75? MAIZE 



CHAP, interest and depreciation on capital expenditure for excavation 

 xv - of pit and cost of machinery would, he calculates, bring the 

 cost up to 12s. or ios. per ton. But it is, of course, impos- 

 sible to form an exact estimate, as the cost varies under dif- 

 ferent circumstances. If the loss in weight in the silo equals 

 [ 5 per cent, this amount should be added to the cost. It is 

 calculated that maize silage should prove " a very cheap feed- 

 ing stuff at the above figures" (Holm, J). 



Some farmers who do not include in their costs the labour 

 regularly employed on the farm for other purposes, nor make 

 an)' charge for their working oxen, put the cost as low as 5s. 

 per ton. 



723. Amount of Si/age Required for Feeding. — Twenty 

 acres (English), or an area of 96,800 square yards, say 346 



x 2S0 yards, should produce 200 tons of maize suitable for 

 ensiling. With a loss of 15 per cent in the silo this will give 

 1 70 tons of silage at the time it is most required. For capa- 

 city of silos and acreage required to fill them, see chapter 

 xvi., IT 746. 



If they have roughage such as veld grazing or veld ha) 1 in 

 addition, 170 tons of silage will feed and keep in condition 

 680 sheep, or 170 oxen, or 1 I 3 dairy cows, for I OO days ; or 

 500 sheep and 24 oxen and 4 dairy cows, for 109 days. These 

 figures are based on the allowance of 5 lbs. of silage for a sheep, 

 20 lbs. for an ox at work, and 30 lbs. for a dairy cow, in addition 

 to roughage. 



On the dry lands of the North-western Orange Free State 

 and parts of Bechuanaland, it is possible that not more than 

 5 tons of maize silage per acre will be produced ; but even 

 then the crop is well worth preserving for winter feed. 



724. The Feeding of Silage. — Much waste of good silage 

 often takes place through ignorance of the fact that it spoils 

 quickly if exposed to the air ; the advent of fresh oxygen 

 facilitates decomposition. To prevent such waste, a certain 

 amount of the exposed surface should be removed regularly 

 each day after the pit has once been opened. With a rect- 

 angular pit, a better check can be kept on the amount of sur- 

 face exposed than with a circular pit. In opening the pit it is 

 customary to first remove the soil for a width of 6 feet at one 

 end, and to feed the material from this space until the bottom 



