REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 395 



from six to seven months. Under this system the cows only receive 

 a small amount of grain, and that is mainly corn meal. Almost all 

 variations from this system are in the lines of improvement and will 

 be treated somewhat in detail. 



The dairymen who furnish milk for immediate consumption aim 

 to make an equal quantity, as near as possible, through the whole 

 year, and for this purpose breed their cows so that calves are dropped 

 in every month. The cows are well fed from the time that they calve, 

 and so do not go dry more than a month or six weeks. Cows that are 

 inclined to go dry too soon, or that do not give a satisfactory amount 

 of milk, are quickly fattened and sent to the butcher. These dairy- 

 men are, of course, found in the largest numbers near the cities and 

 large towns, where the land is high-priced, and do not as a rule raise 

 their own cows, but depend on such as they can buy. Most dairy- 

 men of this class are intelligent and liberal' feeders. They aim 

 to keep as many cows as possible on their farms, and so raise but 

 very little grain ; but thev cfo raise a large portion of rough fod- 

 der. Indian corn is largely raised for fodder, and its growth and 

 preservation have undergone a marked revolution within the past 

 ten years. Formerly it was the almost universal custom to sow it 

 broadcast so thickly that nothing but leaves and stalks were produced. 

 In this way it was possible to grow a large amount of fodder per 

 acre; but it was difficult to handle, difficult to cure, and unsatis- 

 factory w hen fed. The first step toward improvement was the intro- 

 duction of the silo, now about twelve years ago ; but the principles 

 Governing the preservation of green corn in silos were not well un- 

 erstood, and the first ensilage did not give generally satisfactory 

 results. It was supposed that it was necessary to weight the silo heav- 

 ily, and this made necessary heavy side-walls and needless expense. 

 It was also recommended to cut the corn at or soon af t9r blossoming, 

 when it was still green and immature, and hurry it from the field to 

 the silo as rapidly as possible, and as the corn was still grown so 

 thickly that no grain was produced it is no wonder that the ensilage 

 was sour and unsatisfactory. Within the last few years there has 

 been a marked change, and the practice of the most successful farm- 

 ers is about as follows : The walls of the silo are made only suffi- 

 ciently strong to sustain the weight of material that they are to hold. 

 They are often made of wood. Great care is taken that they shall 

 be as nearly as possible air-tight. This is secured by double board- 

 ing on each side of the joists, with building-paper between the boards. 

 The corn is sown thinly so that there may be a good development of 

 grain, and it is allowed to stand until the grain is mature. It is then 

 cut, allowed to wilt in the field, and taken to the silo. The silo is 

 filled slowly. After it is filled to the depth of 3 or 4 feet, filling is 

 suspended until the mass already put in has reached a temperature 

 of 120 F., when another portion is added and allowed to heat up, 

 and so on until the filling is completed. By filling slowly in this 

 way and allowing fermentation to proceed to a certain degree, car- 

 bonic acid is formed, and this being heavier than air drives it out and 

 effectually excludes it from the silo. When the silo is full it is cov- 

 ered tightly with building-paper and matched boards, or in some cases 

 even with straw, so that the air may be kept out, and is not weighted 

 at all. In this way it has been found possible to preserve corn with 

 but a minimum development of acid, and to secure a valuable, pala- 

 table, and nutritious food. 



