ON THE SILO. 



a complete fodder, requiring: special concentrated foods to cause a 

 continuous flow of rich milk. On these points hinge the essential 

 qualities of silage versus hay. 



But there is this to be said in favour of silage: It can be made 

 from our most productive fodder crops, and in \veather not alto- 

 gether suitable for hay-making. Take, for example, broadcast maize, 

 it is a large productive crop, and most suitable for silage, nor. so 

 for hay. 



In touching upon the crops for silage, at the cutset it is well 

 to remember that the silo has no inherent power by which it can 

 convert worthless, innutritious materials into valuable stock feed. 

 If we put good fodder in the silo, it may come out less valuable 

 than in its original state; but it can scarcely be better. In other 

 words, is a means of preserving fodder, and not for adding nutri- 

 tive value to it. Among all the crops generally grown as stock 

 inod, experience points to maize as the best for s/lage making, and 

 the next best is the natural grasses of Australia. Other crops, 

 such as the sorghum family, may give larger yields; but if we con- 

 sider the nutritive value of maize, and that of our natural grasses, 

 we must obtain good results. Lucerne, oats, barley, wheat, and, 

 indeed, all good forages, may be preserved by the use of the silo, 

 and farmers will often do well to utilise any or all of these for 

 silage making, as suits their convenience. 



The secret of success in corn growing everywhere is to be able 

 to keep the ground clean and mellow, without having to resort 

 much to the use of hand labour. The successful maize-grower 

 makes the horse team furnish the muscle required in making the 

 crop. This is true whether the object of the crop be silage or 

 grain. That practical experiment has operated against the univer- 

 sal adoption of silage, cannot be entertained, nor can it be shown 

 tht moist countries can produce any better silage than dry ones; 

 yet it seems to be very slow in taking its place among out system 

 of producing cow-foods. 



The farmers of this country have been experimenting with the 

 manufacture of silage in order to produce a food for their dairy 

 cattle that will remain for years, if necessary, in a sound succulent 

 condition; and in carrying out these experiments, they have not as 

 yet adopted any definite system. They seem to be, however, more 

 unanimous on this point, namely, the finer the ensilage is cut. the 

 closer it packs in the silo, and then the silo hold* more, and V*ens 

 better. It can, nevertheless, be cut too fine, and from one-half to 

 three-quarters of an inch is quite loner 



It has been estimated that one cubic foot of silage, as it is in 

 the silo, weighs from 35 to 40 pounds. A cow when fed with, a 

 quantity oi grain will eat daily not much mor e than one cubic foot 

 of silage. When no grain or other feed is used, the daily consump- 

 tion of silage per cow will run up to 5olt> or more; some cows, of 

 course, consuming proportionately larger rations. These figures, 

 though approximate, will enable the farmer easily to estimate tne 

 capacity of the silo and the acreage of the fodder that needs to be 

 ensilaged, in order to feed his stock. 



At present we have silage pits, silage rooms, silage stacks, sweet 

 silage and sour silage. The actual result, however, aimed at by 

 a^l experimentalists is the discovery oi means of treating silag-e is 

 that of assisting nature in the digestion of cow food outside the 

 stalls, and before the food enters the stomach of the cow.. Silage 

 making according to this theory certainly aims at a more perfect 

 rssitnilation of the o;-<? 



