CHAPTER XII. 



CAPACITY OF SILOS. 



A CUBIC foot of Ensilage weighs from 40 to 50 pounds ; 

 a daily ration for a cow is 50 to 60 pounds : therefore it 

 is only necessary to allow one-and-one-half cubic feet for 

 each cow daily, to tell how large a Silo is wanted. First 

 let the stock-raiser or dairyman decide how many head 

 of stock he wants to keep : the number he has kept will 

 be no criterion. 



" Winning Farm" three years ago could keep but six 

 head of cows and one horse : now 35 cattle, 5 horses, 

 and 125 sheep are kept, and there is every probability 

 of doubling the number next season. One cubic foot 

 will keep a sheep a week in good condition. According 

 to the rule laid down above, it will require 547^ cubic 

 feet of Ensilage to keep one cow one year. To keep 

 two cows, a Silo is required ten feet wide, ten feet long, 

 and ten feet deep. This would hold about twenty-five 

 tons, and could be grown upon one-half acre of rich, 

 warm land. For four cows it should be built twice as 

 long. It will only be necessary to have your Silos con- 

 tain 550 cubic feet for each cow's subsistence for twelve 

 months. If the cows are pastured six months of the 

 year, then 275 cubic feet of Ensilage will be sufficient 

 for each cow. It is very important that the sides should 

 be perpendicular, and smoothly plastered with a cement- 

 plaster, so that the Ensilage will settle evenly, and in 



