186 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



places, and we have had the Board of Health after that. 

 Now the American people have the disease of silo on the 

 brain; and we have a man here who lias, I think, shown yo\i 

 the merits of it. I hope that the State Board of Agriculture 

 will print this address in some form, so that every man who 

 has silo on the brain can read for himself, and make up his 

 mind whether he will have a silo or not ; whether he will go 

 according to the facts as given us by chemistry, or whether 

 he will take the thing that first strikes his mind, because his 

 cows appear to do a little better, and perhaps, the first week, 

 will yield a little anore milk. I think the lecture to which 

 we have listened is worth more than any paper that was ever 

 put out by any agricultural society ; and I hope that it will 

 be published in such shape, that every farmer who can read 

 and understand will know the exact benefits or disadvan- 

 tages from excluding the air from this green food. I am 

 not a chemist, and I do not know whether the ground taken 

 by Mr. Bailey is right or not ; but, when I have a piece of 

 timber that I want to use, I turn it over to sec if there is 

 not a knot on the under side. I hope the people will look 

 this matter over very carefully before they spend any money. 



Capt. MooEE. I would like to ask Professor Goessmann 

 whether, in his judgment, there has been any improvement 

 over the old plan of " making hay when the sun shines." 



Professor GoESSMANiSr. No : I stated that most distinctly. 

 There is no improvement over that method if the weather is 

 favorable ; but, as I said, the system of ensilage will be an 

 assistance in saving, in many instances, a large quantity of 

 valuable food. In unfavorable seasons it will undoubtedly 

 prove very valuable to the farming community, under proper 

 management. I think simple ditches will do. It is not 

 necessary to have expensive masonry in a silo. A pit, if 

 lined with boards to prevent leakage, will do as well on a 

 moderate scale. The only difficulty about a silo made in the 

 ground, and unlined, is, that a large amount of the soluble 

 portion of the material will be apt to leak into the loose soil. 

 I stated that in one case fifty per cent of the value had been 

 lost by simple leakage iu the ground. What we want to 

 preserve is the nutritive portion of the fodder: and, if any 

 part of it passes into the ground in form of a solution, much 

 is lost ; for the solution contain3 tlie most valuable portion of 



