MAKING VETCH HAY 127 



There is a considerable amount of labour expended 

 in covering the stack with soil, but labour saving 

 may be effected in various ways. In the first place, 

 hand digging the soil may be avoided by drawing a 

 cultivator or disc harrow round and round the stack 

 until sufficient material has been obtained, while the 

 soil may be raised on to the top of the stack by fitting 

 a box on to the haulage rope of the horse fork. 



As the stack settles down, cracks will appear in the 

 layer of soil. These should be closed with a hand 

 rake, using the back of a spade to smooth off. 



TEMPERATURE OF THE STACK 



Apart from the greater labour required when silage 

 is made on the ordinary plan, there is far less waste 

 in the method here recommended. The silage is 

 sweet, free from mould, very palatable, and when a 

 little experience has been obtained, it may be made 

 so that when the stack is cut into, the silage is almost 

 as green as the day it was carted. 



Success depends upon controlling the temperature 

 properly in the making. 



This can be done by regulating the rate of building 

 and by using salt. The condition of the forage has 

 also an important bearing on the temperature. If it 

 is green and wet, and is stacked very rapidly without 

 stopping, the temperature will not generally rise 

 beyond 120° F., and the resulting silage will be very 

 wet, sour, and have a most disagreeable smell. If 

 the crop is fairly dry the base of the stack will 

 probably be sour, the middle sweet, and the top may 

 become " browned." 



There seems to be far less danger than is generally 

 imagined as regards the possibility of spontaneous 



