CHAPTER XV 

 SILOS AND SILAGE 



A silo is an air-tight structure used for the preservation of 

 forage crops in a succulent condition (Fig. 27). The green forage 

 placed in the silo undergoes certain changes, through fermentation 

 processes and respiration of the plant cells. The resulting feed is 

 known as silage (formerly ensilage). 



While the history of the silo dates back to antiquity, it is only 

 during relatively recent years that special silo structures have been 



. 



Fig. 27. — Stave silos. Dimensions, 12 feet in diameter, 36 feet high, capacity 84 tons. 



built in this country. The introduction of the silo on American 

 farms may be said to date from the latter part of the eighties. The 

 silo was first introduced into the dairy sections of the eastern and 

 central States, the silage being made from Indian corn and used 

 largely for feeding dairy cows. Gradually, however, the silo has 

 spread to all kinds of stock farms, especially in the corn belt, and 

 it is now a part of the permanent equipment on nearly all such farms 

 where modern methods of management prevail. 



Silo Types. — The various steps in the evolution of silo buildings 

 are as follows: First, a pit or trench dug in the ground; second, 

 a square or rectangular, relatively shallow stone or wooden structure ; 



149 



