258 THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE 



ceives. Stock should have warm, airy, light, clean, sweet stables 

 (see Fig. 32, p. 86); and in cold weather the drinking water 

 should be slightly warmed. Stock should not be turned out on 

 cold and blustery days, and a covered yard (Fig. 30) should be 

 provided. To endeavor to secure good results in feeding ani- 

 mals which are cold and uncomfortable is like trying to heat a 

 house with the windows open. 



469o. Our domestic animals while in a wild state depended 

 for existence almost wholly upon green forage. This trait 

 survives in the fact that in many cases animals will make a 

 larger return for a given amount of nutrients when given green 

 and fresh food than they will for the same nutrients when dry. 



4696. Silage (not ensilage) is forage preserved in a green and 

 succulent condition. It is preserved by being kept in a tight 

 receptacle, from which air and germs are excluded as much as 

 possible. This receptacle is called a silo. Maize (corn-fodder) 

 is the most popular silage material. It is cut into lengths of 

 an inch or two and immediately placed in the silo, being 

 firmly tramped and compacted, and the mass then covered with 

 straw, hay, boards, or other material. Circular silos are best 

 because the material settles evenly all around. Fig. 90 shows 

 a very economical silo at Cornell University. It is 12 feet in 

 diameter and 24 feet high, and rests on a cement floor. It is 

 made of lumber 24 feet long, 6 inches wide and 2 inches thick, 

 the edges not bevelled. The pieces are held together by sec- 

 tions of woven fence -wire, drawn together by means of screw 

 clamps. There is no framework. Silage is useful as a part of 

 the daily ration, but it is easy to feed it to excess. Forty pounds 

 a day is usually sufficient for a cow in full milk. 



473a. Persons who desire to pursue these subjects further 

 should consult Henry's "Feeds and Feeding," and Armsby's 

 "Manual of Cattle Feeding;" also Jordan's "Feeding of Animals." 



