148 

 THE SILO IN HAWAII. 



The recently constructed silo at the Kamehameha Schools' 

 farm and its storage with silage for the first time on the i6th 

 inst., has occasioned much interest among the several agri- 

 culturists who are watching the experiment and recognize its 

 value to Hawaiian agriculture if successful. 



While the practical preservation of green fodder in silos^ 

 dates back to a hundred or more years ago, European husband- 

 men being the first to make this application of the ancient's 

 practice of storing grains in pits, the ensiling system was not 

 introduced into America until 1879 upon the appearance of a 

 translation of A. Gaffart's noted French work on "ensilage." 



Since then the silo has made wonderful progress in the 

 United States — numbering 91 in 1882, it is estimated that 

 half a million are now in operation throughout the Union — 

 where ensilage is almost universally recognized as one of the 

 most economical and satisfactory food stuffs obtainable for 

 dairy cattle. 



The se\'eral recent successive dry years in Hawaii and the 

 consequent shortage of green, succulent pasture and fodder 

 for dairy cattle for the greater part of the year, led the writer 

 to investigate the adaptability of the silo to Hawaiian condi- 

 tions. While in California in the fall of 1904, a number of lead- 

 ing dairies where the modern silo formed an important 

 feature were visited, five silos, varying from 100 to 250 tons 

 capacity, in operation from one to four years, were carefully 

 studied. Reports and observations were so favorable in this 

 investigation, wdiere climatic and other conditions were so 

 nearly like our own, that the experiment of introducing the 

 silo into Hawaii seemed well worth while. 



A 65-ton silo was planned for use on the schools' farm last 

 fall ; the staves of a 20,000-gallon water tank being available, 

 these were utilized for the body of our silo. By inverting each 

 alternating stave, the tapering form of the tank was converted 

 into a perfect cylinder 16 feet in diameter and 18 feet in height. 

 This was set upon a concrete foundation which also formed 



^Silo — an air-tight structure used for the preservation of green fodder in 

 a succulent condition. 



Silage — the feed stored in a silo (formerly called ensilage). 



