The Delta independent., 1914-12-25
Star Nelson Talks to
Farmers of Delta County

Sllo is for this locality preferable
This is the steel and iron age. Our
wooden tanks, troughs, wash tubs,
buckets, etc, are things of the past,
and for a good reason in this country,
as you all know; and in their place
we have steel ones. Our freight cars,
coaches, water tanks. stand pipes,
gas and oil tanks. and even our wag-
ons in many instances, are steel. and
there is a well founded reason back
of It all. The important point in
any silo 10 that it must be air tight.
for 1t is only by the exclusion Of all
air that silage can be kept fresh and
sweet; with the admission Of air
even through very small cracks. de-
composition sets in; and no recep-
tacle can be made more perfectly air
tight than those made of steel. The
silo should be built adjoining the
barn, shed or feed lot. SO as to make
feeding as convenient as possible.
Its size should be governed entirely
by the amount OF stock you have to
feed. as when once opened. from one
to two inches must be fed off each
day in order to keep the silage sweet.
A general rule is to have the silo
twice as high as wide. but the deeper
the better. as = permits Of better
settling on account of the weight.
The contents of silo is called
silage or ensilage. and is produced
from a forage crop cut into small
particles about one inch in length.
and well packed into an air tight
silo where II goes through a process
OF curing by fermentation. When
first cut there is a quantity of juice
left in the particles. and It is at this
stage that the plant contains its
maximum amount of nutrients and is
at its highest point OF palatability.
As soon as cut the natural life of
the plant ceases and then begins TO
decompose or break up into the ele-
ments OF which 1t is composed.
Oxygen is then set free and for a
short time fermentation goes on, the
starch in the plant is broken up into
carbon dioxide and alcohol: some
carbon dioNide is also being made
from the oxygen. The carbon dioXide
thus formed. being heavier than the
air. settles to the bottom of the silo
and drives the air out. and when all
the air is driven out the process of
curing is complete and the silage
will keep in excellent condition for an
indefinite period. II requires from
three TO four weeks to complete the
curing process. A thin layer on top
TIL spoiled. but has no effect what
ever on the remainder. and II feed
ing is started Immediately. this loss
win not occur.
Con is considered the best crop for
making silage. but kaffir corn and sor-
ghum are a very lose second. and
milo maize. soy beans. COW pease and
alfalfa come next. Alfalfa makes good
silage and is a very economical way
Of storing the crop.
To the animal family silage as
compared to cured fodder is as dried
fruit to fresh canned fruit to the hu-
man family. Silage and canned fruit
are preserved in much the same way,
the only difference being that heat
is used in the latter to drive out the
air and kill bacteria. Grass (especi-
aIi,. hlua ,,racel he lilo milk tba ,onct
ideal of all rations for feeding stock.
and silage is the nearest and most
economical substitute. as IL costs less
than SO n ton to grow and put into the
TO eight dollars per ton. According to
statistics, fifty per cent of the value
of the corn plant is in the ear and
fifty per cent in the stock and blades;
and the only way to save all OF this
is in the silo.
One acre of corn silage yields from
coo to 2 900 pounds more nutriment
per acre than any farm crop. One
ton of hay occupies 512 cubic feet of
space. contains 1000 pounds dry mat
ter and $50 pounds of digestible
matter.
In the same space you can put ten
tons of silage which contains 4.200
pounds of dry matter and $3.50 pounds
of digestible matter. consequently an
acre of corn silage will produce more
feed than four acres of clover hay,
which will enable n man with silo
to keep five cows where previously he
could keep but one. The saving of
labor is also n great factor, as one
man can feed the same number of
stock from n silo that would require