CHAPTER VIII. 



SILOS AND 



A silo is an air-tight receptacle for preserving green 

 feeds in a succulent condition. Feed thus preserved is 

 known as silage. Clover, cow-peas and other forage 

 crops have been successfully made into silage, but expe- 

 rience has shown that the cheapest and most satisfactory 

 silage is made from corn cut in the denting or glazing 

 stage. 



Silage is now universally recognized as one of the 

 cheapest and most indispensable feeds in economical milk 

 production. With the studious dairyman, it is no longer 

 a question of, "Can I afford to build a silo," but, "Can I 

 afford to be without one?" 



Advantages of Silage. The advantages of feeding 

 s'lage may be briefly stated as follows : 



1. It furnishes the cheapest roughage available upon 

 the farm. 



2. It furnishes roughage, 'which, in degree of suc- 

 culence and palatability, more nearly approaches green 

 pasturage than anything else to be had upon the farm. 



3. Owing to its kinship to grass in succulence and 

 palatability, it can readily be substituted for the latter 

 during periods of drought and during late summer and 

 fall when pasturage is nearly always inadequate. 



4. It has made winter dairying a feasible and profit- 

 able business, because the silage readily takes the place 

 of summer pasturage. 



5. It furnishes a uniform feed and makes uniformly 



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