CHAPTER VI. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



When crops are preserved in the silo, much of 

 the success in thus storing them depends upon such 

 considerations as the stage at which they are har- 

 vested and the precise methods followed in storing. 

 The expense incurred will also be materially affected 

 by the way in which the work is done. The various 

 questions which bear upon these points will now be 

 considered. 



Stage of Harvesting. The stage of develop- 

 ment at which crops should be harvested when put 

 into the silo will vary with the kind of crop to be 

 preserved. Corn is in the best condition for being 

 harvested when the grain in the ear has reached the 

 "glazed stage" or what is sometimes termed the 

 "roasting stage." If put into the silo at an earlier 

 period the corn is less nutritious than it would other- 

 wise be, and it is also more likely to make silage 

 unduly acid. If allowed to pass the stage indicated, 

 the corn is somewhat liable to become more or less 

 moldy. The mold thus formed is found in spots 

 or masses interspersed through the silage. The 

 over-acid condition is induced by over succulence in 

 the corn, and the moldy condition by want of succu- 

 lence. The remedy for the first consists in wilting 

 the corn more or less before siloing it, and for the 

 second, in cutting the corn at an earlier period. It 



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