254 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



already intimated. They were sunk too low in the 

 ground. So little attention was given to the preser- 

 vation of the foundation of wood silos when they 

 were first introduced and to providing ventilation 

 for the walls that decay was unduly rapid. The silos 

 were too shallow, hence the pressure of the silage 

 was not enough to secure the best results. The sur- 

 face dimensions were often so large as to make 

 it difficult to properly preserve the exposed portion 

 of the silage while it was being fed. Corn and other 

 green food was oftentimes put into the silo in a form 

 too green, hence it became unduly sour. And in 

 other instances the food was put in too dry which 

 induced mold. These mistakes may now be gen- 

 erally avoided by the siloist who intelligently makes 

 use of the information now available. But it must 

 be acknowledged that many things are yet to be 

 learned about siloing by the average siloist before 

 he will be able to make first-class silage with uniform 

 and unvarying success. 



Literature on the Silo. — Since the introduction 

 of the silo into the United States no question per- 

 taining to agriculture has been more generally dis- 

 cussed. At the outset these discussions emanated 

 chiefly from the men who had experimented with 

 silos and they appeared in pamphlet or book form 

 and also in the agricultural press according to cir- 

 cumstances. Later, experiments were conducted 

 and somewhat numerously at a considerable number 

 of the agricultural experiment stations. The results 

 from these experiments were given to the public in 

 bulletin form. It is evident therefore that much of 

 the literature produced on the subject is fragmentary 



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