CUTTING AND STOKING THE FODDER. 21 



after his cows had fed upon it for a while with evident 

 relish, they all at once seemed reluctant to eat it. An 

 examination showed that the gums of the cows were 

 badly cut and inflamed to such a degree that they were 

 unable to chew the fodder. This trouble was found to 

 be due to the fact that in the act of chewing, the short 

 pieces of fodder would generally be bitten endwise, and 

 the outer portions of the corn, which at the base of the 

 stalk might get very hard, being presented endwise to the 

 teeth, were so sharp as to lacerate the gums and the tender 

 parts of the mouth. This gentleman proposed to over- 

 come the difficulty by cutting the fodder longer ; if the 

 pieces were longer than broad, the animal would take 

 hold of them in the usual way and bite against the cir- 

 cumference of the stalks rather than against the ends. 

 It is not probable that a difficulty of this kind could occur 

 unless the base of the stalks had become too hard and 

 firm for feeding in any form, and as many have fed the 

 short-cut fodder without any trouble of this kind, it is 

 a warning against letting the fodder get too old, rather 

 than a caution not to cut it too fine. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



Experimenters generally agree that about two feet in 

 depth daily is better than a more rapid "filling of the silo 

 \\ith the cut fodder. The form of the silo will govern 

 the rapidity of filling somewhat : if narrow and deep, it 

 may be necessary to fill in a greater depth daily. 



The importance of thoroughly compacting the fodder 

 is strongly enforced by all who have had any experience. 

 The fodder should be spread evenly, mixing leaves and 

 stalks as thoroughly as possible, and as the work proceeds 

 be trodden down very closely and firmly. Where the silo 

 is of a size to allow it, horses or mules have been intro- 

 duced to do the trampling. The usual custom is to keep 



