FILLING THE SILO. 347 



But it should not be forgotten that by whatso- 

 ever method the silage is covered, there will be more 

 or less of loss. Because of this, some silo owners 

 have adopted the practice of not covering the silage 

 at all. They argue that the greater waste of silage 

 that follows is at least offset by the labor involved in 

 covering the silage. This may be- true of the 

 more laborious methods adopted, as by weighting, 

 but it is scarcely true when the comparison is made 

 between no covering and covering with a growth of 

 grain. To leave silage thus uncovered would only 

 be commendable when the feeding of the silage is to 

 begin at once. 



Preserving Green Crops Without the Silo. 

 Crops are sometimes preserved in the green form 

 without a silo. They are thus preserved in the stack 

 and also under cover in the mow. The principle of 

 preservation however is the same. Through the 

 partial fermentation which the food undergoes, the 

 air in the mass is expelled and through pressure 

 induced by the green condition of the food, the air 

 is kept excluded. This pressure is sometimes fur- 

 ther increased by artificial means in some instances 

 while the food is being deposited and in other in- 

 stances subsequently. When food is thus stored the 

 stack and also the mow becomes in a sense a silo. 



Curing green food in the stack is somewhat 

 common in Great Britain, while the green food is 

 being stacked heavy rollers are made to run over the 

 green mass from time to time, or pressure is other- 

 wise applied, and the food is thus preserved. While 

 the practice may be a good one for farmers to adopt 

 in countries with much rain in harvest, and where 



