166 The Sugar-Beet in America 



leaves when put into the silo, the more the packing that 

 is needed. When layers of straw are alternated with 

 layers of tops, greater care will need to be used in pack- 

 ing to exclude the air more thoroughly. 



A cheaper but more wasteful manner of siloing, prac- 

 ticed by some, consists in piling the tops in large heaps 

 without the excavation and allowing the surface few 

 inches to decay, thus forming a protective covering for 

 the interior of the stack. Obviously, the larger the pile 

 the smaller the proportion of tops that will decay. 



After a period of about four to sLx weeks, the silage 

 fermentation has progressed far enough to correct the 

 cathartic, or scouring, effect of the tops, and they are 

 ready to be fed. This silage is handled and fed in much 

 the same manner as corn silage ; all kinds of live-stock 

 readily eat it when they become used to it. 



Use of beet silage. 



A large part of the beet tops is fed to beef cattle, and 

 it probably serves best when used for this purpose. Beef 

 fed on tops command as high a price as any on the mar- 

 ket. Cattle-men ordinarily figure that for each acre of 

 beets raised there will be sufficient tops to feed one steer 

 at least one hundred days, allowing about twenty-seven 

 to thirty pounds of dry matter to the steer each day. 

 When used as pasturage, not more than a month to the 

 acre is counted on to each steer. Usually some hay, and 

 often pulp and grain, are fed in addition to the silage. By 

 feeding twenty to thirty pounds of the beet-top silage a 

 day, the hay eaten will be about half what it is without 

 the silage. 



