144 rEnnie;'s agriculture. 



in the blower pipe. The second and third cuttings 

 can be cured for hay or pastured, but not too close. 



The silo is no longer an experiment. In those 

 sections of the country where corn cannot be grown 

 successfully, every farmer should build a silo and 

 fill it with some green crop adapted for his section, 

 say peas and oats mixed and cut green. This will 

 make an excellent quality of silage for winter 

 feeding. 



In filling a silo with corn or any other fodder 

 crop, care should be taken to keep the surface level 

 and well tramped, particularly around the sides, 

 as this will assist in excluding the air. After fer- 

 mentation commences the silage will settle rapidly. 

 As soon as the silo is filled — or say, all that is to be 

 put in at that time — scatter salt over the top, then 

 cover with five or six inches of chafiF or cut straw, 

 and sow over it barley or oats. Water every day 

 for a few days, and tramp thoroughly over the 

 surface, especially on the sides. The grain will soon 

 grow and make a close air-tight covering which will 

 prevent the silage from spoiling. A cloth saturated 

 with any cheap oil, or paint, makes a good covering, 

 but the cloth will not last more than two or three 

 years. 



It requires five or six weeks for silage to cure and 



be ready for feeding. In the meantime it is well to 



have sufficient corn shocked, either in the bam or 



outside, to cut daily as required for feeding. 



Construction of There are several styles of silos in use. To 



Silos. -^ 



decide which is preferable will depend to a certam 

 extent upon circumstances. The round, wood stave 

 silo {see III. 74) has certain advantages. It is simple 

 in construction, and is the cheapest. The cost will 

 be about seventy-five cents per ton — that is, a silo 

 of one hundred tons capacity, will cost about 



