38 THE LURE OF THE LAND 



THE! SILO. 



The food of the dairy cow may partly be derived 

 from ensilage. There is much to be said in favor of 

 ensilage and but little against it. Judged by the cow's 

 taste, it is almost an ideal food. She eats it with avid- 

 ity. Indian corn is the common material of which en- 

 silage is made in this country. Green rye, cowpeas, 

 green clover and alfalfa and other so-called soiling 

 crops are occasionally used. The best period for har- 

 vesting ensilage corn is at the time the grain has just 

 become hard and the stalks and blades have not lost 

 their succulence. The cutter should be so adjusted as 

 to cut the material into pieces of small size. From a 

 quarter to half an inch in length makes an ideal en- 

 silage. Longer pieces even up to an inch may keep 

 very well. As the material is put into the silo, it must 

 be well distributed, evenly over the surface, and 

 tramped as close as possible. The heaviest man on the 

 place should go into the silo during the filling. If the 

 corn is over ripe the keeping qualities are improved by 

 sprinkling water over the shredded mass. The funda- 

 mental condition which is to be obtained within the 

 silo is that it should be air tight. Wherever there is 

 a leak, the silage will be spoiled. From a foot to 

 eighteen inches of the top of the silage is unfit for food. 

 The silo is usually built of wood staves. Hollow tiling 

 and concrete structures are now coming into vogue. 



Two objections are made to the use of silage as food 

 for milk cows: The silage is said at times to give a 

 bad taste to the milk. In such cases the silage is either 

 of poor quality, or fed in too large quantities. The 

 acidity of silage is said to soften the teeth and thus 

 limit the period of the cow's usefulness. This also is 



