GREEN FOOD IN SILOS. 159 



The original green food loses, during the period of fermenta- 

 tion, more or less of its weight, amounting, in some instances, 

 to from forty to fifty per cent. This loss consists of more or 

 less organic matter, and largely of water of vegetation. 

 Very juicy articles shrink, for this reason, most: they are 

 also apt to lose soluble constituents by leakage, in case the 

 silos are constructed in a loose sandy or gravelly soil, instead 

 of a compact soil or in cemented masonry. Some of the 

 starchy or saccharine constituents are invariably transformed 

 into lactic acid, — the acid contained in sour milk, — and 

 other products characteristic of a slimy fermentation under 

 the exclusion of air : in some instances considerable quanti- 

 ties of alcoholic products and fatty acids are noticed. The 

 nitrogen percentage of the ensilage is, for obvious reasons, 

 usually higher than that of the green food which served for 

 its production ; although a small percentage of the nitroge- 

 nous constituents of the green crops is destroyed, and changed 

 into compounds of ammonia or of volatile alkaline com- 

 pounds of a similar character. The color and the odor of 

 the silo product depends on the success of the treatment, 

 and resembles more or less that of the material used : in 

 case of green food it is usually either dark green or yellow- 

 ish green. A failure of the silo process is readily noticed 

 by a strong, unpleasant putrid odor, and the dark brown or 

 black color of the vegetable matter, which is also covered by 

 fungi growth. 



As agriculturalists differ not only in the details of carry- 

 ing on the silo system in case of dijfferent materials, but 

 also with reference to the same kind, I propose to describe 

 subsequently some of the experiments of competent parties, 

 to give a more comprehensive idea concerning the silo sys- 

 tem as carried out abroad. Having on a previous occasion 

 (Report, 1879-80, On the Feeding Value of Corn) described 

 the rules which guide us in our decision regarding the com- 

 parative feeding value of our various articles of fodder, I 

 omit further details. 



Clover Eyisilage. — The ditches were three to four feet 

 wide, and from four to five feet deep, with sides slanting 

 slightly towards the centre. Sixteen cubic feet of space were 

 counted for every ton of green red clover in blossom. The 

 closely packed green clover filled two-thirds of the depth of 



