BACTERIA CONCERNED IN THE RIPENING OF CORN 



SILAGE 



p. G. HEINEMAN and CHARLES R. HIXSON 



From the Laboratories of the United States Standard Products Company 



Received for publication July 2, 1920 



The production of silage on the farm may be regarded as a 

 means of conserving valuable food material. During the proc- 

 ess of fermentation which takes place in the silo the fresh fodder 

 is so altered as to prevent spoilage and to conserve its food value. 

 Experience as well as experiment has shown that a highly nutri- 

 tious and palatable food is thus made available during the winter 

 months, when fresh fodder cannot be obtained. 



The authors make no claim to have solved all the problems 

 connected with the fermentation of silage. Many details must 

 remain for future investigation and all that can be claimed is 

 progress. Hunter and Bushnell and Sherman lay stress on the 

 activity of lactobacilli in the ripening of silage and the present 

 work confirms the findings of these authors, namely that lacto- 

 bacilli are important factors, but that they probably reach the 

 maximiun of their activity during late stages of fermentation. 



Opportunity presented itself to investigate silage from three 

 silos. Two of these are constructed of wood with concrete 

 foundation, while the thii'd is concrete throughout. The inves- 

 tigation, as might be anticipated, shows that although the fer- 

 mentative process in general is similar in different silos, it is by 

 no means identical. That is to say, after a definite lapse of 

 time the silage of one silo may be fermented in larger measure 

 than that in another silo. Furthermore, the same stage of 

 fermentation does not necessarily obtaia throughout the same 

 sUo. No relation to the difference in construction could however 

 be detected. 



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