SILAGE— SOILAGE 209 



be computed and from this the right dimensions found by referring 1 

 to the table in the preceding article. 



Minimum amount of silage to be fed daily from silos of various 



diameters 



Diameter Minimum amount Diameter Minimum amount 



of silo of silage of silo of silage 



Lbs. Lbs. 



10 feet 520 18 feet 1,680 



11 feet 625 20 feet 2,075 



12 feet 745 22 feet 2,510 



14 feet 1,015 24 feet 2,985 



16 feet 1,325 26 feet 3,505 



II. Soilage 



Soilage means supplying forage fresh from the field to animals in 

 confinement. This system, which had been long practiced in Europe, 

 was brought to attention in this country nearly 100 years ago thru the 

 essays of Josiah Quincy on "The Soiling of Cattle." 



Advantages and disadvantages of soilage. — Compared with allow- 

 ing animals to gather their food by grazing, soiling has the following 

 advantages. (1) A larger yield, even of the grasses, is secured by 

 allowing the plants nearly to mature before harvesting than by pas- 

 turing them. (2) With a properly planned succession of soiling 

 crops, an abundance of palatable feed may usually be supplied thru- 

 out the season, so that the production of the animals will not decline if 

 pastures become parched in midsummer. (3) None of the forage is 

 wasted thru being tramped down by the animals or fouled with manure. 

 (4) Less fencing is required. (5) In bad weather cattle will be more 

 comfortable when fed soiling crops in the stable than when grazing. 

 Quincy reports that he maintained 20 cows in stalls, allowing exercise 

 in an open yard, on the soilage from 17 acres of land, where 50 acres 

 had been required when the land was pastured. In a trial by the 

 senior author at the "Wisconsin Station 3 1 acre of soiling crops pro- 

 duced as much milk when fed to dairy cows as 2.5 acres of good blue- 

 grass pasture. 



The chief disadvantages of soilage are the greater expenditure for 

 labor, seed, and fertilizer in producing the crops and for labor in 

 cutting and carrying them to the animals. In warm weather soilage 

 will ferment and mold in a short time if left in piles. When but few 

 animals are fed, the green forage may be spread thinly on the barn 

 floor, where it will keep, but soilage thus handled dries out and is less 

 palatable. Where a considerable quantity is harvested at one time, 

 much labor may be saved by using the mower and horse rake. During 



3 Wis. Rpt. 1885. 



