134 THE BOOK OF ENSILAGE. 



work for it ; there are no flies to annoy ; there is noth- 

 ing to do but to grow. 



I believe colts can be brought forward to maturity in 

 less than two-thirds of the time required to raise them 

 upon summer pasture and the usual winter food. 



One thing I wish to impress upon those who contem- 

 plate building, and it is this : build strongly and sub- 

 stantially. Silos are not expensive when properly built. 

 They should be built to last. The lateral pressure while 

 settling under the weight is very great. A side-hill should 

 always be selected as a site when convenient to the sta- 

 bles. Let the end opposite the door extend into the hill 

 so that the earth will come as near as possible to the top 

 of the wall. It will be more convenient in putting the 

 weights on and removing them. If the side- walls are 

 banked or terraced up on the outside nearly or quite to 

 the top of the walls, all the better. 



It will not be necessary for every farmer to buy an 

 engine, or even a cutter. One set of machinery, if suffi- 

 ciently powerful, will answer for three or four neighbor- 

 ing farmers. Parties who have engines or horse-power 

 for threshing can get a powerful cutter, and add to their 

 season's business by cutting the Ensilage crops, as well 

 as threshing the grain for the farmers of a neighbor- 

 hood. 



