PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS. 25 



The silo at Harcus was excavated early in May ; commenced building May 15 ; finished 

 building June 16. Dimensions inside, 30 feet long by 12 feet wide and 13 feet deep. Walls at 

 upper end and both sides 12 inches thick, that at lower end 15 inches ; floor 6 inches thick, 

 and quite level. Walls and floor composed of concrete, made of 7 parts of gravel and sand 

 to 1 of best Portland cement. The pillars to support roof, which are 11 in number, 5 feet 

 high, 1 foot square, and placed about 7 feet apart, are made of concrete, 3 to 1, as is also the 

 smooth facing on the whole inside of silo, and on such external parts as are visible. The 

 roof is of home-grown fir, and covered with roofing felt ; it has projecting eaves to throw the 

 drip clear of the walls. The silo is constructed in sloping ground ; at the lower end the floor 

 is 5 feet below the surface, and at the upper end Hi feet ; the material removed in the 

 excavation is heaped against the sides. In the lower end there is a door on the level of the 

 ground for paying out the ensilage. This was filled up with double boarding and 4 inches of 

 rammed sawdust between. The total cost has been — Excavation, £4, 16s. ; Building, including 

 cement, £57, 15s. ; roofing and joiners' wages helping with framing, £12, 53. ; cartage, £4, 

 43. ; total, £79. This is the entire cost of the Ijuilding itself. But there was a further 

 expense, for planking to cover the ensilage, to fill up the spaces between the pillars, for 

 making the boxes, which, when filled with gravel, form the weights, and for joiners' wages 

 knocking the boxes together, which altogether amounted to £12, 10s. more. It is customary 

 to count only the actual cost of the building in calculating how much a silo costs per ton of 

 capacity. Taking ensilage to run 45 cubic feet to the ton, the capacity of the Harcus silo is 

 104 tons; at this rate the cost per ton of capacity at £79 is a little over 15s. ; but if the full sum 

 of £91, 10s. be taken, it exceeds 17s. 6d. The building is altogether more highly finished than 

 was perhaps actually necessary, and it could be made quite substantial and good for say 12s. 

 per ton of capacity. The filling commenced July 30 ; by the 8th August the silo was full to 

 the wall head. The material put in was in consecutive order, about 6 tons of clover and rje 

 grass, 4^ tons of coarse plantation grass, 7k tons of oats after green crop, sown out, 3 tons 

 rough plantation grass, 19 tons oats off lea, and 4 tons of plantation grass ; total, 44 tons. By 

 the 16th August it had subsided 5^ feet, under a pressure of between 50 and 60 lbs. per 

 superficial foot. The silo was accordingly uncovered, and about 24 tons of oats, with some 

 peas and tares sown along with it, were put in and additional weight was put on, making it 

 about 150 lbs. per superficial foot. This greater pressure caused the subsidence of both 

 the former filling and the second filling, and on September 5th the top of the ensilage was 

 about 4i feet below the wall head. It was again uncovered, and about 6 tons of plantation 

 grass and 3 tons of oats and peas were put in, and the silo was finally closed on .September 11. 

 It continued to subside gradually for several weeks, and is now on the average 3h feet down. 

 There has Ijcen no subsidence for six weeks or two months. During the whole time, from the 

 commencement of the first filling till the subsidence after the last filling finally ceased, a test 

 for heating was continuously in operation, by means of an iron rod ilxrust into the mass, 

 between 8 and 9 feet long. At no time was there any heat to be detected greater than just 

 enough to enable one to say that the rod was not actually cold, and latterly there was no 

 heat at all. After the silo was filled for the second time, a pungent odour began to come 

 throu-di the doorway, and continued, sometimes slighter and sometimes stronger, for some 

 weeks after the third filling. On December 8 the silo was opened ; about 6 inches of the 

 ensilage in front of the door and about 3 inches on the top was mouldy. After this was 

 removed the ensilage was found in good order ; it emitted a strong odour, somewhat resemb- 

 ling draff, and a good quantity of the com was quite green. It was offered to 8 Ayrsliire and 

 Alderney dairy cows and to 9 polled Angus'cows. Some took it at once, some after a little, and 

 all had eaten it before twenty-four hours had elapsed. There was no heat in the ensilage, either 

 on the top or at the door, when the silo was opened. The cost of cutting, hauling, tramping, 

 putting on the weights, and remo\ing them for each refilling, and replacing them in position, 

 hax licen £24, 7s., equal to 63. 6.UI. per ton stored. It is only right to say that this is gi-eatly 

 in excess of what was actually necessary. In the anxiety to ensure success there was an 

 exceptional amount of tramping performed, and the cost was also considerably increased frum 

 the fact that strips out of fields were cut, a more tedious, and consequently expensive, 

 operation per acre than the cutting whole fields at once. It is left to practical readers to 

 place their own values on the different materials employed to fill the silo. At the bottom of 

 the silo there is an accumulation of juice, which Mr Mackenzie proposes to use with bran. 

 The oats, which were verystrong in theirgrowth, were found to be slightly fermented, owing, 

 it is supposed, to the air not being tlioronghly pressed out of the stalks. This of course 

 might bo avoided by chatting it. Despite the little fermentation, the cattle ate the oats 

 readily and in decidcil preference to ordinary straw. During the past ten days .Mderney, 

 Ayi-fihire, and Polled Angus cows alike have been regularly fodderetl with two meals of the 

 ensilage each day. They have received in addition a small (juaiitityof turnips, but these will 

 be diac(mtinued when the cows become more accustomed to the ensilage. The cattleman 

 states that already there is a perceptible inijirovenient in the quality of the milk. It is 

 cont<-niplated ijy .Sir .Mackenzie to test minutely the etfect of the ensilage upon tlie rattle, 

 when they arc feeding on it exclusively. Each meal at present consists of 15 Ib.s. of the 

 en.silage. All the juice is thus retained. 



The inspection over, and luncheon having been partaken of, Mr F. N. .Menzies proposed 

 the health of Mr and Sirs Mackiiizif. Wlu-n Mr Mackenzie was placed upon the conumttee 

 of the Highland and .Vsriculttiral Socit-ty to invc'tigatf the (|Uestion of ensilage, Mr Mm/ies 

 said, he nt oiut- canic forward, and offtTfd to take njion liimsilf all the work and troulde of 

 testing it. Mc could only say that the .'Society, and imleed the agricultural pulilii of Srotlund, 

 were greatly indebted to him for what he ha<l ilone. Mr Mackenzie, in his reply, exprt-sstd 

 his willingnus.4 to exhibit the further results of the experiineiita to any one who wished. He 

 liad had the a.<<siHtance of the Society's committee, ami the still greater assistance, and zeal, 

 and energy of his excellent manager, .Mr Brydone. 



