A. Amos and G. Williams 331 



Taking bag 5 first, because this was nearest to the top, and conse- 

 quently taken out first, it was found to be situated within I ft. of the 

 surface and so corresponded with the conditions discussed in relation 

 to the silage 1 ft. deep in Table II. The sample contained a fair amount 

 of moisture, nearly 72 per cent., and reached a maximum temperature 

 of 47°-5 C. The silage produced was characteristically "sweet"' with 

 pleasant smell and dark brown colour. 



The silage in bag 4, which reached a maximum temperature of 

 37° C, had an acid though pleasant smell. It was situated not far below 

 the level where the break in filling the silo occurred and doubtless for 

 this reason the temperature is above those in samples Nos. 3, 2 and 1. 



The silage in bags 3, 2 and I was in eacli case produced from a crop 

 which had been consideral)ly wilted in dry weather and contained only 

 about (15 per cent, of moisture when ensiled. The maximum temperatures 

 were respectively 35° C, 31° C. and 30° C, and in each case a yellowish 

 brown silage resulted with an acid, typically silage, smell. This was 

 pleasant and by no means tenacious hke the smell of the silage from the 

 bottom of the silo in the previous year. These samples seem to be 

 typical of silage jiroduced in tower silos from fairly mature crops which 

 are allowed to wilt under dry weather conditions before being ensiled. 

 The silage is not "sweet" in the sense of the earlier writers and neither 

 is it "sour" enough to be un])leasant. It is readily eaten by stock which 

 thrive well upon it. 



In 1918 a silage stack was also made from a crop of spring-sown oats 

 and tares. This was cut on .luly 20th, allowed to wilt for 24 hours, 

 and built into a circular stack 12 ft. in diameter. The stack heated 

 greatly, the maximum tem])erature in the bottom half of the stack — 

 ascertained by the use of the same hollow gas pipe with thermometer 

 previously described, but thrust horizontally into the stack — proved to 

 be .58° C, whilst that of the top half rose to as much as 75° C. The 

 whole of the stack was composed of sweet silage, for the most part dark 

 brown, but in some jilaces, where the heat was greatest, almost black 

 in colour. 



This silage was readily eaten by cattle, but the losses in fermenta- 

 tion only, as ascertained from two sample bags, amounted to 19 and 

 21 jDer cent, of the dry weight respectively. So great a loss indicates 

 that silage made at such high temperatures is uneconomical. 



In 1919 the silo was filled with a spring-sown oat and tare mixture. 

 Cutting commenced on August 4th and was completed on August 5th. 

 Filling was carried out on August 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. The crop was 



