66o Journal of Agriculture. [ii Oct., 1909. 



certainly was a slight patch mould), but this was all eaten by the cows; and 

 our cows are somewhat particular. We covered the maize well with hay chaff 

 and weighted it with about 20 rails. 



Mr. Mimtz, Yielima, writes : — 

 " We filled the silo with oats having very little grain, the crop being too 

 heavy to fill. The results were most satisfactory. There was 6 inches discoloured 

 right round the sides, but the stock ate it greedily. Weighting was done by 35 

 tons of split posts over bags. The temperature was kept at about 130 deg. by 

 thermometer, and the silage opened out splendidly." 



Messrs. E. and A. Cameron, Yannathan, make some sugge.stions : — • 

 " We filled with chaffed maize about 26 feet in depth. Green maize onlv 

 was used for filling. Silage was fed to cows in milk and mixed with oaten hay 

 chaff. Chaff is carried on the elevator into silo. We cut chaff about once a 

 week, and mi.x about a day's supply at a time in silo, which we throw out at port 

 holes down a very primitive shoot, which was hurriedly constructed, into a large 

 trough, where it receives another mixing before going into feed truck. We do 

 not weigh out the rations for cows, but have weighed what would be a feed, 

 and find that about 18 lbs. for one feed, or 36 lbs. for two feeds, results satis- 

 factorily. 



" About 5 inches on surface was more or less mouldy, and on the top outside 

 edge there was, from approximately level with the good stuff, a piece towards 

 the outside all round the iron wall about 8 inches deep and 8 to 10 inches wide 

 on surface. Re weighting, we spread a layer of dry chaff on top, then ^-inch 

 boards with a few blocks of wood on top. We would consider there was not 

 more than 4 cwt. of all sorts on for weighting. We consider that a shoot made 

 to (it port holes should go with each silo, and it should be in sections for the 

 various heights for emptying silage at port holes to avoid the necessity of having 

 to climb to the port hole above the one in. use. The to}) portion should be made 

 to work on a hinge to allow of ingress or egress like the lid of a box, each port 

 hole to have permanent eye bolts or fixture to allow of shoot being removed 

 easily, as the shoot would require fastening at each port hole. It would also 

 require stays, iron or steel bars, to hold it out from sides of silo and support. 

 Provision could then be made for a means of hxing the doors of port holes when 

 not in use and silo was either empty or being filled. We find that unless port 

 holes are well closed when cutting either green maize or chaff a great draught causes 

 a lot of waste, some of the cut stuff being blown out of silo altogether and 

 thus lost." 



Mr. George Little, Ballamure. is pleased with the results in a wet 

 winter : — 



" I had one man inside spreading and two boys walking round the side. T 

 weit^hted it with bags of clay, about i cwt. in each bag, which were pulled up 

 with block and tackle. I put 4^ tons on it. I opened it in three weeks and 

 gave my cows (20) one feed a day. I can hardly say anything with regard to 

 results of feeding as the cows were on green oats, and the feed of silage with 

 the oats kept them in splendid order. T had no sickness amongst them as is 

 usual when fed on green oats during winter. When it was too wet to put them 

 on the oats I fed them three times a day on silage, and it kept them \\]^ in milk 

 and also in good condition, otherwise they would have been almost dry as the 

 rain was so continuous. As regards waste there was practically none. When 

 opened there was no waste on the top. There may have been 2 or 3 inches 

 of mouldy stuff round the sides, but when mixed up it was all readily eaten. T 

 am, indeed, very pleased with the silo, ind hope to have another later nn. T 

 strongly recommend them." 



Mr. Harley, Kilcunda, had rather varied results : — 



In December I put in 45 tons of oats, nearly ripe. .Some of it was lying in the 

 paddock for several days and got very dry. My neighbours who saw it predicted 

 failure, but it turned out first class, with no mouldy patches — only about c; inches 

 around the edges, but the cattle ate it all greedily although in good grass paddocks. 

 It had a very malty smell, and in damp weather the bags felt very sticky as of 

 sugar. I must say I was very pleased with it. I was rather late in starting' 

 to feed it, viz., end of January. It should start in my district not later than 

 Christmas, for that is the time the cows commence to go off. My cheques at 

 the factory had been falling every fortnight, but when I started to feed thev 

 stopped falling, and although the silage did not increase them, they — the cheques 



