278 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



rather eat an apple that has been stored away in the 

 cellar than a dried one, so live stock relish, in the 

 same degree, the corn plant if kept as nearly in the 

 green state as possible. No matter how nutritious 

 a feeding stuff may be, if the animal does not like it, 

 it usually is a failure as a milk or a meat producer. 

 Of course, no one claims that silage contains greater 

 feeding value than the cured product. A silo has 

 nothing about it to make more protein or carbohy- 

 drates or fat. But it retains the juice, the flavor, and 

 also the effect of freshness and greenness in the 

 silage properly stored in it. 



Economy in Silage. There is a great economy in 

 silage, in the fact that a larger part of the product 

 is eaten than if the green stuff were dried for fodder. 

 If the dry corn plant is fed, the ear and the leaves 

 are the only parts consumed. Fully half the feed- 

 ing value is lost. If, however, this be put in the silo, 

 every particle is eaten. The feeding value is really 

 doubled. The silo, then, assists the feeder in tak- 

 ing care of a larger number of animals from a given 

 area than otherwise would be possible if only the 

 dry product were fed. 



Another point in economy lies in the storage of 

 the feeding stuff. A silo is cheaply constructed and 

 holds an immense quantity of forage that is always 

 at hand where feeding is to be done. Thus the labor 

 for winter feeding is materially lessened. Wherever 

 high-class beef animals are raised or profitable dairy- 

 ing carried on, there the silo is found and its highest 

 and best uses employed. 



Capacity of Silos. The following table, by King, 



