1B5 



t'iiriuci- who needs the sih) is the one who is carrying a hirge number 

 of eattU' on a ei\(.ii ai'ea."" 



Silo iu'ii,nix<; and i-illixc;. L. II. Adams ( pj). r)-!')). — For eeou- 

 oniv in huihlino- and ease in liandling the sihige, the silo should be in 

 the t'eedin«>- l)ai-fi if possible, otherwise adjoininf; it. A cubical silo 

 will re(|uire less lumber and brino' less sila_i>-e m contact with the walls 

 in proportion to its capacity than a lone-, narrow building. " Depth 

 in a silo is always preferable to breadth." Directions for buildin<j^ a 

 silo are j>:i\en and illustrated with cuts. For painting the inside walls, 

 coal-tar has worked well in one season's experience at the Station. 

 "By the use of the old self-rake reai)er for cutting in the field, and 

 conveniently equipped wagons for hauling, corn can be put into the 

 silo for from 50 to 75 cents yun- ton." A convenient wagon rack for 

 draAving fodder corn is described. 



The length of the cutting desirable ai)pears to turn upon somewhat 

 closer packing on the one side and extra expense of fine cutting on the 

 other. '■ While it is true that silage cut fine may pack somewhat 

 closer than that cut long, it is doubtful wdiether there is any material 

 gain '" from very fine cutting. The greater exposure of the inner pa it 

 of the finely cut stalks to the air may perhaps favor more fermenta- 

 tion, which is a disadvantage. There is no necessity of cutting silage 

 fine in order to have it eaten. It is recommended that cuts as long as 2 

 or ;> inches be tried with some of the fodder and the results reported ; 

 the expense of making silage will be considerably decreased. If the 

 corn is sufficiently mature, and is put into the silo without rain or dew, 

 there need be no fears about the ([uality of the silage, whether put in 

 slowly or rapidly. Only the innnature fodder needs wilting. Wlien 

 the corn has dried so that the leaves rustle and break in handling, it is 

 difficult to pack it so close as to exclude air sufficiently to prevent 

 molding. " When filling is comj)leted, a foot and a half of chaffed 

 straw, marsh hay, or corn stalks Avill make sufficient covering. The 

 use of weights is now about obsolete."' If one crop, as clover, oidy 

 partly fills the silo, an.othei". as corn, may l)e placed over it. 



A^AKIKTtES OF COUX, CIIAXGES TX THE SILO, AND FEEDING RATIONS. 



F. (i. Short (pp. 10-28). — Varieties of corn for silage. — The larger 

 varieties do not usually ripen in W^isconsin, Tests were made with 

 nine varieties of flint, dent, sweet, and so-called ensilage corn, in the 

 endeavor to find a corn combining a fairly large yield with early 

 ripening. They wei-<> planted in plats on a\ ell-prepared, rich land. 

 Samples from an area of 120 square feet were taken for analysis. 

 Comi)aring the total produce of the several plats with the comj^osi- 

 tion, it appears that, judging by these tests, " at the date of cutting, 

 September O, the value of the corn acording to the yield of dry matter, 

 would be in the following order, beginning with the highest: South- 

 ern Horse Tooth, Southern Ensilage, Smedlev Dent, Xormandy 

 White Giant, Fargo Brothers' Ensilage, B. & W. Ensilage, Sibley's 

 Sheep Tooth." The season, however, was exceptionally favorable to 



