The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1911-10-30
FnIing the slIO.

first time with the problem of filling
silo. and there are a number Of
questions which good many of them
would no doubt like to have answered
Among these ouetsions are the fol
lowing:
What crops are best suited to cur
ing in the silo? At what stage should
such crops be cut? What equipment is
necessary for filing the silo? What
precautions should be taken when fill
ing the silog
Heavy, solid stemmed plants like
corn, kahr milo. and sorghum are
much more satisfactory than alfalfa.
cowDeas and other Ieafy plants for
making silage. Corn, kahr, and sim.
liar plants when cut up. pack much
better in the silo than will alfalfa or
cowpeas. and for this reason cure with
less loss. In a good silo there there
should not be to exceed ten per
cent waste when corn or kahr are
properly stored at the right stage of
maturity, but the waste in the case Of
alfalfa and cowpeas win ordinarily run
from eighteen TO twenty per cent 1t
is seldom practical to put alfalfa in
silo When cowpeas are used it
is well to mix them with about twice
the bulk of corn, kafir or sorghum.
Most siIo users have decided that
corn should be dented before it is cut
for silage. Corn at this stage posses
ses the greatest amount of nutrients.
When the corn is run through the en-.
silage cutter the cut corn should be
quite moist. If It is not, enough wa
ter should be added to make it moist.
Kafir and sorghum should have seeds
well past the milk stage before they
are cut for silage.
A power ensilage cutter is necessary
for filing the silo. There are many
makes on the market These are man
ufactured in various sizes, from those
that may be driven with four to six
horsepower gasoline engine and with
Capacity of four or five tons OF corn
per hour to the largest size. which re-
quire twelve to fourteen horsepower
steam engine to drive, and with a ca.
pacity Of over ten tons per hour. Only
an ensilage cutter with a blowers at
tachment should be purchased The
smaller size ensilage cutter will serve
very well except in cases where mum.
Der of silos have to be filled. 1t 10
economy where possible for half
dozen or more silo owners to purchase
large machine and work together in
the filling Of the silos, as with large
ensilage cutter and full force of men
and teams, as much as one hundred |
tons Of sllage can be put into the silo
In day. A force of six or seven |
teams and fourteen or fifteen men will |
be required to keep such machinery
running at its full capacity without
taking into account the force neces-
sary to cut the corn in the field For
such rapid filing two or three corn
binders will be necessary. If biTdera |
are used to cut the corn it is often /
practical to start cutting the corn in
the field one or two days before filing I
NAC rAiOs 4 Hlo ~ NtiJ 2OOQ PAdCJANG
except in periods of rain, when sand I
and dirt may get washed into the corn /
It will be found best to cut the corn
into ss or half-inch lengths and to
keep the knives sharp, as otherwise
there will be lot of uncut leaves and I
pieces OF stalks in the silage, which I
will prevent thorough packing. The /
cut corn, kafir, or surghum must be
thoroughly mixed In the silo Several
Of the manufacturers of ensilage cut
ters are now selling a distributor,
which helps very materially in this
respect. The cut stems, ears, and
leaves must be all thoroughly mixed
together to insure keeping, as If the
leaves are allowed to accumulate in
one place in the silo they viii not pack
sufficiently and spoil. 1t is advisable
when filling the silo to keep 10 well
tramped
+ 1t makes very little difference wheth-
er ten or one hundred tons is put in
a silo in day. The only disadvantage
Of rapid filing is that it is not pos
sible to pack the corn so well in the
silo, and consequently it settles more
A thirty-foot deep silo filled in one day,
no matter how well tramped, may be
expected to settle five or six feet, and
unless refilled a considerable part OF
the storage capacity is unused.
The chief waste in a good silo is at
the top. It is impossible to keep
small amount of silage from rotting
and spelling at the top. Where feed
Ing from the silo is not begun for a
period Of from sixty to ninety days it
is to be expected that ten or twelve
inches Of rotten silage will be found
on the ton Different methods for
preventing this waste have been tried,
but few are practical The best plan
Ia to cut few loads Of low grade
fodder and put it on the TOP OF the
silo, wetting it we'll and tramping it
lhroughly. Feeding from the silo
may be begun at once II the feed Is
needed. When feeding from the silo
Is begun two or more inches must
be removed all over the top of the
5ilo every day to prevent any spoil
ng. There is a good deal Of smut in
corn this year, but this win not make
fhn n4Iorr- dorrnwo,.~