SILOS AND SILAGE 157 
rule, carry a larger proportion of the plant in the form of stalks 
and leaves than do northern-grown varieties.® 
The general practice adopted by farmers in the corn belt ‘is to 
silo the corn, “ears and all.” The entire crop is run through a 
cutter and filled into the silo, where it is evenly mixed and tramped 
down carefully, especially along the walls of the silo. Experiments 
conducted by the author at the Wisconsin station® and by Hills at 
Vermont station’ showed conclusively that this method of handling 
‘the crop is more economical and convenient than to husk, shell, 
and grind the corn separately and feed it to dairy cows, with silage 
made from corn fodder or stover. According to the results obtained 
in the Vermont trials, one acre of corn silage made from the whole 
corn plant, including ears, is equal in feeding value to one and one- 
quarter acres of silage made from corn stover fed with the corre- 
sponding amount cf ground grain, 
The fact that corn silage is relatively low in protein has led to 
the suggestion that leguminous crops be placed in the silo with the 
corn. The most successful crops for this purpose are cowpeas or 
soybeans grown in the corn, both being cut for the silo at the same 
time. Cowpeas mature at about the same time as corn in the 
South, and furnish large yields of feed; they make a valuable - 
mixed silage for southern stock farms. Soybeans may be success- 
fully used for the same purpose and can be grown farther north; 
grown together with Indian corn, they make a good quality of 
silage that is considerably richer in protein than corn silage alone 
. 340). 
e Sorghum has been highly recommended as a silage crop by the 
Kansas and Tennessee experiment stations on account of its being 
more drought-resistant than Indian corn. It will give heavier 
yields than this crop in regions where the rainfall is too light or too 
irregular for growing a good crop of corn. The sorghums are less 
liable to damage by insects than corn, and remain green far into 
the fall, so that the work of filling the silo may be carried on long 
after the corn is ripe and the leaves all dried up. Yields of green 
sorghum of 20 tons per acre are reported from Kansas, or one-half 
as much again as a good crop of corn. It is important, in making 
silage from sorghum, that it be harvested late, when the seed has 
become hard, as it will'make a very acid silage if cut at an earlier 
stage of growth. Cut at harvest time, it will make a good quality 
°> Farmers’ Bulletin 578. 
* Reports 1891 and 1892. 
7 Report 1892. 
