Nov. 2, 1908.] Ar/Hcultural Gazette of N.S.W. 913 



be at once appointed and sent to inspect places where silage has been con- 

 served on a large scale ; also to inquire inio the Victorian method of Govern- 

 ment time payment silos, and their success or otherwise. This laudable action 

 on the part of the Junee Association has met with the hearty sympathy of a 

 number of other Societies who are equally anxious to be advised as t(j the 

 most economical silage crops for the drier districts, and to get the services of 

 some man capable of supervising the building of silos, the making of silage, 

 and of advising as to the relative merits of pit, stack, tub-silo, feno- 

 concrete, timber, and other methods and materials. The Junee Association 

 has evidently recognised the fact that, with all the experience gained during 

 the last twenty years, the question of making and conserving silage is still, 

 more or less, in the experimental stage, and deserves much furrher investigation. 

 It is well known that the system pursued at Jemalong would not succeed in a 

 district with soil of different character and with a heavier rainfall. The man 

 who might succeed in making pit silage on the Western Slopes in a stiff clay 

 loam, and with a rainfall less than 20 inches, might succeed in making 

 nothing more than manure if he pursued the same plan on the Coast district, 

 with a more porous soil, three times tho rainfall, and consequent heavy 

 soak age from the soil. 



As this State has done much pioneering work in many directions, and has 

 had to pay the cost of failures, as is the fate of all pioneers, whereby other 

 States have benefited by our experience, it will not be amiss if we, in certain 

 cases, hasten slowly, in order to get the benefit of experience gained by other 

 people's mistakes and experimental work. Victoria has led the way in pro- 

 viding silos on a number of farms in certain districts, on conditions as to 

 payment which are generous to the men on the soil. Whether the}' will turn 

 out to be as fair to the general taxpayer is only one of the many problems to 

 be solved. 



In the short time during which the experiment has lasted, enough has 

 been learned to show the value of certain materials for making silos, com- 

 pared with others ; but a good deal more is yet to be learned as to the most 

 effective way of building a cheap silo which will last long enough to warrant 

 the initial capital expenditure. We have seen some silos built of galvanised 

 iron, protected on the inside by paint and other dressings ; but it is clearly 

 evident already, that the acids generated in the fermenting silage will find 

 a way of quickly eating through the zinc and iron of which these were built. 

 Some have been built in this State of concrete, reinforced with steel netting, 

 which seem to promise exceedingly well, although apparently very slight in 

 structure, being not more than 4 inches thick. This class of silo needs 

 skilful workmen and exact moulds, and precise proportions of materials ; and 

 these requirements necessitate the employment of a skilled class of labour not 

 ordinarily available on the farm. 



In districts where cement, sand, and broken metal or gravel can be got 

 cheaply, these silos will be a great success. 



Meanwhile, the Minister has provided for the employment of two experts 

 to give practical instruction in the building of silos and the making of silage. 



