. 231

a PAGE
Roots and fodder corn, yields per acre of_____..._...___.__- 211
Rocts compared with corn silage _........_......_-.__- 209, 214
Round barns -------- Pa Re ee eat Be es ages Sey we
(TULLE ES eae pe eect gee iiss elarkn. 80 e S e 50, 78, 119
Peer mus, Capacity OF t. 2l0 =. ne ee Se 39, 40
Pierind BNOs,.CORt OF. 2. 2: oe os Sr 8 Sh eS See e ae 134, 136
SL LS CEE i ee Se aie ae GR Lp Sok rear cae 202, 217
peeee esate 83555 nt eee. ee ee be pe Ge
ME RIPE OT ree 0 aie tel ae es re Men oe 30, 165, 189
Silage and other feeds, comparative feeding experiments
TL SES ie Rane Re pe oe crag ee eee eae eter yaa et 214
Silage and other feeds, comparison of economy of produc-
NR Pree a 5 ee eas Beh OT 209
(SE ETL a Siege fe ale eee eg ete te ea ek ee 2) 192
pres’ chemical composition, of 2-22 s2s.22.22200 250 22 169
Co LENE IPAS a ee 28, 164
RMPER CC Soon Le. reese eV Se do oe 168
Det = test see SS Se ee 13, 28, 30
Peace aiity Of $222 25s vo ee ob ee TT
MSs ie trees ee AN oe ee 160
aE eM MRSS ian RP GS Ts ee oe Nay 190
Silage, feeding of, directly after filling silo_.......____-___- 157
mee aare Deed mir Wills« esses ele ee Sedat 199
RMEReeEOT ANSE: 227) 5h a St ae a eS 199
Peer THUCH COWS. 2-6 et es ae ee 194
Oe eC ULES SRS SS ile lap ie ee aie eye: ca DONE Reais Re 202
NM BMGOMIET Yeon a oS te . 207
emer OEE) So! Jae ee Ca oo cae Sete ee 202
MreeneO RL Strat Shs St oe Ue eee 198
PePeeERRAVIE 2 5 Se ee? St ae Rod eee eS 206
PERERA BIO? 6252028 pe wo gen at 95, 167
ieee oujecuons f0; considered _: 2-2. 222... 222 See. 193
Silage, quantities of, required for different herds_.___.__- 38, 40
Greeeranons tor milel: COWS 2.22.5. -24. Lease 2k eal 195
Silage, relation of moisture and acidity in-_..........______ 170
SIRIECENGCAY 220) 2 NE eke oa eke a 162
uae, sweet 2-58. 42.2 eee ate ee, sia ot gs 175

eee VeRt Vie BOUT. = os atte 174

232 INDEX.

PAGE
Silage truck :..2 2+. 225240222 o-8- oa eee 193
Silage, whole vs. cut... -. 2. s- 22-2 6st. 32252 145
Silo; advantages Of 2.5 - 425 2-2 Sas 223
Silo; a.primitive wooden _. .2 222.222: 2. Ses. 0 oe 112
Silo, bottom-of 2... 223.2 5..-be eo ee 45
Silo building, essentials in -- 2224-22 2.2.2222 Soo 36
Silo building, material for-.:- << . 2222 Sake ee 48
Silo; filling of 2. 222 o>. eo Soe a eee 139, 150
Silo filling, power and cutters for 2_.-2: 12-22. ea 152
Silo, foundation and wall of ...->._.. 2 ee 45
Silo in modern agriculture, the-.2.u.._ +42. _.-.2 eee 223
Silo; John Gould’s 2.25.22 2 ses eS eee 103
Silo literattire- 502 et 5 ee ee 128
Silo, location. Of 22 2.332. sS a2. 65. Bee eee 44
Silo, losses of food. materials in. 2. cs ee ..-179, 186
Silo stacks. Jes e2. 22 sc. eset. -2 50.2 eee 122
Silo; the when ‘to:.cut.corn for 22 o..2-. 222s eee 18
Siloed fodder, cover of ---. - ck cwwe oe 156
Silos and silage, list of experiment-station publications on.-_ 129
Silos) Drieks 2202.94. . tree eae ee 117
Silos; capacities: Of. .5.)..2.- ao te ee eee 39, 40
Silos, coal-oil barrels-made into 2... 2... 2.522 =o eee ‘. 207
Silos, concrete? 2202. se ig tS 119
Silos; cost Gf -o 2222. a ea ee eee 133
Silos, danger from carbonic-acid poisoning in ----..-.------ 154
Silos, description of different kinds of .....=.--+5.22222= 50
Silos, doors. Of. ...4 2202 o23t 28 P86. 2 Ee Seager 57, 89
Silos; form Gf¢-) 40 LS bak a ee ee 40
Silos,.f@eneral considerations: -252.222. i... 22-2 ee 36
Silos, erout: 52.02. dale. 2: Eee ee 119
Palos ie: tae -bain 23 27st 2st is eee Sa 4 peas eee 101
Silos, lining ‘and siding of: . -. 22.5222 22 ACS 5d
Silos; ‘metal... 22. 25 hs a ee 121
Silos, painting of... 22. sso See 48, 59, 84
Silos, pits in the ground a8 $2 4.1.2.5. 209 2 127
Silos, ‘preservation:.of 2 Ss: oa ee coe Lal oe 131
Silos, rectangular and round, statements of cost of-.__----.- 137

