68 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



year when I filled it, but when we came to feed out, if we 

 took a bit and bored through the wood, it showed that these 

 2x4's were rotted. 



Mr. H. L. Bowen : I have had a little experience in the silo 

 business; this is my fourth year. T built my silo a little differ- 

 ently from others, because I did not have the means to build 

 it so nicely. I built a round silo about eighteen feet across 

 and twenty-four deep. I boarded it around with what is 

 called parallel siding, double boarded, used no paper what- 

 ever. The outside was boarded right the same way, with 

 common siding, and T used six-inch studding, set eight inches 

 apart. I have had good results in keeping ensilage. Com- 

 mencing at the bottom I laid a wall and made it heavy enough 

 so it wouldn't crowd out. I laid up about a foot and a half 

 of wall. Then I laid my stadding and I commenced to board 

 or the outside of the studding. After I got that boarded up 

 a foot and a half then I laid my wall up, so that I had a foot 

 and a half of boarding on the inside of this wall, then I com- 

 menced and just double-boarded it. The outside is in bad 

 shape at the present time, but as far as rotting is concerned, 

 there was no rot at all, only down where these studs set and 

 where it was backed up by this wall, those boards rotted in 

 two years. I took them off last fall, up as far as the wall 

 came and plastered that right up. Above that there is no 

 decay whatever. Now, in regard to feeding it, is there any 

 one here that has fed ensilage alone, no grain ration and 

 no coarse food. I have fed that way, though not for milk. 

 My cows, most of them, come in in the spring and summer 

 and they are mostly dry in the winter. I fed nothing for the 

 last three winters but just ensilage, and I have good results. 



Mr. Footh: I have done it for two winters, and did it 

 because they would not eat anything else in the way of 

 coarse fodder. I let the cow choose for herself, and if you 

 give her ensilage enough, she won't eat hay or anything else. 

 But I would not adivse anybody to feed ensilage very heavily 

 to cows for anywhere from four to eight weeks before they 

 come in. I should shorten it up then and put them on some 

 other rough feed. I believe it creates a tendency to too great 

 a flow of milk at that time, and you will have trouble with 

 caked udders. 



