of one ton of the former to seven or eight tons of corn, make a well 

 balanced ration for dairy cows. A good plan is to drill corn intended 

 for the silo and after the last cultivation plant cow peas between the 

 rows. The pea vines will climb the stalks and can be cut with the corn 

 when it is ready to be placed in the silo. By pursuing this course, 

 much labor is saved and a fairly accurate balanced ration is secured. 

 Sunflowers are sometimes added with good results. It is not advisable 

 to place millet in the silo for the reason that the stems seem to mould. 

 After the silo has been filled, the top should be covered with a layer 

 of hay or straw after running through the cutter. This top cover 

 should be wet down and made compact. The heavy gases, the result 

 of fermentation, should be allowed to escape through a ventilator in 

 the top. Until after fermentation has ceased, caution should be used 

 in entering a silo for fear of an accumulation of carbonic acid gas. 

 The presence of that deadly gas can be ascertained by lowering a 

 lighted lantern into the silo before entering. If gas exists in dan- 

 gerous quantities, the light will be extinguished. 



Feeding 



If silage is exposed to the air for a few days, it begins to spoil ; hence 

 the farmer should carefully consider the number of cattle to be fed when 

 he constructs the silo. About two or three inches of the surface should 

 be removed each day, and, if even more can be fed, there will be less 

 waste. 



It is always advisable to build the silo high and less in diameter. By 

 so doing the surface exposure is lessened and the silage is more compact 



Materials Used in Construction 



Wooden silos can be constructed at little cost, and, as a rule, give good 

 results. The foundation must be of concrete or stone and the ground 

 floor thoroughly tamped. The sides should be made of good material, 

 fir being preferable, free from cracks and knots. It should be tongued 

 and gi'ooved and bound with very heavy, substantial iron bands. If 

 studding is used and the silo is lined for the purpose of creating an -air 

 space, that air space must be well ventilated ; otherwise, it will become 

 mouldy and unsanitary because of dampness from the silage. 



If a wooden silo is protected by painting occasionally and the joints 

 are leaded when the structure is built and the iron bands are tightened 

 whenever the wood shrinks, it will be very durable and give excellent 

 service for many years. 



If cement, stone or brick construction, the walls should be made 

 thick, reinforced, and great care taken that the inside is made perfectly 

 smooth. On account of the great pressure, such silos are apt to crack 

 unless care is used in construction. Like the wooden silo, if an air space 

 is made it should be ventilated. 