Silos; roof iOf s2 2. Se Eee eee eee 48, 57, 88, 92

: PAGE
Senate L HEL Cll NOONE? 2.5. S32 ts te Pe ee ee SoCs ee 118
Ge RIM WOOUEMI fb) 2 ei ooo ee ee bee 50
Milos, rounG wooden, Capacity Of... 2... 52-2 24-545 ss2-<52 39, 40
aie weno. WOOUCH:, .Cnute JOT. 2. 2 5 Fae aesc eek ee 59
BeeeETOUHG WHOUCH, CORD OR. sc. 2 oot Loe ou seekt cock oS 136
RR ESPAC I Mn ee eae ee eee 38, 40
Bite Ce MICaIIONS LOF. 2222-042 LSS See See st 51, 81
Silos, square, methods of excluding air from corners of - ---- 112
“te STE Seb ae le eee Sele iene a Rohan OT SIS. 2 559 Pica gee 122
NIMES LMG eh ra cae ST lo ete eae 78
ELLE NSU 1) 27 SO SNR ee Poa a SR Sm, 1, SE a ed I 117
Pee VEN Epon Ore. oe eet en Pe) Se eee Ss 47, 59
Bares wiih HOrOntal siTte iy. J 225.0 a hoes eee La Sosa 114
PICA CN MIETS oe yer ot. ok SS arg ee ae 50:
Silos, wooden, separate square or rectangular--___--__------.. 107
peeeetubeat: MUI VU eee Se Seo SSE Sea coo 144
Picwretmune 1Or- Culiing COM. 2. - 2252 25 hc. So Lk leek 141
TE 5 SE TESTISS 2 i a og ooh ap ieee AE wane nie © pd ose ee 33
ELE Si 2 ag cles ae aca OD ae RP, 31
Specifications for a round wooden silo ___._..._..-.--.----- 51
Beomesd mons: fOr da. SLAVE SllOS oo Yo 2. eo kp Reels. 81
South Dakota Experiment Station silo, description of --_-_- 72

Southern and Northern varieties of corn, digestibility of-.._ 21
Southern and Northern varieties of corn, comparative yields of, 20

Pema Oth, DTOAGEASb Gs. <2 +<<. sSeasetS. ol Teele b 22S Dee
WESaIMTNR cre eee a oS i a deen SO ee rae 122
PREM SRINAR © 20th eS ne ee = cL eee See ee os 78
Stave silos, beveled vs. unbeveled staves for __._..._._..---- 84
Stave silos, calculation of staves required for_.........-.--- 100
PCeRBOETI TOtnO tO On 3.428 Jeo Ue fs fae a ee 87
RENE TOUGHT” Ole = 22 eos he tate uc ae awe ee ea oe 92
Bie ellos specinentious Tor > 22 os Sede od PSS LE SS 81
Stave silos, wire fencing for hoops of_._...........-.------ 86
Staves, calculation of number required ._...-......-------- 100
rm! FANE See eae eg ts Coy See 198, 216, 220
SRM ih oe = re Rei Se a Pe Lael a in 117

Storage room required for corn silage and for fodder corn__-. 214
Storage room required for hay and for silage_.-.----..----- 213

234 | INDEX.

PAGE
Sweet vs. sour silage -_- 1.2 5.02232 2 ee 174
Swine, silaye for 2.20... 3. 22 eee ee eee 206, 217
Thickness of planting corm... 22-25.<222: . 2-2 222 = ee 22
Varieties of corn to be planted for the silo ---.----------.-- 18
Water, addition of, to surface of siloed fodder------- ee 157
Weeds! ‘silage of .._2 04 - . -S203 23 422 ea ee 34
Whole silage. >... 2. c2us 52 Pees te Ue ee 145
Wisconsin Experiment Station silos, descriptions of ------- 65, 68
Yields of clover per acre. ...--.=.-2 2 ee 29
Yields.of roots and ‘of fodder corn -.-- 2.2.0. +-s-saeeeeeene 211

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