COVERING THE SILOED FODDER. 185 



down the cut. corn. If the doors above the siloed mass are left 

 open when the filling is stopped, and the silo thus ventilated, 

 carbonic acid poisoning cannot take place, since the gas will 

 then slowly diffuse into the air. Carbonic acid being without odor 

 or color, to all appearances like ordinary air, it cannot be directly 

 observed, but may be readily detected by means of a lighted lan- 

 tern or candle. If the light goes out when lowered into the silo- 

 there is an accumulation of carbonic acid in it, and a person 

 should open feed doors and fan the air in the silo before going 

 down into it. 



After the silage is made and the temperature in the silo has- 

 gone down considerably, there is no further evolution of car- 

 bonic acid, and therefore no danger in entering the silo even if 

 this has been shut up tight. The maximum evolution of carbonic 

 acid, and consequently the danger of carbonic-acid poisoning 

 comes during or directly after the filling of the silo. 



Covering the Siloed Fodder. 



Many devices for covering the siloed fodder have been recom- 

 mended and tried, with varying success. The original method' 

 was to put boards on top of the fodder, and to weight them 

 heavily by means of a foot layer of dirt or sand, or with stone. 

 The weighting having later on been done away with, lighter ma- 

 terial, as straw, hay, sawdust, etc., was substituted for the 

 stone or sand. Building paper was often placed over the fodder, 

 and boards on top of the paper. There is no special advantage 

 derived from the use of building-paper, and it is now never 

 used. Many farmers run some corn stalks, or green husked 

 fodder, through the cutter after the fodder is all in. In the South, 

 cotton-seed hulls are easily obtained, and form a cheap and most 

 efficient cover. 



None of these materials or any other recommended for the 

 purpose can perfectly preserve the uppermost layer of silage, 

 some four to six inches of the top layer being usually spoilt. 

 Occasionally this spoilt silage may not be so bad but that cattle 

 or hogs will eat it up nearly clean, but it is at best very poor 

 food and should. not be used by any farmer who cares for the 

 quality of his products. The wet or green materials are better 



