162 THE DOMESTIC SHEEP. 



doors must be carefully fitted so as to preserve the condi- 

 tions required in the silo. 



A conical roof is put on, and the thing is complete. It 

 Is a desirable plan to build this silo in the corner of the barn 

 or feeding shed, so that the silage may be thrown ouf, and 

 two rows of doors, one outside for filling, and one i/uside for 

 taking out, may be put in for convenience of use. The roof 

 must of course be rain and snow proof. The outside should 

 be painted two coats of the iron paint. 



FILLING THE SILO. 



Corn grown, as mentioned previously, that is iln rows 

 three feet apart and spaced in the rows eight inches apart, 

 is the best crop for ensilage. It may be cut when the grains 

 are glazed or left to fully ripen, and if they are partly dry 

 it is in no way hurtful. If they have been nipped by a frost 

 or are too dry for the full degree of heating and fermenta- 

 tion, they should be wetted freely when they are put into the 

 silo, and trampled down as firmly as possible, especially 

 around the edge of the silo so as to force out as much of the 

 air as possible. It will be a saving of the top of the silage 

 if it is covered for a foot or two with dry chaff or cut 

 straw. This will absorb the dampness escaping as the 

 silage heats, and ferments, and save the top for a few inches 

 which would otherwise mold by the action of the escaping 

 heat and dampness. 



Any green crop may be ensiloed. And it is a good way 

 to use surplus straw to cut it and pack it in with the green 

 stuff, either mixed or" in layers. Dr. Voelcker, in his experi- 

 ments made for the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 

 found that this mixture of straw, even in a barn mow, with 

 quite green clover or other similar stuff, in layers of a foot 

 of each, has been so favorably acted upon by the moist heat 

 that the whole has cured perfectly, and increased the straw 

 in feeding value to an equality with the clover. Thus by 

 this method, a commonly wasted product may be utilized 

 by the silo -with much economy. In taking out the silage 

 for use it is not necessary to cover the fresh surface, as this 

 has been cured so thoroughly by the heat of the silo as to 

 keep in good condition until it can be used for the feeding. 



Sheep must not have sour food; but the little acidity 



