118 SUMMER SILO. 



they cannot be relied upon because of the gravelly nature of the 

 sub-soil underlying the farm, which means longer or shorter 

 periods of drouth annually. 



"It would be absolutely impossible to maintain the number of 

 animals on the college farm that we are successfully carrying 

 without the silage to supplement our pastures and soiling crops. 

 Many Indiana men have come to look on the silo as quite as im- 

 portant in supplementing the pastures as it is in furnishing suc- 

 culence during the winter season." 



It is well to remember that less silage will naturally be fed in 

 summer than in winter and that on the exposed surface molding 

 is liable to set in more quickly. In order to keep the surface In 

 fairly good condition, at least three inches of silage should ba 

 taken off daily, where two inches suffice in the winter. "Where the 

 size of herd permits, some farmers plan to feed off as much as five 

 or six inches daily in summer. Feeding at the rate of 30 pounds 

 per head daily and removing silage to a depth of two inches from 

 the surface' means only about four square feet of surface needed 

 for each head per day. A silo for 20 cows should therefore not 

 exceed ten feet in diameter. It will be found advisable in building 

 the sumer silo to keep the diameter as small as is practicable. 

 The higher the silo the more firmly the corn is packed and the 

 better it will keep. 



Silage soon dries out or spoils in hot weather when exposed, 

 but not so soon where it is finely cut and well packed, because this 

 more nearly excludes the air, thus reducing the amount necessary 

 to be removed daily. By having the cutting: knives sharp and set to 

 cut ^2-inch lengths the exclusion of air is so nearly complete that 

 very little more silage needs to be removed in summer than in 

 winter. If possible silage in summer should be fed in the shade 

 because the hot sun acts very quickly and dries out and sometimes 

 spoils the silage before the cattle eat it. 



