The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1915-09-10
sHAGE SECRETS.

Silo filing time is at hand. A few
weeks from now. II past history re-
peats itself. when the silos are OMEN
ed there will be lot of poor siIage
which might have been prevented
1t has been notable in the Boise val
ley since silos have come into favor
that siios have produced better
class Of feed the second year than
they did the first, the reason for
which seems clear: Men have bufIt
silos who were not accustomed to the
use or making OF silage and certain
essential features in the production
have been overlooked the first year.
Good silage. or the manufacture Of
good silage depends upon at least
three factors and the neglect of any
one OF these will invariably result in
inferior silage or a rotten mass that
cannot be called silage at all and
which is worthless as feed. The
first factor is the silo itself. 1t NAV
be OF wood, concrete or metal but il
must be made as nearly alright as
possible in order to give the best re-
suits. Wherever air is admitted.
spoiled silage will result in conse-
quence. This makes it important
that concrete silo walls should CON
tain sufficient cement to make them
imperious to air and should be made
free from cracks or knots; and that
pit silo walls should be made true
and straight without bulges or pock-
cts.
The second factor is the crop.
Whatever crop is ensilaged it should
be as nearly as possible at the proper
state of maturity when put into the
silo. With corn which is the only
crop extensively used for silage pur-
poses in the Boise Valley, this
means that the crop should be prac-
tically mature although not dry.
When the ears are well denied and
hard and the fodder is still green.
the crop is in what is generally con-
sidered the ideal condition for silage
Immature corn makes inferior silage:
overripe corn makes good silage ii
sufficient water is added to provide
the desired succulence and permi;
proper packing.
The third factor is the manner in
which the crop is put into the silo
The exclusion of air is the condition
to be attained. Fine cutting facili-
tates this; thus corn cut to one
fourth of an inch packs more readily
than corn cut less finely and so makes
better grade of silage, other things
being equal. Slow filling is more de
sirable than too rapid filling as it al
lows more time to tramp the cut ma
terial thoroughly and takes advant-
age of the settling or the corn. Suf-
ficient water is necessary and if pro-
per drainage is provided or the silo
is left without floor there is no
great danger of having the silage too
wet. An excess of water is better
than a lack of it. Thorough tramp
ing is of the utmost Importance. 1t
is on this point that many fall short
the first time they fill their silos.
Tramping is not job for small
boy but for two or three good men
and they should be the busiest men
ON the work A few dollars spent for
an extra man during silo filling to
work inside the silo is not an eX-
travagance but a good investment,
provided the man works. Failure to
appreciate the necessity of packing
the silage thoroughly may mean the
loss of an entire seasons work and
the entire contents of the silo.
H. A. IRELAND,
U. S. Dept of Agriculture.