388 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The silo should be located near where the ensilaofe is to be 

 fed, but separated fiom the live stock, especially where 

 cows are milked, so that no gaseous emanations from the 

 silo can affect the flavor of the milk by their odors, which 

 has in a few instances occurred. A parallelogram is the 

 best form for a silo. It should be partly underground, with 

 solid concrete or stone walls, smoothly cemented, and made 

 impervious to water. The part that is above ground may be 

 of wood, with strong frame to support the lateral pressure, 

 and ceiled with planed, matched boards, one thickness being 

 sufficient. The deeper the silo the better, up to thirty feet. 

 The covering should be of plank, or of battened boards, 

 from two to four feet wide, laid directly upon the ensilage, 

 allowing space for settling, without pressure against the 

 sides of the silo. This covering must be weighted with any 

 heavy material most convenient. Nothing is better than 

 stones that a man can handle conveniently. A pressure of 

 two hundred pounds to the square foot is requisite for good 

 results. The cost of building walls of masonry is from 

 three dollars and a half to five dollars per ton of capacity, 

 and fifty cents, or less, for wooden structures. 



While corn takes the lead as a crop for ensilage, any 

 other crop used for soiling cattle makes good ensilage. The 

 varieties of corn making the largest growth, such as the 

 Southern White or Blunt's Prolific, give the best results. 

 With good fertilization and cultivation, from twelve to fifty 

 tons may be grown on an acre, according to circumstances. 

 From twenty to twenty-five tons may be considered an aver- 

 age crop. Cultivation with the Thomas Smoothing Harrow, 

 until the corn is eight inches high, and Avith a horse- cultiva- 

 tor once later is sufficient ; no hand hoeing is required. 



The average total cost of raising and filling the crop into 

 the silo, as taken from the accounts kept by fourteen 

 growers, is two dollars and sixty-three cents per ton. The 

 cost varied from ninety-two cents in Nebraska to four 

 dollars in Lawrence and North Andover, Mass. 



The best stage of growth to cut ensilage is when the grain 

 is in milk. Three pecks or a bushel of seed to the acre, 

 sown in drills, from three and one-half to four feet apart, 

 has jriven the best general satisfaction. 



