THE BENEFITS FROM SILOING CROPS. 26 1 



preferable to one or two kinds, and a change of food 

 to sameness in the diet. 



If air is excluded from silage it will probably 

 keep for an indefinite period. Nevertheless there 

 would seem to be no good reasons for trying to pre- 

 serve silage for more than one year under ordinary 

 conditions. The additional space required for stor- 

 ing silage intended for feeding more than one year 

 would be unnecessarily costly, nor would any com- 

 mensurate benefits accrue from so doing. There 

 would seem to be no more necessity for providing 

 storage for silage to last more than a year than for 

 providing the same for crops that are cured in the 

 dry form. 



Food More Palatable. When food is properly 

 preserved in the silo it is certainly more palatable 

 than when fed in the dry form. This means that 

 a less proportion of the food will be wasted in feed- 

 ing. In fact, there should be but little waste in feed- 

 ing silage in any instance and in many instances 

 none at all. However the liability of improper 

 curing must not be lost sight of. It is easily possible 

 to make silage that will not be palatable, as for in- 

 stance, when it is excessively acid, or when it con- 

 tains more or less of dry mold. 



When food is thus fed in a succulent condition, 

 up to a certain limit at least, it acts beneficially on 

 the digestive organs. It tends to relieve consti- 

 pation induced by feeding dry food when made a 

 part of the ration, and consequently it acts bene- 

 ficially on the health of the animals. But when fed 

 in excess, as when it is made the sole ration for any 

 lengthened period, or when it is inferior in quality, 



