162 HOW TO MAKE SILAGE. 



tage 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 for cover than dry sub- 

 stances, since they prevent evaporation of water from the 

 top layer; when this is dry air will be admitted to the fod- 

 der below, thus making it possible for putrefactive bacteria 

 and molds to continue the destructive work begun by the 

 fermentation bacteria, and causing more of the silage to 

 spoil. 



Use of Water in Filling Silos. During late years the 

 practice of applying water to the fodder in the silo has 

 been followed in a large number of cases. The surface 

 is tramped thoroughly and a considerable amount of water 

 added. In applying the method at the Wisconsin Station, 

 Prof. King, a few days after the completion of the filling 

 of the silo, added water to the fodder corn at the rate of 

 about ten pounds per square foot of surface, repeating the 

 same process about ten days afterwards. By this method 

 a sticky, almost impervious layer of rotten silage, a couple 

 of inches thick, will form on the top, which will prevent 

 evaporation of water from the corn below, and will pre- 

 serve all but a few inches at the top. The method can be 

 recommended in cases where the corn or clover goes into 

 the silo in a rather dry condition, on account of drouth 

 or extreme hot weather, so as not to pack sufficiently by 

 its own weight. While weighting of the siloed fodder has 

 long since been done away with, it may still prove ad- 

 vantageous to resort to it where very dry fodder is siloed, 



