SILOS, ENSILAGE A^D SILAGE. 85 



feet work in the construction of organic substances, and 

 in the storing up of energy, and a corresponding 

 deficiency in the supplies of nutritive materials furnished 

 for the food of animals. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



When the crop has reached the proper stage of matu- 

 rity for harvesting, the work of filling the silo may 

 begin. As green fodder is heavy to handle, strict econ- 

 omy should be practiced in the labor expended in 

 harvesting the crop and filling the silo, to reduce the 

 cost of the silage to a minimum. Eeaping machines 

 have been successfully used in harvesting, and it is 

 claimed that they can be made to do the work well, by 

 cutting but one row at a time, even when the crop is a 

 heavy one. Taking the wear and tear of the machine 

 into account, and especially with the larger varieties of 

 fodder corn, cutting by hand will, perhaps, be found 

 quite as economical in the long run, particularly if the 

 crop is a reasonably heavy one. In hauling from the 

 field to the silo, two or three wagons, and one or two 

 teams, according to the distance of the haul, will be 

 -found convenient, but no arbitrary rule can be laid down 

 in regard to the details of such work, on account of 

 differences in the conditions, in each particular case, and 

 the farmer must plan the work for himself to make every 

 step count as far as possible. 



