234 EXPERIMENT STATION— BULLETIN . 



ensilage with a few pounds of wheat bran, oats, oil meal, or clover hay will 

 keep animals in fine growing condition, and also will be found a good milk 

 ration. Taking this estimate, to illustrate: Ten cows, weighing 1,000 

 pounds each, will consume 600 pounds of ensilage daily, or 18,000 pounds 

 per month, or 108,000 pounds in six months. 



We have found by actual weighing that a cubic foot of ensilage, two feet 

 from the surface of the silo, under moderate pressure, weighs 86 pounds; 

 eight feet below, 48 pounds ; ten feet below, 50 pounds. It is safe to esti- 

 mate about 40 pounds as the average weight of a cubic foot. 



We must also make calculation for the settling, in our estimates. If well 

 packed this will be found one-sixth to one-eighth of the depth of the 

 ensilage; 108,000 pounds would require 2,700 cubic feet of space; add one- 

 sixth for settling, and we have 3,150 cubic feet. A silo 22 feet deep, 10 feet 

 wide and 14 feet long will give this capacity. 



How can the same storage capacity be secured so cheaply as in this small 

 silo? And when we add that this 54 tons of ensilage is sufficient, with a 

 grain ration, to keep the 10 cows six months, and may be grown from 

 three acres of good land, it opens up and emphasizes the possibilities of the 

 silo as one of the main reliances of the stock man in these times of low 

 prices. 



It is better to build too large, than too small ; have good height, avoid 

 the deep silos or caverns from which the ensilage must be raised by 

 machinery. 



With a large silo I should prefer a partition, it is often more convenient 

 in filling, especially if different crops are to be grown for this purpose. In 

 feeding, so large a surface is not exposed, and consequently there is leas 

 liability of injury and waste. 



Our first silo was built of stone in the basement floor of a barn ; the new 

 one, erected in 1887, of lumber and tarred paper. The following brief 

 description will, it is hoped, give a clear idea of its plan and construction. 

 The cost of a silo built in this way need not exceed from $1.50 to $2.50 per 

 ton of its capacity. It is well to get as much depth as we can consistently, 

 as the roof is the most expensive part of the building, and in feeding a less 

 surface is exposed. 



While we have always cut off a section of the contents near the door of the 

 silo, as we began feeding the ensilage, for convenience (as one would cut 

 out a section of a hay mow), and without loss, I am inclined to the opinion 

 that it may be preferable to begin feeding from the top and take from the 

 entire surface, if it can be done without too great an outlay of labor. 



THE COLLEGE SILO. 



The dimensions of the last silo built at the College are 18x30x22, with a 

 partition in the center, making two silos each 15x18 outside measurement, 

 and with a total capacity of nearly 200 tons. The silo is located on the 

 north side of our cattle barn, which has a basement stable. We excavated 

 some six feet to have the silo floor on the same level as the stable floor. The 

 excavation is walled up to the surface with stone laid in ordinary mortar — a 

 good 18 inch wall. Doors open from each silo into the feeding room, adja- 

 cent to the stable and on the same level. On this wall sills made of plank 

 are bolted, and joists 2x12 and 16 feet long were used for studding and 



