TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 491 



A small form may be placed where the trap door in the roof is required. 

 This should be of such a size that a standard barn sash will fit it. The 

 concrete may be spread, taking care to lift the woven wire occasionally 

 and to work the concrete below it. The work should be commenced on 

 the opposite side of the hoist earrying the work to the peak as he works 

 around, finishing as he goes. 



Three inches is sufficiently thick for the base and 3.5 for the peak. 

 The conical shape is extremely strong and I knew of one contractor who 

 has in at least 25 instances removed the forms from beneath such a roof 

 the following day after placing the concrete. This makes it very con- 

 venient. 



THE SILO AS A FEEDING PROPOSITION. 



Cy r. E. WAKEMAN. 



(Before the Taylor County Farmers' Institute.) 



Concerning the silo as a feeding prcpcsiticn. It is now quite generally 

 acknowledged that the silo afSords rhe best known means of preserving 

 green feed or forage for winter feu>liag of Tve stock. 



Its contents, which we call ensilage cr silage, is preserved much the 

 same as sour kraut. We all understand the principle when air is excluded 

 the progress of decay in vegetable matter is arrested. If the bottom and 

 sides are airtight, and the material to be kept is fine enough to make it 

 possible to exclude the air from the mass by close packing, the whole will 

 be kept in a state of preservation after a sufficient amount has rotted or 

 decayed on the top to exclude the air entirely. 



The efficiency of any silo therefore will be in proportion to the resist- 

 ance it may offer against tlrcse elements producing decay in vegetable 

 matter. Hence it should be well built of good material upon a good 

 foundation and as nearly air tight as possible. 



Roof, paint, lightning red anchors, etc., are valuable additions effecting 

 the life and looks of a silo, but net at all in themselves necessary to the 

 success of the silo in the making of good silage. 



Almost any green forage may be preserved in the silo for silage. 



The value of any forage crop harvested for future use depends upon 

 the amount of its nutritive value that may be retained palatable and 

 digestable until the time of feeding. This being true the advantage of the 

 silo over other methods are apparent. The crop is harvested just as it 

 reaches the stage of maturity, with its maximum of food value. It is 

 placed in the silo direct from the cutting and is there preserved until 

 needed with an estimated less of only 6 or 8 per cent of its original value. 



Its palatability and digestibility are manifest in the keen relish and 

 thrift of the stock that eat it. 



After much experimenting it has been found that nothing excels our 

 Indian corn for making good silage. Among the points in its favor are 

 a combined grain and forage ration and one easily balanced for any 

 purpose. Being a large plant it yields a great amount of forage per acre 



