EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 611 



poultry men and women in other states, so that the entire country will be 

 covered. The writers of these articles are practical and successful poultry 

 raisers, and not theorists. This series of articles will be worth ten times 

 a year's subscription to Commercial Poultry, but nothing is too good for 

 our readers. 



COST OF FILLING SILOS. 



IJ. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 292, by Lyman 



Carrier. 



The data contained in the following pages were gathered in the months 

 of September of 1905 and 1906. The writer visited all of the thirty-one 

 farms mentioned in this paper and took notes on the number and 

 arrangement of men and teams, the machinery used and the length of 

 time taken, and he also made measurements of the silos, etc. Information 

 in regard to the quantities of twine and fuel used and the number of 

 acres cut was given by each individual farmer. 



It was thought advisable to confine this inquiry to localities in which 

 the silo has been in use for several years. The places chosen were in 

 Jefferson and Fond du Lac counties, Wisconsin, and in Branch and 

 Lewanee counties, Michigan. 



METHODS EMPLOYED. 



The methods employed by the different farmers in filling their silos 

 varied greatly, no two being exactly alike. This was occasioned largely 

 by scarcity of help or teams and by the kind of machinery used. With 

 a few exceptions the different methods may be classified in three groups: 



(1) The most common practice was to have one man with three 

 horses on a corn harvester cutting corn in the field; two men to load 

 the wagons in the field; three or four men with teams, depending on the 

 distance from the field to the silo, to haul the corn to the cutter; one 

 man to run the engine when steam was used for power, and, occasionally, 

 when gasoline engines were used, one man to feed the cutter and one 

 man in the silo to spread and tramp the silage. Each teamster pitched 

 off his own load. This makes a crew of eight or nine men, exclusive of 

 the man who tends the engine. 



(2) In cases where there is a shortage of teams the following method 

 is generally practiced. One man, with three horses, cuts the corn; two 

 men load the wagons in the field; two men, or boys, with teams, haul the 

 corn to the cutter; one man unloads the wagons; one man feeds and one 

 man works in the silo. As soon as a load arrives at the cutter the 

 teamster changes his team for an empty wagon and goes back to the 

 field after another load. When a wagon is unloaded it is run out of the 

 way by hand. With this method boys who are not strong enough to 

 handle the green corn can be utilized to drive the teams. This method 

 requires a crew of six men and two boys, exclusive of the engine tender. 



(3) When enough horses are available and help is scarce, the following 

 arrangement of men and teams is a good one. One man, with three 



