342 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



sides of the same which they must needs do if the 

 pieces are long*. The only objection probably to 

 the short lengths in the silage arise from the in- 

 creased labor of cutting the food thus short. It 

 would not seem to be necessary to cut soft-stemmed 

 crops in lengths so short as those that are hard. 



The expense of making silage is lessened by 

 doing the work in such a way that all the workmen 

 engaged shall be kept employed, that is to say, when 

 the men in the silo do not have to wait for cut food, 

 when the engine does not have to wait idly for the 

 arrival of uncut food from the fields, and when the 

 workmen in the fields do not have to wait for the 

 return of the teams which draw the food. To ar- 

 range the work thus requires some executive tact, 

 and where silos are numerous in any locality, it can 

 be most cheaply done when done in a co-operative 

 way. 



Putting the Food Into the Silo. The silo may 

 be filled quickly and without, any interruption save 

 that which is made by taking the usual rest required 

 by the workhands. Or, it may be filled slowly and 

 at intervals as may be convenient. The intervals of 

 cessation in filling should not at any time cover many 

 days lest the exposed silage should begin to decay, 

 unless it is absolutely necessary to wait after the silo 

 has been partially cured for some other crop to 

 mature. In such an event more or less of the food 

 that was last put into the silo will be spoiled. This 

 ought to be removed before the filling of the silo is 

 resumed. When but a short period is covered in 

 filling the silo, although it should be filled to the brim, 

 it will not remain full. 



