Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/202

* SILAGE. 162 SILAS. considerable water should be poured on the silage after the silo is filled. After filling, some per- sons prevent waste from the spoiling of the top laj'er by feeding at onec. Otliers place 6 inches to 1 foot of chaff or cut straw on the silage to prevent decay, still others place a layer of tarred paper smoothly over the surface before piling on the straw. When green materials are ensiled various changes take place. A portion of the carbo- hydrates, and to a less extent the albuminoids, of the jdant is broken down and acids and other simple bodies are formed. At the same time, oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide is pro- duced. These changes result in a loss of ma- terial which ranges from 4 to 40 per cent, of the total amount originally present. The chemical clianges are accompanied by the production of heat, the temperature sometimes rising as high as 66° Centigrade. Generally speaking, 3 tons of silage are equal in feeding value to 1 ton of hay. On this basis a much larger amount of digestible food can be secured from an acre of silage corn than from an acre of hay. The food equivalent to 4 tons of hay can easily be produced on an acre of land planted to corn. Crops may be more compactly and economically stored as silage than as hay. A silo of 180 tons capacity will contain silage equivalent to 54 tons of dry matter in the same space. Less than 23 tons of icd clover hay, con- taining less than 20 tons of dry matter, can be stored in the same space in a barn. Consult: Plumb, Silos and Silage, United States Department Agricultural Farmers' Bulle- tin 32; Thurber, Silos and Ensilarje (New York, 1886) ; Bailey, Ensilage (New York, 1881) : Col- lingwood. Conserved Cattle Food (New York, 1892) ; Cook, Silo and Silage, llichigan Experi- ment Station Bulletin 90, ser. 6; Mills, Silos, En- CoMPOsiTiON OF Different Kinds of Silage KIND OF SILAGE Corn Sorgliuin Red clover Soy bean Cowpea vine Field pea vine : Mixture of cowpea and soy bean vines Eye Barnyard millet and 6oy bean Corn and soy bean Mature corn, sunflower heads, and horse beans {Robertson's silage mixture) Water ■ Protein Per cent. Per cent. 79.1 1.7 76.1 0.8 72,0 4.2 74.2 4-1 79.3 2.7 60,1 5.9 69,8 3.8 80,8 2.4 79.0 2.8 76.0 2.5 69.7 4.0 Fat Per cent. 0.8 0.3 1.2 2.2 1.6 1.6 1.3 0.3 1.0 0.8 1,9 ^itrogren- free extract Per cent. 11,0 15,3 11,6 6,9 7,6 26,0 11,1 9,2 7,2 11.1 16.7 Crude fibre Per cent. 6.0 6.4 8.4 9.7 6.0 13.0 9.5 6.8 7.2 7.2 6.1 Ash Per cent. 1,4 1,1 2,6 2,8 2,9 3.6 4.5 1.6 2.8 2.4 1.6 As showTi by analysis, the cured silage does not differ materially in composition from the gi'een crop. It is therefore essentially coarse fodder. Silage from legumes is naturally richer in pro- tein than that from corn or other cereals. In some of the mi.xtures, notably Robertson's silage mixture, the attempt is made to approximate more nearly a balanced ration than is the case with either material alone. Corn silage has the following average coefficient of digestibility: Dry matter, 70.8: protein, 56.0; fat, 82.4; nitrogen-free extract. 76.1; crude fibre, 70,0; and ash, 30.3. Cow-pea silage : Dry matter, 59.6 ; pro- tein, 57.5; fat, 62.6; nitrogen-free extract, 72.5; crude fibre, 52,0; and ash. 30,3, As regards di- gestibility silage compares favorably with the green crop from which it is made or the corre- sponding dry fodder. The first general use of silage as a stock food was with dairy cattle. The extensive erection of silos in many parts of the United States, how- ever, has resulted in its adoption by many feeders of horses, sheep, and beet cattle. Animals usual- ly eat sound silage with a relish, and reject it only when decay is present. For milch cattle it seems especially well adapted, and the silo has proved an important and economical addition to the dairy farm. Dairy cattle should be fed rela- tively small amounts of silage until they be- come accustomed to it. In changing from grass or dry feed to silage, if a regular ration is given, the silage will perhaps slightly affect the taste of the milk for a few milkings, and if the change is from dry feed it may cause too great activity of the bowels. Its use as a food for swine has not been found successful at the agricultural ex- periment stations. silage, and Silage (New Yoi-k, 1895) ; Woods, Ensilage — Its Origin, Eistori/, and Practice (Nor- wich, England, 1883) ; Hand Book of Experiment Station Work, United States Department Agricul- ture, Office of Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 15; King, Silage and the Construction of Modern Silos, Wisconsin Experiment Station, Bulletin 83: Conn, Agricultural Bacteriology (Philadel- phia, 1901). " SILAO, sc-lii'6. A town in the State of Guan- ajuato, Mexico, 14 miles by rail from the city of that name (Map: Mexico, H 7). It manufac- tures cotton and woolen goods, and is the centre of a rich maize and wheat district. Its popula- tion, in 1895, was 15,437. SI'LAS, or SILVA'NTJS. One of the early Christians, mentioned as Silas in the Book of Acts, and as Silvanus in the Epistles. Silas may be a contraction for Silvanus, or Silvanus may be a Latin form for the original Silas. He was known as a 'prophet' and leader of the cliurch in .Jerusalem, and was one of those chosen to convey the decision of that church to the brethren in Antioch after the council concerning Gentile converts; he remained in Antioch for some time (Acts XV. 22, 32-33). Later, when Paul was about to begin the second missionary journey and had disagreed with Barnabas regarding Mark, Silas became Paul's companion (Acts xv. 36-41). He went with Paul through Asia Minor, passed with him over to Macedonia, shared his experiences in Philippi, Tliessalonica, and Berea (Acts xvi.-xvii. 15). He remained at Berea and joined Paul on his return from Athens at Corinth (Acts xvii. 14; x:-iii. 5). Af- ter the close of the second missionary journey