The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-01-26
RELATION OF THE SlLO ! 4. {. II
AND SILAGEz TO DAIRYlNG
Development This Method Of Fodder Has
Made Winter Dairyin9 Profitable.

silage on the digestive system and
general health of the animal isa very
beneficial. It is a mild laxative and
acts in this way very similar to greer
fodder.
The filing of silos is the all-impor'
has previously been stated, corn is
one of the sbest feeds for making sill
age. Corn should be left in the field
before cutting until it has passed
through the doughty state, that is until
the kernels are we'll dented and
glazed, as in the case of flint varieties.
The cutting of corn for the silo is
usually done on small farms by hand.
Many farmers have been using self
raking and corn-binding harvesters
for this purpose, while others report
good success with a sled or platform
cutter. If the corn stands up we'll
and is not of very large variety,
the end sought may be reached in a
very satisfactory manner by either Of
these methods. If, on the other hand,
much of the corn is down, hand cut
ting is to be preferred.
A number of different makes of
corn harvesters and corn cutters are
now on the Market and it is very like
ly that hand cutting for fodder will
be done away with in the years to
come, at least on large farms.
After the corn is cut, a low rack,
with wagon, is very essential for haul
ing the corn, for corn in the green
state is extremely heavy and requires
much energy to load the same on high
wagons. The corn having been hauled
from the field to the silo has still to
be reduced to a fine, homogeneous
mass, convenient for feeding and Geo.
nomical as far as the utilization of
the silage for feed is concerned. In
or'ler to do this the whole of the corn,
ears and all, may be run through the
ensilage cutter.
The corn is unloaded on a table
and run through the cutter, after
which it is. carried through tube by
means of a blast of air, up into the
silo window, and is delivered into the
middle of the silo.
If corn is sliced ears and all, it is
necessary to keep a man or boy in
the silo while it is being filled to level
the surface and tramp down the sides
and corners. If left by itself the
heavier pieces of corn will be thrown
each way and the light leaves and tops
will come closest to the, discharge,
and as result the corn will not set
tie evenly and the different layers of
ensilage will have different feeding
value.
After the filling process, the cut
materials should be leveled off, and
the common and most successful prac-
tice is to- keep the material higher at
the sides than in the center, and do
all the tramping at, and close to, the
sides, where the friction of the wall
tends to prevent as rapid settling as
takes place in the center. For this
reason, in the modern deep silo, no
tramping, or at least as little as pos
sible, should be done except close to
the walls. The weight of silage &C.
complishes more than any amount of
tramping, and all that is necessary is
to see that the silage is evenly dis
tributed and to assist in settling by
some tramping at the sides.
After the silo is filled the silage is
left to settle. In the course Of sew
eral weeks layer at the top, approx
imately foot deep, will begin to de-