Silos and Silage in Colorado. 
2 5 
and pack the material firmly, as it is more difficult to completely ex¬ 
clude the air because these plants have hollow stems. 
Russian Thistle. —Mr. H. B. Hassig, of Cope, Colorado, was 
perhaps the first to try Russian thistles for silage purposes in 1911. 
He writes as follows regarding his experience: 
“I had twelve feet of silage made of Russian thistle on top of 
corn silage. I covered this with dirt, but not as much as I shall 
after this, as the air penetrated the earth and spoiled about two feet 
of the silage. The balance was well preserved and relished by the 
cattle.” He adds that the cattle consumed corn silage with greater 
relish than the thistle silage. 
The thistle should be cut at about the same time as it is cut 
for hay, which is when it is quite young and therefore not too 
woody. Where thistles are found in corn fields they are often put 
in along with the corn. Those trying this practice claim it is the 
only way to get even with the thistle by putting it through an en¬ 
silage cutter. The stock does not discriminate against it in the corn 
silage and eat it up clean. 
Beet Leaves and Tops .—The present method of utilizing- 
leaves and tops is wasteful, to say the least. Besides, there is no 
small element of danger connected with the practice, as animals 
gorge themselves with the moldy and decayed material and death is 
often the result. A large percentage of the feed is also tramped 
under foot and soiled so* that it is lost for stock-feeding purposes. 
The practice of curing the tops in the field and feeding them in 
limited quantities is very successful. The silo should be a means 
of conserving their feeding value in even a better form. Ware in 
his book, “Cattle Feeding with Sugar Beets, etc.,” gives the Ger¬ 
man method as given in connection with the trench silo. 
The college here put some beet tops and leaves into their silo 
in 1911. They were in bad condition when put in, which will be 
the general condition of most tops, as farmers are too .busy with the 
harvesting of beets to stop to dispose of the tops and leaves. Cows 
did not relish the silage as well as the corn silage. In fact, it was 
difficult to get them to eat as much as twenty-five pounds daily. 
Ware recommends the addition of ten to twenty pounds of lime to 
every ton of tops and leaves to render insoluble the oxalic acid, 
which is present in large quantities. The leaves and tops when 
properly preserved are a very valuable feed. 
Beet Pulp .—Thus far the feeding of beet pulp has been con¬ 
fined to the vicinities surrounding the sugar factories. The feed¬ 
ing is done in the fall and winter so that the pulp is fed either fresh 
from the factory or from the factory’s silos, which are nothing 
