32 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 



one or two men in the silo to tramp down the fodder as 

 fast as it comes from the cutter. If during the night the 

 surface of the fodder in the silo has dried appreciably, it 

 should, upon resuming the filling the next day, be wetted 

 sufficiently to restore the original moisture ; this may be 

 most conyeniently done by the use of garden watering pots. 



COVERING THE SILO. 



When the silo is filled, six or eight inches of straw are 

 laid over the top of the fodder, and upon this a covering 

 of two-inch plank, cut so short that they cannot bind 

 against the walls, as the contents settle. The plank cover 

 is then heavily weighted with whatever material may be 

 most available. Where large stones are at hand, these may 

 be used ; logs will answer ; boxes filled with gravel or with 

 earth, and even bags of grain have been used. Much of 

 the success of the process depends upon having sufficient 

 pressure. The weighting material must be of a kind that 

 will allow of its removal in part without disturbing the 

 rest. 



SALT AND STRAW. 



In the early experiments, salt was scattered among the 

 fodder, but this is now abandoned, as it is not necessary 

 to the preservation of the contents of the silo. 



In some cases cut straw has been mixed with the fod- 

 der in filling the silo, some claiming that it is useful in 

 absorbing superabundant moisture. On grain farms, 

 where straw is abundant, it would be desirable to use a 

 portion of it in this manner, but experiments are needed 

 to show to what extent such a mixture may be made 

 without injury to the corn fodder, by preventing that 

 from being sufficiently compacted. One writer claims 

 that the feeding value of straw thus mixed with fodder 

 corn in the silo is greatly increased. This is one of the 



