104 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Corn Ensilage. — The treatment of corn-fodder in silos has 

 of late acquired considerable prominence in Austria and 

 France. Both countries contain quite large areas of land, 

 well fitted by climatic conditions for an advantageous culti- 

 vation of corn. The successful and extensive application of 

 the silo system in the sugar-beet industry of those countries 

 has apparently greatly stimulated inquiries into its useful- 

 ness for general farm practice. In many instances in France, 

 where the sugar-beet root is sold from a small farm to dis- 

 tant sugar-factories, and high freight rates prevent the re- 

 turn of the refuse beet-root pulp to the root-grower, corn 

 ensilage is used to make up the deficiency in fodder, caused 

 by the sale of the root-crop. Our late home experiments 

 are apparently largely inspired by the teachings of distin- 

 guished French agriculturalists. As I have reason to sup- 

 pose that interesting descriptions of our home experiments 

 will be presented here to-day by gentlemen intimately ac- 

 quainted with that subject, I shall confine myself to the 

 description of an investigation carried on at the agricultural 

 experiment station at Vienna, for the purpose of ascertaining 

 the precise effect of the silo fermentation upon the composi- 

 tion of green-corn fodder, and the degree of loss which the 

 organic dry matter suffers under that treatment. 



The green-corn fodder was cut at an early stage of bloom- 

 ing, and, without any other preparation, carefulh^ packed 

 into silos of the usual size and form. Several feet in thick- 

 ness of earth served as a cover. An analysis of the green 

 corn l)efore filling the silo, and after its opening from two 

 experiments, gave the following results : — 



