CORN FODDER FOR SILAGE 393 



running in on top corn stalks from which the ears have been removed. 

 By this method some of the corn grain is saved. The heavy green 

 corn stalks pack much better than stravir does and so exclude the air 

 more effectually. The top is thoroughly tramped and then wet down. 

 Sometimes oats are sown on the top before wetting. The heat gen- 

 erated by the fermenting mass will cause the oats to sprout quickly 

 and form a dense sod which serves to shut off the air from the silage 

 beneath, and in consequence only a very shallow layer spoils. 



"Cutting Corn Fodder for Silage. A practice used by some at the 

 present time and one to be well recommended, is that of cutting up 

 shock fodder and putting it into the silo after the silo has been emptied. 

 Very often the feeder finds himself short of the amount of silage that 

 he needs and by cutting up his corn fodder he is provided with a good 

 quality of silage to carry him through. The main requirement in 

 cutting up fodder to be put into the silo is to add an abundance of 

 water. This practice results in a considerable saving of food material 

 and adds greatly to the digestibiHty of the fodder. 



"Harvesting the Corn. The corn is cut for the silo either by hand 

 or by machine. Hand cutting is practiced on farms where the amount 

 of corn to be harvested is so small as to make the expense of purchas- 

 ing a corn harvester too great to justify its use. Hand cutting is also 

 resorted to through necessity when the corn is down or lodged in such 

 a manner as to prevent the use of the machine. This method of cut- 

 ting, however, is slow and laborious and there are probably few 

 localities now where the purchase of a harvester would not be a profit- 

 able investment. 



"In using the harvester it will be found a great advantage to make 

 the bundles rather small. This will take more time, but the extra 

 expense will be more than offset by the ease in handling the bundles 

 and in feeding them into the silage cutter. The harvester should not 

 get so far ahead of the haulers that the corn will dry out to any con- 

 siderable extent." 



SIZE OF SILOS. 



Corn silage weighs on an average about 40 pounds per cubic foot. 

 Thus a silo with a depth of 30 feet, having a diameter of 16 feet, will 

 hold around 119 tons. 



