108 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jail., 



as a motive for investigation. He will not accept it as a fact 

 that corn fodder is made more digestible by packing it in a 

 silo until it is demonstrated by more exact experiments that 

 we cannot account for this result in some other way. 



Now, so far as I can gather, I do not think it possible, I do 

 not think that actual investigation makes it even probable, 

 that corn fodder is made more nutritious. It may be more 

 digestible. One thing is very certain, that we have a very 

 slight chemical change taking place in the silo when the thing 

 is properly conducted. We have some carbonic acid formed 

 in there which expels the air, and that is formed at the ex- 

 pense of the corn fodder. Some of the corn fodder is actu- 

 ally burned. But that process does not go on long, because 

 the oxygen is shortly consumed. There is fermentation there, 

 due to the development of those minute plants, fungi, which 

 produce ordinary yeast fermentation, alcoholic fermentation, 

 lactic acid fermentation, and this process goes on to a slight 

 degree. They have very little effect in changing the consti- 

 tution of the fodder. They act only on the sugar which is in 

 the juice. That is the only material there which is essen- 

 tially altered. The fiber of the corn is not essentially aftected 

 by these changes. It makes no difference whether it is or 

 not ; the animal is able to digest the fodder, to a large extent, 

 if it is only properly proportioned in the ration. 



I am glad to see this subject introduced so entliusiaslically, 

 because it shows that we have the capacity for getting inter- 

 ested in these questions, and this silo question brings us closer 

 in contact with questions with which a few years ago we had 

 no possible proximity — with questions of scientific feeding. 

 Now, we have had carried on in New Jersey, during the last 

 winter, scientific and practical experiments on the feeding 

 value of ensilage. It was done in the New Jersey Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station. I regret very much that I have 

 not here, as I intended to have, a copy of the paper in which 

 the results are published. I shall print that in my forthcom- 

 ing report of the Experiment Station, as an argument for the 

 station, as well as valuable information for every farmer who 

 is interested in this subject. The ensilage made in New Jer- 



