CHAPTER XV. 



USING THE SILAGE, 



Care must be exercised in removing the sil- 

 age for feeding. This must be done systematical- 

 ly, as it is a moist feed and decay commences in 

 a very few days after it is exposed to the air. 

 For this reason the feed must be taken off sys- 

 tematically from the top, taking a layer off such 

 depth as can be removed in two days at most, 

 and it is better to take such a depth as can 

 be removed daily to feed the stock. Do not al- 

 low any digging into the surface and leave 

 some parts longer exposed than othors. There 

 is nothing to be gained by it, and there may be 

 much lost if such a shiftless course is allowed. 



Keeping Silage Two Years. — ^I have many 

 times been asked how long silage may be kept. 

 My answer is to give my experience. Two years 

 only have I carried silage over to the following 

 year. In that case at the time we were ready to 

 fill on top of this one-year-old silage we re- 

 moved all the decayed silage and put the freshly 

 cut corn on top of it. The following winter when 

 we reached this point in feeding I was very 



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