CHAPTER IX. 



HOW TO MAKE SILAGE. 

 Filling the Silo. 



A. Indian Corn. As previously stated, corn should be left in 

 the field before cutting until it has passed through the dough 

 stage, i. e., when the kernels are well dented or glazed, in case 

 of flint varieties. Where very large silos are filled- and in cases 

 of extreme dry weather when the corn is fast drying up, it will 

 be well to begin filling the silo a little before it has reached this 

 stage, as the greater portion of the corn would otherwise be apt 

 to be too dry. There is, however, less danger in this respect 

 now than formerly, on account of our modern deep silos, and be- 

 cause we have found that water applied directly to the fodder in 

 the silo acts in the same way as water in the fodder, and keeps 

 the fermentations in the silo in check and in the right track. 



Cutting the Corn in the Field. The cutting of corn for the 

 silo is usually on small farms done by hand by means of a corn 

 knife. Many farmers have been using self-raking and binding 

 corn harvesters for this purpose, while others report good success 

 with a sled or platform cutter. If the corn stands up well, and 

 is not of a very large variety, the end sought may be reached in 

 a satisfactory manner by either of these methods. If, on the 

 other hand, much of the corn is down, hand cutting is to be 

 preferred. A number of different makes of corn harvesters and 

 corn cutters are now on the market; and it is very likely that 

 hand-cutting of fodder corn will be largely done away with in 

 years to come, at least on large farms, indeed, it looks as if the 

 day of the corn knife was passing away, and as if this implement 

 will soon be relegated to obscurity with the sickle of our fathers' 

 time. 



If a corn harvester is used, it will be found to be a great ad- 

 vantage to have the bundles made what seems rather small. It 

 will take a little more twine, but the loaders, the haulers, the 

 unloaders, and even the Silage Cutter itself will handle much more 

 corn in a day if the bundles are small and light, and it will be 

 found to be economy to see that this is done. 



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