The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1907-06-15
The silo and Silage.


There is no longer doubt with respect
to the value of silage as a stock feed.
The prejudice against the silo has prac-
tically disappeared, and in these times
we hear little about "fermented" fod-
der and alcoholic" milk. This change
in sentiment is due mainly to the great
improvement in the construction of
silos and to the perfection of the ma
chinery used in the preparation and
storage of the silage. Many of the early
silos were constructed along wrong
lines. and they were lily adapted for
the preservation of their contents. In
consequence of this lack of knowledge
considerable part of the stored fod-
der was unfit for feeding.
There have been few improvements
in agricultural methods that have
worked a greater change in farming
conditions than the great advance in
silo construction and in the method of
storing the silage. Today the silo is
the rule rather than the exception in
every prosperous farming section,
Silage has been the geat stimulous
to winter dairying, and without it a
large part of the farmers profits would
be cut off Those whose memories go
back to the period when the winter
dairy was composed mainly of strip
rers" fed on moldy hay and dry corn
fodder, with sometimes a little bran,
and when even with this meagre ration
the COWS scarcely paid for their keep,
do not need to have their attention
drawn to the great Improvement which
the winter dairy has undergone, nor to
be told how large a part it plays in
the farm economy.
The material of which silos may be
constructed and whether they should
be separate structures or attached to
the barn are questions about which
there may be differences of opinion;
but most people are agreed that
cheap si1o is a dear experiment In the
long run. There are number or repu-
table firms manufacturing s1los that
have stood the test of time, and one
can not go wrong in making selec-
ton from these standard and well tried
models. The prime consideration IN
the construction of silo is to secure
a receptacle that is strong enough to
resist the great pressure put upon 1t,
and to preserve it's contents air tight
The location should be selected with
reference to it's convenience for filling
and emptying
According to recognized authority,
each cow should have an allowance of
about four tons of silage in the seven
months it is usually red. 1t is, there
fore, easy to determine by the number
of cattle to be subsisted how much
silage it is necessary to preserve. A
silo reasonably deep IS the best pre-
sentative of it's contents and the most
economical, but it is held by good au-
thority that it is desirable to keep the
structure within reasonable bounds. and
when the demand goes beyond that, it
is better to have two or more silos.
Next in Importance to the discovery
of the great advantage of silage as
winter feed and the invention Of the
modern silo, is the machinery employed
in preparing the silage and packing 1T.
We have by no means reached the end
of Improvement in this direction, but
the means now employed have greatly
lessened the labor Of filling the silo,
besides providing for the better preser-
walton of the contents, and practically
eliminating waste.
From the hand cutter and the hand
fork method of handling the ensilage,
we have advanced through the horse
power cutter and belt conveyor to the
gasoline or steam engine driven cutter,
blower and distributor, so that as fast
as corn may be delivered from the field
it is automatically delivered as we'll
packed ensilage, warranted to preserve
it's food value with the minimum of
waste; and the extensive dairyman
would as soon think of being without
modern plow. cultivator and binder, as