:>44 0(i( (iikI Tare Si/(t(/c 



Small silo No. '.i had been tilled from a part of the crop which was 

 cut on June 23rd and left in the sun to dry during June 23rd, 24th and 

 2yth, by which time it was three parts made into hay. However, during 

 the night of June 25th and 26th, a thunder.storm occurred, which pre- 

 cipitated -22 in. of rain and wetted the croj) considerably. June 2Gth 

 was dull and about •]() in. of rain fell. On June 27th a part of the crop 

 was carted in early morning and ensiled in one of the small silos. This 

 crop, in spite of the rain on the previous day, contained only l)2-2 ])er 

 cent, of moisture when ensiled. 



The silo was opened on November 29th. when it was found that a 

 considerable (l('])th, about 18 in., of spoilt mouldy material had to be 

 removed from the top before the good silage was reached: even at this 

 dejith the silage iie.xt tlie walls was mouldy and occasional spots of mould 

 were found throughout the whole mass. This mouldiness was due in 

 part probably to infection in the field as a consequence of the rain, and 

 in part also to the fact that owing to the dryness of the material it could 

 not be packed so tightly in the silo. 



When bag No. 8, situated in the top half of the silo, was removed 

 it was found that the ma.ximum thermometer immediately below it had 

 recorded a temperature of 39° C. J'robably the temperature in the bag 

 itself would have been a few degrees higher. The contents of this bag 

 were partly good and partly mouldy; approximately two-thirds were 

 good. This had a yellow-brown colour and an aroma very similar to that 

 of heated hay. It was in fact "sweet" silage. The loss of drv matter 

 in fermentation was high, 16-5 per cent. This was due in part to the 

 excessive heat of fermentation and in part to the acticm of the moulds 

 present. 



Bag No. 7 at the bottom part of this silo contained a few small spots 

 of nu)uld. It had reached a maximum temperature of 32^-.") C. It had 

 a yellow-brown colour with a very slight indistinctive smell, with no 

 suggestion of acid to the nose. It appeared different from any type of 

 silage commonly met in practice. The loss of dry matter during fermen- 

 tation amounted only to 10 per cent. 



P'rom experience gained from other sources it appears that the most 

 desirable type of silage is the green "fruity" silage produced in bags 

 1 and 2 in the small silo, and bag 3 at the bottom of the large silo. This 

 type of silage seems to be produced when a fresh green crop in an early 

 Btage of maturity (soon after flowering) is ensiled, with little or no 

 previous wilting, at a low temperature, at or about 2.5° C. The results 

 of these experiments suggest that with this type a considerable loss of 



