SILAGE SOILAGE THE PREPARATION OF FEED 259 



construction, advising those interested to secure from the state experi- 

 ment stations or the United States Department of Agriculture instruc- 

 tions concerning the form, materials, manner of construction, etc., as 

 detailed in bulletins which are available for the asking. 



408. Advantages of silage. The widespread use of the silo for the 

 preservation of forage is easily explained when we consider the advan- 

 tages this system offers, the more important of which are : 



1. At a low expense silage furnishes high-quality succulent feed for 

 any desired season of the year. For winter feeding silage is far cheaper 

 than roots and is as efficient a feed, except possibly in the case of animals 

 being fitted for shows or milk cows on forced test. (109, 365) For sum- 

 mer feeding, silage furnishes succulent feed with less bother and expense 

 than do soiling crops. Dairy cows yield no greater product from soilage 

 than from silage. (420, 643) 



2. "When crops are properly ensiled less of the nutrients are wasted 

 thru the fermentations which take place than are lost when the forage is 

 cured as hay or dry fodder. (297, 298) 



3. Silage, even from plants with coarse stalks, such as corn and the 

 sorghums, is eaten practically without waste. On the other hand from 

 20 to 35 per ct. of dry corn fodder, even if of good quality, is usually 

 wasted. 7 The use of silage thus permits the keeping of more stock on a 

 given area of land, a factor of much importance on high-priced land. 



4. Crops may be ensiled when the weather does not permit of curing 

 them into dry fodder. In some sections of the South it is almost im- 

 possible to preserve the corn crop satisfactorily as grain and stover on 

 account of the humidity, and also because rodents and weevils cause 

 great loss in the stored grain. 8 Preservation as silage obviates both 

 difficulties. 



5. Weedy crops which would make poor hay may make silage of good 

 quality, the ensiling process killing practically all the weed seeds pres- 

 ent. 9 



6. The product from a given area can be stored in less space as silage 

 than as dry forage. A cubic foot of hay in the mow, weighing about 5 

 Ibs., contains approximately 4.3 Ibs. of dry matter. An average cubic 

 foot of corn silage from a 30-foot silo, weighing about 39.0 Ibs., will con- 

 tain 10.2 Ibs. dry matter, or nearly 2.5 times as much. Dry corn fodder 

 takes up even more space per pound of dry matter than hay. In climates 

 where it is necessary to store fodder under cover this may be an added 

 reason for the use of the silo. 



409. Crops for the silo. The suitability of the leading crops for silage 

 has been discussed in detail in the foregoing chapters. Where it thrives 

 Indian corn is the best silage plant. (296) The sorghums, including 

 both the sorghos and the grain sorghums, are next in value and im- 

 portance, as crops for silage. (309) In England meadow grasses have 



7 Skinner and Cochel, Ind. Bui. 129. Washburn, Vt. Bui. 170. 



'Ferris, Miss. Bui. 158. 



