Silos and Silage in Colorado. 
5 
dairy cow. Soilage may give as good results, but it is more expen¬ 
sive. Even in our irrigated sections pastures get short at certain 
seasons of the year. Silage may even take the place of pasture on 
high-priced land, but our experience at this college is that it would 
be more expensive. 
7 . The addition of silage to the ration makes it more palat¬ 
able and therefore improves the whole ration. During severe weath¬ 
er, silage tends to keep up the appetite of stock and also supply 
large amounts of water which would not be taken in a cold condi¬ 
tion. Shrinkage in gains or milk production is not likely when 
silage is fed during periods of storm. The animal can better utilize 
the balance of its ration. 
8 . The cost of the ration is materially reduced by feeding en¬ 
silage with all classes of livestock. Considering the cost of silage, 
its nutrient content and its beneficial effect upon the utilization of 
the balance of the ration fed, cheap gains are reported from many 
of our experiment stations with beef cattle. With the dairy cow, 
silage has long been recognized as practically a necessity for prof¬ 
itable winter dairying. Lamb feeders in Colorado are finding silage 
a cheap roughage for fattening lambs and, during periods of low 
market prices, those feeders who reduced the cost of fattening by 
the addition of silage were the only ones who reported a profit. 
9 . The silo will make it possible to put Colorado agriculture 
on a sounder financial basis. It is a fact that Colorado farmers 
must diversify more than they do. The one crop system has shown 
its weakness in many sections of the state. What we need is more 
livestock on the farms, and the silo will make it possible. Forage 
crops which can be grown with certainty v every year must replace 
the special crops which are very frequently failures. 
ESSENTIALS OF THE SILO. 
Shape .—The silo should be built cylindrical in shape, or nearly 
so. The surrounding wall thus incloses the greatest amount of 
space and there are no corners so that silage can be packed firmly 
around the wall, insuring less spoilage. The wall should be per-, 
pendicular and smooth to permit of even settling without leaving air 
pockets. 
Efficiency .—The silo is a large tank or cistern for preserving 
chopped-up green feed in a succulent form. There is one funda¬ 
mental principle which must be observed in silage making. The 
feed must be kept away from air, otherwise it will mold and decay. 
The silo will keep the best silage whose walls are the nearest air- 
