SILOS \M> 8ILAGB. 75] 



It is not advisable bo open the stack earlier than fourteen to sixteen weeks 

 from the time of stacking, in order thai the fermentative processes of curing 

 may have time to complete their work. 



It is unusual for any difficulty to be experienced in inducing stock to cat 

 good silagi : in fact, it has been observed that even the waste from the 

 stack is i tadily devoured, especially wheu stock have become accustomed 

 to silage It is uol recommended that cows in milk should receive any of 

 the weati .'red portions. The daily ration of silage is about l (l pounds, 

 but for obvious reasons this point must be left to the discretion of the 

 feeder, for if the silage is supplemented by other foods this amount would 

 be materially reduced. Most silage is rather deficient in protein, and the 

 addition of a little lucerne or oaten hay, copra or linseed cake, bran, or (in 

 sugar-growing districts) small quantities of molasses, will he found advan- 

 tageous, especially in feeding young or growing stock. 



A New Type of Stack.* 



A factor that has exerted a retarding influence upon the development of 

 stack silage on the North Coast is the difficulty frequently experienced 

 in securing the services of competent stack-builders. As little or no hay 

 is produced in this district, opportunities for practising stacking are corres- 

 pondingly few. Farmers are aware that bad stacking means increased 

 waste, and realise that the collapse of the stack after completion would mean 

 silage wholly spoilt — considerations which naturally make them somewhat 

 cautious. In order to overcome these objections and to assist in bringing 

 ensilage into more general use, a system of parallel stacking, as distinct from 

 the square system of crossed bundles, has been evolved. This new method 

 has achieved much popularity in Queensland, and has also been practised 

 successfully on the North Coast of New South Wales. 



The advantages of the new system are, briefly, as follows : — 



1. Practically all risk of collapse consequent upon had stacking is 



eliminated, no skilled labour being required and the construction 

 of the stack being such as to prevent collapse or canting. 



2. Weather waste is minimised. Maize and sorghum are the crops 



almost invariably used for silage on the North Coa?t, and, as under 

 the new system the bundle or sheaves are laid in the one direction, 

 a much better compaction is obtained. 



3. Good samples of silage can be made from amounts of material much 



too small for utilisation by the old method. 



4. Some advantage is derived from the fact that when feeding the 



silage there are no great inequalities in length of stalk. 



Building the Frame. 



The new method is designed chiefly for handling maize or crops of similar 

 habit of growth, such as sorghum and millet. It usually consists of an 

 oblong stack, supported along both sides in order that the bundles may be 

 laid in the one direction, the need for cross layers being thus entirely 

 avoided. 



* G. C. Sparks, Inspector of Agriculture. 



