86 



FIELD CiWl\S 



safety, but it is not safe to stack it or to put it in large piles. 

 The method most commonly followed is to reshock in the 

 fields into large, well-made shocks when it is cured and to 

 haul it to the feed lots only as used. 



CORN FOR SILAGE 



107. Importance. Corn silage is coining to play a more and 

 more prominent part in the economy of the farm. It is well 



understood that, on ac- 

 count of the important 

 relation of live stock to 

 soil fertility, the highest 

 type of permanent agri- 

 culture can be applied on 

 the majority of farms 

 onl}^ when a reasonable 

 number of domestic ani- 

 mals is kept. If live 

 stock is to be kept on 

 the farm profitably, it is 

 highly important that it 

 be supplied with an 

 abundance of feed at all 

 seasons of the year and 

 that this feed be as eco- 

 nomical as is consistent with good feeding. No feed has yet 

 been discovered that gives better results, under ordinary farm 

 conditions, than that from pastures; but pastures suppl}^ feed 

 for live stock only a portion of the year, and can not always be 

 relied upon even then. The next cheapest feed, so far as cost 

 of production is concerned, is clover or alfalfa hay, and 

 these are followed by corn fodder. 



Neither pasture nor the ordinary hay crops are as certain 

 to yield profitably as is a well-cultivated corn crop. Stock 

 raisers are rapidly realizing that corn is the most reliable 



Figure 33. — Filling the silo. The whole corn 

 plant is preserved for feeding without waste. 

 The silo is becoming more and more im- 

 portant wherever corn is grown. 



