SILOS 143 



as compactly as possible. The outer layer will decom- 

 pose and form a coating which will exclude air from 

 the interior. The stack then in a sense becomes a silo. 

 Only a few attempts have been made with corn, but 

 with clover, cowpeas and soy beans numerous tests 

 have uniformly resulted in disappointment. It is an 

 exceedingly hazardous method of preserving the green 

 feed. There is too much danger of the decomposition 

 extending all the way through, or at least far into the 

 stack. Some Illinois farmers, having more corn than 

 they could put in their silos, tried this method. They 

 cut it very fine, stacked it in the open air, tramped down 

 slightly and covered with hay. More than half the 

 fodder rotted, but they claim that even this was not a 

 total loss, as cattle and sheep ate it readily after it 

 became thoroughly dry. They did not care, however, 

 to repeat the experiment. 



