SILO MADE AVAILABLE. 185 



the moisture is wanting in the grass itself; and, should water 

 get in from the outside, decomposition is not rapid, for the 

 stalk of the grass is chiefly woody fibre. The starch, sugar, 

 and gums that made the green grass rot so rapidly have been 

 expended in ripening the seed, and that is fitted to remain 

 for years under ground without decay. 



Now we wish to cut our grass green, and preserve it in a 

 moist condition. If we make a pile of grass such as alluded 

 to above, and the heating begins, there are two ways of pro- 

 ceeding if we wish to stop the process. One is summarily 

 arresting it by opening the pile, and exposing all portions of 

 the material to the light and air. The air and sun take out 

 the moisture, and we make hay. If the pile is in suitable 

 shape, size, and place, we compress it still more compactly 

 together, and we make ensilage. By the former process, 

 however, we have so changed the grass, that it is indestruc- 

 tible from any changes that will begin within itself: it has 

 only to be protected from moisture to enable us to keep it 

 as long as we wish. The grass is cured. By the latter 

 process we have only excluded one of the agents needed for 

 the rapid destruction of the plant ; but we have left the 

 moisture of composition, with which all processes of destruc- 

 tion are possible when working with the peculiarly organized 

 compounds contained in the plant, and we have only delayed 

 the decomposition. 



As farmers looking for practical systems for preserving our 

 fodder, and the simplest and easiest methods of applying 

 such systems, let us consider the two methods of applying 

 the silo to American farming. We know we can expel the 

 air from a mass of green fodder so completely that it will 

 keep from rotting for a number of months ; but we cannot 

 keep the constituents of the mass from changing. The 

 change is constant; and the longer it is allowed to continue 

 after a certain period of time, not yet clearly known, the less 

 valuable the product becomes. We know, however, that 

 among the changes are some of a beneficial character ; so that 

 within certain limits loss and gain may be nearly balanced. 

 We can so select the substances to be treated in the silo, 

 that, considering the season of the year when they are to be 

 harvested, the uncertainty of drying the plants in the short 

 and damp days of autumn, the desirability of having some 



