822 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



built a pit with air-tight walls, ten or twelve feet deep, and stored 

 the cut fodder in it, covered it with boards, and weighted it down 

 with five hundred pounds to the square yard. He found, that 

 by this means the fodder was preserved in good condition 

 throughout. 



The fact that fodder-corn can be preserved in this way has 

 been fully established, and also that these green crops, cut at 

 the point in their growth when they are most succulent and 

 nutritious, will retain all their feeding value, and not only be 

 palatable to the stock, but also have a good effect upon the 

 health and growth of the animal. 



It has perhaps been unfortunate for the system that those 

 among the first to experiment on it in our country allowed their 

 enthusiasm to run away with their judgment, and put forth ab- 

 surd claims which led farmers to look with suspicion upon the 

 process. The first silos built were also generally expensive, 

 and the impression made upon farmers was, that they must be 

 built of concrete or solid masonry and made below ground. It 

 has been found, however, that a very cheap silo can be made 

 that will preserve the crops as well as the more expensive ones. 

 How to make a cheap silo will be described in this chapter. 



There are now enough silos in the United States, and in the 

 hands of such men that a few years will put. us in possession 

 of facts which will enable us to definitely settle the question of 

 profit connected with this method of feeding. With such men 

 as Professor Henry, of the State University of Wisconsin, and 

 Professor Roberts, of Cornell University, of New York, and oth- 

 ers, who are experimenting, not for the purpose of establishing 

 some pet theory, but to ascertain the relative merits of dried 

 fodder and ensilage, we may be sure of an impartial and prac- 

 tical treatment of the subject. 



Conceding that the question is already settled that green 

 fodder can be preserved in a silo, and that stock will eat it and 

 thrive on it, there are still several questions to be considered 

 before farmers should adopt the system. 



Among these questions are: 1st, Cost of a silo; 2d, 

 Comparative cost and risk of damage in curing fodder, or in 



