8 Concrete Silos 



(21) Silage can be fed successfully as a part ra- 

 tion for horses. 



(22) Silage may be fed as a conditioner to swine 

 in general, and as a part ration to old brood sows. 



(23) Silage mixed with wheat and potatoes, equal 

 parts, and boiled in water makes a good ration for 

 poultry. 



(24) Silage takes up less room in storage than 

 either hay or corn fodder. 



As to the kind of crops which can be preserved in 

 the silo to advantage, it has been stated that anything 

 which does not have a hollow stem will make good 

 silage. This statement has a reasonable measure of 

 truth. The reason that crops with hollow stems have 

 been excluded is, that it is impossible to get the air 

 pressed out of the stems, and on account of the pres- 

 ence of this air, decomposition is sure to take place. 



The fact remains, however, that corn is pre-emi- 

 nently the crop for the silo. As stated by Prof. C. H. 

 Eckles, of the Missouri Experiment Station, and borne 

 out by the statements of many other authorities, the 

 total yield of nutrients per acre with this crop is greater 

 than ordinarily secured from any other. It has the 

 further advantage of packing well to exclude the air, 

 and contains the proper amount of sugar to form acids 

 needed to preserve without becoming sour. 



An a/ere of corn as silage requires much less room 

 for storage than an acre of corn harvested in any other 

 way. When the harvesting is done the work is mainly 

 over. The field is left clear for any fall sowing. Drilled 

 corn yielding 75 bushels to the acre, when cut and 

 shocked, eleven shocks to the -acre, covers about 3 per 

 cent of the area of the field. The shocks remain in the 

 way of the next crop. Before the corn is husked out, 

 bad, rainy, snowy weather often comes. The stalks, 



