FREEZING OF SILAGE. 165 



years of drouth, making all years good crop years for 

 silo dairymen." 



Freezing of Silage. 



Freezing of silage has sometimes been a source of 

 annoyance and loss to farmers in Northern States, and 

 in the future, with the progress of the stave silo, we 

 shall most likely hear more about frozen silage than we 

 have in the past. As stated in the discussion of the stave 

 silo, however, the freezing of silage must be considered 

 an inconvenience rather than a positive detriment; when 

 the silage is thawed out it is eaten with the same relish 

 by stock as is silage that has never been frozen, and 

 apparently with equally good results. If frozen silage 

 is not fed out directly after thawed it will spoil and soon 

 become unfit to be used for cattle food; thawed silage 

 will spoil much sooner than ordinary silage that has not 

 been frozen and thawed out. There is no evidence that 

 silage which has been frozen and slowly thawed out, is 

 less palatable or nutritious than silage of the same kind 

 which has been kept free from frost. 



"Freezing of silage," says Iowa State College Bulletin 

 No. 100, "is due to loss of heat; first, through the silo 

 wall; and second, to the air in contact with the feeding 

 surface. 



"It may be impartially said that, as far as the pre- 

 vention of freezing is concerned, the stave, stone, single 

 wall brick and concrete silos are of about equal merit. 



"The second cause of freezing mentioned, that is, the 

 loss of heat from the silage surface, is too often the cause 

 of unnecessary freezing. If air above the silage is confined, 

 no serious loss of heat can possibly take place. When the 

 top of the silo is open and a free circulation of air permit- 

 ted, it is almost impossible to prevent the surface from 

 freezing in severe weather. A personal investigation of 

 silos in cold weather proved conclusively that those pro- 

 vided with a tight roof did not contain nearly as much 

 frozen silage as those left open." 



