166 The Sugar-Beet in America 
leaves when put into the silo, the more the packing that 
is needed. When layers of straw are alternated with 
layers of tops, greater care will need to be used in pack- 
ing to exclude the air more thoroughly. 
A cheaper but more wasteful manner of siloing, prac- 
ticed by some, consists in piling the tops in large heaps 
without the excavation and allowing the surface few 
inches to decay, thus forming a protective covering for 
the interior of the stack. Obviously, the larger the pile 
the smaller the proportion of tops that will decay. 
After a period of about four to six weeks, the silage 
fermentation has progressed far enough to correct the 
cathartic, or scouring, effect of the tops, and they are 
ready to be fed. This silage is handled and fed in much 
the same manner as corn silage; all kinds of live-stock 
readily eat it when they become used to it. 
Use of beet silage. 
A large part of the beet tops is fed to beef cattle, and 
it probably serves best when used for this purpose. Beef 
fed on tops command as high a price as any on the mar- 
ket. Cattle-men ordinarily figure that for each acre of 
beets raised there will be sufficient tops to feed one steer 
at least one hundred days, allowing about twenty-seven 
to thirty pounds of dry matter to the steer each day. 
When used as pasturage, not more than a month to the 
acre is counted on to each steer. Usually some hay, and 
often pulp and grain, are fed in addition to the silage. By 
feeding twenty to thirty pounds of the beet-top silage a 
day, the hay eaten will be about half what it is without 
the silage. 
