I300 Ri-RAL School Leaflet 



the danger of spoiling before the silo is opened. It requires from two 

 weeks to a month for freshly cut fodder to change into good silage. Feed- 

 ing may be begun from the top of the silo as soon as it is filled, thus 

 avoiding any waste. If the silage is not fed fast enough from the top of 

 the mass in a silo, the exposure to the air allows it to spoil on top. In 

 order to keep the top in good condition it has been found best to feed 

 the silage at the rate of two inches a day. 



The uses of silage. — Silage can be fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, 

 but is of doubtful value for feeding swine. It is best adapted to feeding 

 dairy cattle, in order to maintain the flow of milk through the winter 

 months and dtu^ng simimer droughts when pastures are bare. It has 

 been found that cattle being fattened for beef thrive and make good 

 gains when com silage is a considerable part of their food. A large cow 

 or steer can eat forty poimds of silage a day. Silage should not be fed 

 so freely to horses and sheep as to cattle; but if fed in hmited quantities, 

 it helps to keep them in good condition during the winter months. Some 

 kinds of silage, especially those made from alfalfa, clover, and other 

 leguminous plants, are likely to have a strong odor and a blackened ap- 

 pearance, but this does not hinder the animals from liking them. Alfalfa 

 and clover silage may to some extent be fed to poultry. 



WHEN TO CUT CORN FOR THE SILO AND THE 

 VARIETY TO GROW 



G. F. Warren 



Many farmers are deceived as to the best variety of com to grow 

 for the silo because of" the large yield of material that they get if the com 

 is cut green. Some persons cut com in the milk stage. As will be seen 

 by the table on the next page, this was the stage when com gave the great- 

 est yield of material, 16.3 tons per acre; but this large yield was all water 

 except the 2.3 tons of dry matter. When ripe the com yielded only 14.2 

 tons of silage ; yet there was almost twice as much dr^^ matter as in that 

 cut at the earlier stage. Persons are often deceived by the large weight 

 that they handle and forget that it is largely water. It is cheaper to 

 get water out of a well. Com shoiild be thoroughly glazed before it 

 is cut for the silo; that is, the kemels should begin to be hard, and no 

 milk should come out of them when they are mashed. It ought to be 

 just as mature as possible and yet keep. In spite of its large size, the 

 stalk contains only about the same amount of dry matter as the ear, 

 and the ear is worth much more for feed. 



A variety tliat matures to the glazed stage in ordinary' seasons, should 

 be grown for the silo. Nothing but water is gained by raising bigger 

 com that does not mature to this stage. 



