CHAPTER XIV. 

 SILOS. 



Animals do best when feeding upon green and succu- 

 lent pastures. In the greater part of the country, how- 

 ever, these are not available during the winter season. 

 The silo is a very satisfactory substitute, since it is a very 

 effective method of preserving green forage. Silos do 

 for live stock what the canning of fruit and vegetables 

 does for man. Forage for live stock when left in the 

 field deteriorates and decays or matures and becomes dry 

 and less palatable; when put into a silo it holds its succu- 

 lence and freshness and remains soft and appetizing. It 

 is thus available as a choice food for all classes of live 

 stock at a time when most needed. A silo enables the 

 farmer to preserve a larger quantity of food material 

 than is possible by any other system ; it furnishes a feed 

 of known .and uniform quality ; it provides the most eco- 

 nomical form of storage; it removes much of the drudg- 

 ery and hardship incidental to live stock feeding. 



Form of construction. A good silo is so constructed 

 as to be practically air-tight, thus excluding the bacteria 

 that cause deterioration. A silo may be round, square, or 

 rectilineal in form. The round is the most popular. It 

 contains less waste space, presents much greater strength, 

 and for a given capacity requires less lumber than any 

 other form. The advantage of the circular form over 

 the square is not so great for smaller silos, particularly 

 when simplicity of construction is taken into account, as 

 for larger. 



The relation of the form of construction to capacity is 

 illustrated by the three following types : 



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