Modern Silage Methods. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Thirty years ago few farmers knew what a silo was, and fewer 

 still had ever seen a silo or fed silage to their stock. Today silos 

 are as common as barn buildings in many farming districts in 'this 

 country, and thousands of farmers would want to quit farming 

 if they could not have silage to feed to their stock during the 

 larger portion of the year. Thirty years ago it would have been 

 necessary to begin a book describing the siloing system with 

 definitions, what is meant by silos and silage; now all farmers 

 who read agricultural papers or attend agricultural or dairy con- 

 ventions are at least familiar with these words, even if they have 

 not had a chance to become familiar with the appearance and 

 properties of silage. They know that a SILO is an air-tight struc- 

 ture used for the preservation of green, coarse fodder in a succu- 

 lent condition, and that SILAGE is the feed taken out of a silo. 



We shall later see which crops are adapted for silage making, 

 but want to state here at the outset that Indian corn is pre- 

 eminently the American crop suited to be preserved in silos, and 

 that this crop is siloed far more than all other kinds of crops put 

 together. When the word silage is mentioned we, therefore, in- 

 stinctively think of corn silage. We shall also follow this plan in 

 the discussions in this book; when only silage is spoken of we 

 mean silage made from the corn plant; if made from other crops 

 the name of the crop is always given, as clover silage, peavine 

 silage ,etc. 



History of the Silo. While the silo in one form or another 

 dates back to antiquity, it was not until the latter part of the 

 seventies that the building of silos intended for manufacture of 

 silage began in this country. In 1882 the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture could find only ninety-one farmers in this 

 country who used silos. During the last twenty-five years, how- 

 ever, silos have gradually become general in all sections of the 

 country where dairying and stock-raising are important indus- 

 tries; it is likely, if a census were taken of the number of silos 

 in this country today, that we would find between a half 



