Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1922-09-07

has. The long winters make it advis-
able to provide a large amoun of
feed in convenient form, for carving
the cattle through the bad winters.
such as 1919.
From u experience on the /. H. G.
Farms during the past nine winters.
we are satisfied that the corn crop
put intoSeffs silo and fed out, will give
US $fom two to four times as much
feed as if fed as dry fodder. We also
find that a small amount of silage will
keep the stock in good shape, and with
straw or other course roughage, they
will come through the winter in good,
thrifty condition - For these-reaseHs
the silo is essential in this region.
1t is really not a question of whether
a man with fifteen or twenty head of
cattle to winter can afford a silo. The
facts are that he cannot afford to be
without one. There is no question but
that within a very few years the silo
will be a part of the farm improve
ments on every farm. Many farmers
who have had experience with a silo
say that they are satisfied that they
lost the cost of a silo every year that
they did not have one. That is, they
have found it essential to grow a Guilt |
waited crop, and there is no crop that
will take the place of corr in the rota-
ton for this purpose. 1t is also true
that in order to get the full value out
of the corn crop it must be fed 10 live
stock, and that with the silo for put
ting this corn into, there is enough
added profit every year to practically
pay for the silo used.
The Silo Is Not a New Invention
The use of the silo for preserving
all kinds of crops for cattle feeding is
not new. The principle of the silo has
been in use by the Old World farmers
for more than one hundred years. They
used mostly the pit variety, that is,
holes or trenches dug in the ground
and plastered. In these the tops of
oeets and other course parts of plants
we're packed for winter feeding. In
his country the real use of the silo
vas not begun-until forty or fifty
years ago but since that time there
las been a very rapid increase in the
Use of this method of saving feed. Its
development has shown that it means
almost as much to the cattle feeder as
loes improved machinery to the grain /;
'armers.
What Is Silage? .
The silo is nothing more nor less /
han the fruit can or the kraut barrel {
N a large scale, and silage is the S
material preserved in the silo. They J
nay be entirely below the ground, or '
ntirely above the ground, or a com I
I'm uffnp. that 10 ror%lxv - Az $1,000 a
nd partly above. s
AS stated above the first silos we're '
INSTRUCTED entirely below the ground.
t makes absolutely no difference as to t
where or how the silo is built, provid- r
ng it has certain features which are
ssential. L
First, the silo must be air tight. The o
lilo must be built of some material I
,hich is durable and preferably which Y
oes not conduct heat readily. It is :
lso desirable that the silo should be :
economically constructed. y
The object of the silo is to preserve :
1 a s~ucculent, green form, any feed ?
hitch is available, and which can be =
fine or packed closely in the r
10. If the silo is properly con- .
and the feed put in it is prop !
rly matured, it should be preserved =
indefinitely so that it could be "
sed either during the summer, when q
he pastures are short; in the winter I;
hen dry feed alone will not give the !,
est results, or one or more years -
ter, when needed. n
The term silage or ensilage is used
denote any feed that is preserved g,
a silo. AS a general thing corn is X
,nsidered the most valuable silage
-op, but it is not necessarily the only
which can be used in the silo. =.
sweet clover, wheat, bar
v, oats, peas, alfalfa, Russian this c
es. weeds, and in fact any green j.
-owth that will make feed for cattle
N be put in the silo and preserved to
Vantage.
The Theory of Silage.
Silage is kept in the silo very much
fruit, vegetables and other articles
human food are preserved in air
yht cans. The germs which cause L.
rmentation and decay can only A,
,ow when there is a supply of oxy-
present Hence, If the air is kept M
ON silage it can be preserved indef- Ft
itely. Sc
AS soon as the silo is filled fermen- 81
ton begins and continues until the sh
pply of oxygen is exhausted. III the id
put into the silo was neither m,
0 ripe nor too green this fermenta- els
N will continue but a short time. fol
mt is. the heating which takes place Or
due to fermentation and carbon Of
,xide gas is liberated in this action
lis gas being heavier than air, il set
8 TO the bottom Of the silo, and Ed
fills all Of the space in the Ia