36 IL R. STEVENS ON ENSILAGE. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



WILL require either steam or horse power, also a powerful fodder- 

 cutter. A good portable engine, with boiler attached, that will d 

 all the work, and do it well, will cost from a hundred and fifty to two 

 hundred dollars. 



A good fodder-cutter will cost forty to a hundred and twenty-five 

 dollars. 



A good one-horse power, all ready to hitch to your fodder-cutter, 

 will cost a hundred dollars. With this you can cut twenty-five tons 

 per day, easy. 



A good two-horse power will cost a hundred and sixty dollars. 



This power would require a more powerful cutter, and would cut 

 fifty tons or more in a day. If the farmer thinks it would be expen- 

 sive to buy this power and cutter for the few days he would want it 

 in the fall and early summer, to fill his silo, and if he has a small silo 

 to start with, he could unite with others in his town or county, say 

 two ; it would divide the expense : four would make the first cost 

 less, six would make it very small. Or one man could own a good 

 two-horse power with a powerful cutter, or a steam-engine, and go 

 from farm to farm, and charge a good fair price. In this way it 

 would come very reasonable to the farmer. 



If you are ready to fill the silo, it is important to have your corn- 

 fodder and grasses fresh-cut when taken to the silo. Do not cut any 

 more in the field than you can take care of at the fodder-cutter, more 

 particularly if it is a bright, sunny day. If my silo held one hundred 

 tons or less, I should cut it three-eighths or four-tenths of an inch. 

 I should never cut over a half-inch for any-size silo. You are per- 

 fectly safe in cutting these lengths. There is no doubt, the finer the 

 cut, the closer the pack ; and from the beginning to the end pack 

 your fodder close, tramp, tramp, with plenty of pressure. Tramp 

 well, close to the sides and the corners. When your silo is full, even 

 with the top of your walls, and you have more corn-fodder or grasses, 

 you can build a frame of plank, two or three feet high, and of the 

 same width and length of the silo. Place this upon the walls, and 

 fill the space to the top of the wooden feeder. Upon the ensilage 

 a cover of plank is placed : load with heavy weights, and in two 



