241 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



tity of corn can be put in the silo in a short time, thus insuring 

 a more uniform quality of silage. The chief objection to this 

 method is, unless provision is made for refilling in about a week 

 or ten days time, that after the corn is thoroughly settled in the 

 silo it will only be about two-thirds full. This may be partially 

 overcome on a farm where two or more silos are built side by 

 side by filling one for a day, then the other, allowing some time 

 for the corn to settle until the two or more silos are rilled. In 

 some instances where about three days are required for the 

 filling, the work is commenced on Friday and Saturday, allow- 

 ing the corn to settle over Sunday, and the work is finished on 

 Monday. Where fast filling is practiced the only way to utilize 

 the full capacity of the silo is to fill to the top, let it settle for a 

 week or ten days, remove the waste on the top of the silo, then 

 refill. This requires a resetting of the machinery when used by 

 more than one farmer, but it will pay. 



Distributing and Packing Corn. 



There are several different ways for distributing and pack- 

 ing the corn in the silo. The principal points to be observed are 

 that the light and heavy portions of the corn should be uniform- 

 ly distributed. That is, the stalks and ears should not be in the 

 center or at one side and the lighter portions such as the leaves 

 at the other side. The corn should be uniformly packed or 

 tramped in all parts of the silo. This is necessary to insure a 

 good quality of silage. The majority of the silo owners prefer 

 having the surface of the silage saucer shaped, about two feet 

 higher at the sides than in the center, for the reason that the 

 center where the corn drops and the men usually stand gets solid 

 and hard and does not settle afterwards as much as the sides. 

 (This is especially true of those silos filled without some form 

 of a distributing device.) If the sides are constantly kept about 

 two feet higher than the center and well trod or tramped when 

 the silo is full, the silage is wedged tightly against the sides and 

 the heat of fermentation retained, thus killing the germs of mold. 

 One reason why silage molds more at the sides than in the 



