Concrete Silos 15 



silo the stalk as well as the ear is preserved, thus mak- 

 ing the whole corn plant available for feeding pur- 

 poses. Practically 40 per cent of the feeding value of 

 the corn plant lies in the stalk, leaves and husks, the 

 remainder in the ear. Therefore, if only the ears are 

 gathered, much of the remaining 40 per cent of the 

 crop remains in the field to bother the farmer in pre- 

 paring his seedbed for the following year. As corn 

 should be cut for the silo before the lower leaves are 

 lost there is practically no waste. About twice the 

 amount of dry matter can be stored in the form of 

 silage as corn fodder. A cubic foot of hay in the mow 

 contains about 4.3 pounds of dry matter, while a cubic 

 foot of silage contains 8.9 pounds of dry matter. A 

 cubic foot of space in the silo is, therefore, worth more 

 than twice an equal space in the mow. 



The digestive organs of animals that chew their 

 cud are so formed as to require comparatively juicy 

 and bulky feeds. The cow cannot thrive on dry feed 

 as well as the horse. The ideal food for the dairy cow 

 is green pasture, but for a number of months during 

 the year she is deprived of this feed. The best sub- 

 stitutions for green pasture are root crops and corn 

 silage. As silage yields twice as much dry matter per 

 acre as roots and does not require as much labor, silage 

 is by far the more economical wherever corn can be 

 raised. Silage has a laxative effect upon the animal 

 and aids in maintaining a healthy and vigorous condi- 

 tion. 



The population of the United States is doubling 

 every thirty years, which means that the farms will 

 gradually become smaller and that more feed must be 

 produced per acre. The high price of land also de- 

 mands that more intensive methods must be used to 

 obtain a dividend in proportion to the value of the soil. 

 Practice tells us that one acre of corn placed in the 

 silo will yield enough feed to supply a milk cow 40 

 pounds of silage for 500 days or 4 cows 125 days. 



Another important factor is the reduction in stor- 

 age space of silage compared to that required for hay. 



