ELEVENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK- PART XI 533 



may seem dangerous. There is no great amount of difference between 

 seasons of summer so far as liability to rain is concerned. One is as apt 

 to get rain in one week of June as another. Commonly in the cornbelt 

 one should cut his alfalfa the first day of June or possibly a few days 

 later or earlier. 



There is no fixed rule of haymaking because weather changes so much. 

 The one principle of almost invariable practice is to rake before the leaves 

 are dry enough to shatter. Then one can cock in small cocks, as high as 

 convenient, and let some curing take place in the cock. Rain will hardly 

 penetrate this cocked hay if it is raked while yet tough and green. Do 

 not rake too green, just before the leaves would drop. Afterward, say 

 next day at 10 o'clock, open the cocks in three or four or more pieces and 

 spread to the sun. The hay will then rapidly dry and it can soon be put 

 in the barn or stack. That, very briefly, is the way we have found the 

 best in the eastern states where showery weather prevails and hay is 

 worth enough to justify some expense in its saving. The use of haycock 

 covers is good and I know men who like them much. They are made from 

 good cotton cloth or light duck. If they are 42" to 48" square they will 

 be large enough. They are best held in place by use of cement weights 

 moulded into balls as large as baseballs in which the corner of the fabric 

 enters. A hole as large as a silver quarter through the cloth will prevent 

 the cement weights from slipping off. The main difficulty with covers is 

 the caring for them when not in use, and the labor of drying them when 

 wet. — Joseph E. Wing. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



BY W. J. KENNEDY. 



Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station, Ames. 



The problem of filling the silo for the first time is going to confront 

 more farmers this year than ever before. Thousands of men are asking 

 these questions: When should the corn be cut? What length should the 

 corn be cut? Should the silo be filled rapidly or slowly? How should 

 the corn be distributed and packed? Should water be added during the 

 filling? How should the cracks or other air spaces be filled? What is the 

 best way to prevent waste on the top of the silo? What does it cost per ton 

 to fill the silo? How soon after filling is the silage fit to use? 



In attempting to answer some of these questions the author, in addition 

 to drawing upon his own personal experience of many years with silos, has 

 consulted all of the leading experiment station workers, who have had 

 silo experience, and in addition many of the leading beef producers and 

 dairymen. The answers brought out many points of interest. Chief among 

 them was a marked tendency on the part of the beef producers to advocate 

 a more mature corn at filling time than in the case of the dairymen. 



TIME TO CUT CORN FOR SILO. 



While there is some slight difference of opinion on this matter, practi- 

 cally every answer indicated that the corn should be dented, in the dough 

 stage or when about one-fourth the husks and the lower leaves were 



