72 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 



order that the plank covering may have nothing to catch 

 upon as it settles under the heavy weights placed upon it. 



Small Silos, capable of holding enough Ensilage for 

 ten to twenty cows, can be constructed by digging and 

 walling up, as for a cellar, when stone is plenty. Mix 

 one part cement with two parts sand, and make a con- 

 crete floor about one inch thick. Put a cheap battened 

 roof over it to keep the rain and snow out, and you 

 have just as good a Silo as any. One 12 feet wide, 30 

 feet long, and 12 feet deep, would not cost, besides the 

 labor, over fifty dollars, and would hold enough Ensi- 

 lage to winter 12 to 15 cows, or about 175,000 pounds, 

 or 87^ tons. (See cut on opposite page.) This can 

 easily be produced upon two acres of suitable land prop- 

 erly prepared. 



Two feet in depth daily is fast enough to fill the Silo. 

 This rate is better than to fill faster ; as the Ensilage will 

 settle better, and there will be less space lost by settling 

 at the top of the Silos. If an accident to cutter or 

 power, or if any untoward incident, stops the filling of 

 the Silo for one, two, or even three days when it is partly 

 full, no injury will be done to the Ensilage, providing 

 one or two men (according to size of Silo) are kept 

 constantly trampling upon it, so as to keep the Ensilage 

 compact. If it begins to dry or heat on top, take a 

 garden watering-pot and sprinkle over it to supply the 

 loss from evaporation. 



Two small Silos are better than one large one of the 

 capacity of both ; for, with two, one will be empty in 

 the summer, ready to receive rye, clover, or other green 

 forage, which it will be as advantageous to preserve by 

 Ensilage as it is the green corn in the fall. 



After the Ensilage is compacted so that it ceases 

 to settle, it is ready to feed out. This takes about a 



