STONE AND CEMENT CONSTRUCTION. 493 



pounds daily, what should be the diameter of the silo so that 3 inches of 

 silage shall be removed daily? 



3. How long must a hoop be to reach around a silo 16 feet in 

 diameter? 



4. On an average there is 1 ton of ensilage for every 50 cubic feet 

 in a well-filled silo ; how many tons are there in a silo 12 feet in diameter 

 and 30 feet high, if it is filled to the top? 



5. Five square feet of ensilage removed from the top layer to a 

 depth of two inches has been proven by experience to be about the re- 

 quired feed for one cow ; how many square feet 6f ensilage should be 

 removed for each cow if a layer is removed 8 inches deep? 



6. What is the diameter of a silo that provides a horizontal feeding 

 surface of 5 feet square daily for each one of a herd of 20 cows? 



7. What must be the dimensions of a silo to hold the required 

 amount of ensilage to feed 40 pounds daily to each one in a herd of 30 

 cows for 180 days, if the heighth of the silo is 3 times the diameter? 



Loss of Food Material in the Silo. 



Fermentation is dependent upon the air in the silo. The 

 more is present the higher the temperature and the greater the 

 loss of food elements. Fermentation will continue until all the 

 oxygen is used up and carbon dioxide has taken its place. Crops 

 with hollow stems are filled with air and unless the air can be 

 pressed out before fermentation commences there will be great 

 loss. 



The modern silo is built with greater depth and the result 

 is greater pressure which reduces the amount) of air and cor- 

 respondingly reduces loss of food. 



In well-built silos the loss should not exceed 10 per cent. 

 To prevent loss from spoiling of the top layer, cover with corn 

 stalks from which the ears have been removed. It should be 

 tramped and wet down and seeded with oats. The heat from 

 fermentation will help the oats to germinate quickly and form a 

 sod which will prevent the air from spoiling the silage to a very 

 great depth. 



NOTE. For feeding ensilage, see chapter on "Feeds and Feeding". 



Experiments made by the State Experiment Station at 

 Columbia, Mo., show that the yield of silage per acre is as 

 follows : 



