Thirty-fourth Annual Convention. i^"^ 



ble next the wall. These precautions must be observed during 

 filling to obtain perfect silage. 



If the corn is so ripe that none having green leaves at the 

 bottom of the stalk can be obtained to finish the last four or five 

 feet at the top of the silo, water should be run into the carrier 

 and the corn well soaked. If the corn is green, only enough 

 w'ater need be used to soak the .upper six inches of silage. 



Many different forms of covering for silage have been 

 advocated, but it is usually found most practical to finish with 

 the same material as that with which the silo is filled. Fre- 

 quently a saving can be made by snapping off the ears and using 

 the stalks alone, or by running enough straw, chaff, or weeds 

 through the cutter to cover silage from four to six inches deep. 

 If pressure is available, water can be run into the carrier to sat- 

 urate this material. The top must be thoroughly soaked once 

 and the whole surface well tramped ever day for a week to ex- 

 clude the air as much as possible. This tramping should be 

 especially well done around the sides, so that the air cannot gain 

 access next the wall. The object of wetting the surface is to 

 obtain as quickly as possible a thin layer of thoroughly rotted 

 silage, which will seal the top, thus excluding the air and pre- 

 serving the silage below. 



If water is not added to the top, the heat dries out the silage, 

 which may then "fire fang" to considerable depth, entailing a 

 great loss. 



Cost of Filling. 



The data on the cost of filling silos, from which the Table 

 2 has been prepared, were secured by representatives of the Ex- 

 periment Station, who went to different parts of the state when 

 men were filling silos and kept accurate records of the work in 

 progress. 



In these records the time work began in the morning and 

 stopped at night was noted, allowance being made for wbatever 

 time was taken at noon. With the exception of a few cases on 

 dairy farms, where some of the men quit early to milk, no allow- 

 ance was made for time lost after the cutter started and men and 

 teams were ready for work, a full day being counted unless for 

 some reason all work stopped and men and teams were at liberty 

 to leave. 



