CHAPTER XV 

 THE SILO 



The use of the silo. The silo is the one farm 

 building that needs the most careful construc- 

 tion. The importance of silage as a feeding stuff 

 is growing more apparent as dairying advances. 

 Nature has provided in summer proper food for 

 most farm animals, and the nearer summer con- 

 ditions can be maintained throughout the year, 

 the greater will be the farmer's success. Hence 

 the importance of silage as a feeding stuff. It 

 is a green feed preserved in its natural condi- 

 tion, or nearly so, for winter feeding. As soon 

 as the pasture gets short in the fall the silo 

 may be opened and feeding of ensilage begun. 

 In this way there need be little if any dimin- 

 ution in the flow of milk. 



The four essentials of a good silo. But the 

 silage will not keep well in a poorly constructed 

 silo. Whatever the type of silo the farmer 

 chooses to build, four things must be observed: 

 It must be strong, as nearly air tight as possible, 

 perfectly smooth, on the inside, and placed on a 

 strong, solid foundation. 



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