CHAPTER V. 



CROPS SUITABLE FOR THE SILO. 



It would seem to be possible to preserve in the 

 silo with more or less of success any of the crops 

 that are ordinarily grown in this country as food for 

 live stock. Nevertheless, the exact methods to be 

 followed in storing many of these crops so as to 

 properly preserve them have not yet been fully deter- 

 mined. The relative suitability of crops for being 

 made into silage is determined by various considera- 

 tions. Chief among these is the ease with which 

 they may be preserved in the silo. But prominent 

 among the same are the following: i, The readi- 

 ness with which they may be grown in ample supply. 

 2, The ease with which they may be put into the silo 

 and taken out of the same. 3, The facility with 

 which they may be preserved by other methods. 

 Corn for instance is more easily preserved in the silo 

 than winter rye and it also produces more food per 

 acre. On these grounds therefore it is so far the 

 more suitable food of the two for being made into 

 silage. Clover is more easily handled than rape, 

 hence it is so far a more suitable silo crop. Sorghum 

 is more difficult to cure in the dry form than peas 

 and oats, hence it is more suitable than the latter for 

 siloing. 



The relative suitability of the following plants 

 for being made into silage will now be considered, 



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