180 HOW TO MAKE SILAGE. 



no harm will result, if for any reason the work be interrupted for 

 some time. More silage can be put into a silo with slow, than 

 with rapid filling. If the farmer owns his own machine, he can, 

 of course, fill his silo and then refill after the silage has settled, 

 so that the silo will be nearly full after all settling has taken 

 place. 



If, however, the farmer must depend on hiring an outfit, he 

 will wish to do the filling as rapidly as possible, as a matter of 

 economy, and will, therefore, seek the largest possible capacity. 



It is important to be able to get an outfit when it is needed. 

 An early frost or a spell of hot, dry weather may so affect the 

 crop that it is necessary to fill the silo several days before the 

 usual time. For this reason a man should own his own cutter 

 and engine, especially if he cuts enough silage each year to war- 

 rant the expenditure. Usually it is easier to hire an engine than 

 a cutter. Many find it wise, therefore, to buy the latter and de- 

 pend on being able to rent the former when it is needed. Where 

 individual ownership is not possible, the next best move is for 

 two or three neighbors to purchase the necessary machinery in 

 partnership. 



The size of the cutter to purchase depends also on how it is 

 to be used. For private use, when the silo is not large, a small 

 silo filler will suffice; for a neighborhood machine where two or 

 three farmers combine, a larger size will be desirable; in either 

 case if the silos are of large size or the cutter is to be used for 

 jobbing work at other farms the larger sizes will certainly prove 

 more profitable. In some sections, community cutters have be- 

 come popular where from eight to fifteen farmers purchase com- 

 plete equipment for their own use. With fifteen or twenty men 

 and several teams on the job there is always friendly rivalry as 

 to the size of loads, speed in unloading, etc., and periodic efforts 

 to choke or stall the cutter are sure to result. It's a special 

 feature of the game that should be considered and only the 

 largest capacity cutter should be selected in such cases if supreme 

 satisfaction is desired. 



These conditions have created a demand for various sizes of 

 cutters, and to meet this demand Silver's "Ohio" Silage Cut- 

 ters are made in six sizes, Nos. 11, 12, 15, 17, 19 and 22 (the 

 number of the machine indicates the length of knives and width 



