The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1913-09-09
tBy r. B. RUSHING,

l.
as / ought? Am 1 producing milk as
economically as / might? Is it pos
sible, with such feed as silage, my
cows may be kept in a more healthfui
condition, because this feed having in
it the natural juices makes it more
easily digested and cow is able to
do more and better work?
Many farmers who have recently
built silos and many who did not build
are asking themselves the above ques-
tions, and well they may. Those who
have built and have good silage are
now getting their eyes opened, and
those that have no silos are now be-
ginning to see 1.-The handwriting on
the wall"
A natural feed of this character
which has the natural juices all re-
tanned in it keeps the digestive organs
of the animal in a cool, laxative condi-
ton and permits us to feed more
heavily of other feeds, and thus, we
are; able to increase her capacity for
producing milk in far greater degree.
Experience has taught me many
my first one was taught that almost
anything would do for silo, and that
almost anything could be put in 1t.
The first year l planted a late-matur-
ing corn that grew and grew as though
it had all the time in the world to get
ripe in, and when the time came for
the silo filling it was scarcely in good
condition
What was the result? A watery lot
of stuff in a very acid condition that
had to be fed in very limited way
to keep the cows from securing and
getting off feed. This was certainly
discouraging; but a man who makes a
success with cows must have grit
enough to meet discouragements.
l found out that year that to have
good silage l must plant a kind of
corn that would mature early and get
it out in time so that 1t could mature
that / had better sacrifice some on
quantity and have better quality. From
that year the silo has been filled with
the same kind of corn that was raised
for field purposes, and there has never
yet been a single failure.
There is no secret having good,
sweet silage--just plain, common sense.
First the silo must be made in such
way as to exclude all the air. Then
too, the foundation must be good. to
prevent settling and cracking. The
material used may be either wood,
stone, brick or cement. Iron OF steel
cannot be used, as the moisture and
acid in the silage would soon rust
through.
All stone, cement, brick siIos, etc,
must be reinforced with wire or rods
to insure strength. A wood silo made
rough is, of course, strengthened by
the hoops, and that is the only kind
that would be built of wood.
The size of the silo, of course, de-
pend on the amount of stock you wish
to carry, as a certain amount must be
fed each day to keep the top layer
from spelling, and the deeper the bet
ter. as each added foot gives added
weight to the silage and helps to make
it more solid and exclude the air
If silo is made too large in diane
ter, and this believe to be a very fire.
quent error, one of two things will
happen-either the silage will be
moldy all the time, owing to the inabil-
ity to feed it down rapidly enough. or
else the cows will be fed more than
they should have, in an attempt to
keep ahead of the molding.
strongly favor the use of good
silage in summer to hold the COWS to
their work and not allow them to shirk
in the milk flow during the short pas
ture of July and August. think many
cows may be made to add 25 per cent
to their years production by tiding
them over this period. I have tried
soiling, but never found anything SO
cheap. so good and so convenient as
well filled silo. A few feet in the
bottom of a deep silo will go long
way for summer use and there the
conditions are most favorable for the
preserving of the silage, as the enor
nous weight of the silage In a deer
silo has compacted it, and its being
down near the bottom away from the
circulation of the air helps very mate
rally in it's preservation.
The quality of the silage may be
materially bettered by using care in
taking it out. Don't put the fork down
| five or six inches deep, as though you
were pitching manure, but use forh
with tines close together and skim of
/ the top. only loosening what you need
for the days feeding.
Keep the surface level. and perhaps
a little lower near the outer walls
Silage cannot be handled as careless