tlonal and economical system of producing and storing this kind 

 of food. 



The following directions for establishing the system upon- 

 either small or large farms may aid those wish to commence the 

 present year. The capacity of the silo must first be determined, 

 and this is dependent upon the number of cattle to be fed. For 

 our climate we must count upon barn feeding for two hundred 

 days, and at fifty pounds of ensilage per day we shall need five 

 tons per animal ; this amount will be sufficient for a full sized 

 cow or ox. Young cattle need less, but with the shrinkage and 

 waste five tons is a sufficiently close estimate. For twenty cat- 

 tle, therefore, one hundred tons are needed. Having decided 

 on the amount needed, the question arises, how great a space is 

 needed to hold this amount. No definite answer can be siven 

 to this, as the space required per ton varies with the size of silo 

 and the depth. Fifty cubic feet will contain rather more than a 

 ton in siloes of seventy to one hundred tons capacity, so that our 

 silo to hold one hundred tons might be 15x15 feet and thirty feet 

 high, the extra space being necessary, as it is impossible to fill 

 a silo so as to have it more than three-fourths full when settled. 

 A better shape for a one hundred ton silo would be 20x20 feet 

 and sixteen feet high ; the dimension for a fifty ton silo might 

 be 12x15x16 feet; a twenty-five ton silo, 12x12x12 feet; a twen- 

 ty ton silo, 10x10x12 feet. 



HOW TO CONSTRUCT. 



, If economy is to be practiced, select a section or joint in 

 the barn, remove floors, and if there is a barn cellar place sills. 

 on the bottom of this and set 2xS scantling vertically, bringing 

 the inside edges even, with the sills of the barn. The bottom 

 may or may not be cemented, according as the ground is wet or 

 dry. If to be cemented, three casks of cement and an equal 

 amount of sharp sand or gravel will cover a bottom i6xr6 

 and turn up on the sides two feet, which will give a tight silo. 

 Common spruce or hemlock boards, square edged and planed 

 on one side, are the best f>;r boarding the inside of the silo; 

 these are to be. put on in two course.;, breaking joints, and if 

 thoroughly nailed will give a tight pit. No tongueing or match- 

 ing is needed. Tarred paper may be put between the boarding, 

 if desired, but I doubt if it is of great utility. At some point, 

 most easily accessible, an opening, extending nearly the height 



12 



