ENSILAGE. 491 



certain extent), thus entirely excluding the air, the preservation of the fodder was a com 

 plete success, and it could be thus preserved for any length of time. 



This continued pressure is a heavily weighted plank covering, which will follow the 

 material as it settles, and thus maintain a uniform pressure. M. Goffart says: &quot; I pile on the 

 cover of my silo when it is filled, four or five hundred kilogrammes of stones or blocks of 

 wood per square metre of surface.* By my first processes (covering without much weight) I 

 obtained only a temporary and incomplete preservation; with my last, I obtained a preserva 

 tion indefinite and absolute.&quot; Thus, after many failures, and partial successes, and years of 

 study and experiment, was the problem at length solved, and it is now no longer a theory, 

 but a demonstrated fact, that green crops can be preserved in this manner with their valu 

 able nutritive elements unimpaired, which is the real object of the ensilage system. 



Mr. Brown says respecting M. Goff art s achievement: &quot;No doubt many farmers in this 

 country have an idea, especially since the canning process has become so popular, that vegeta 

 tion might be preserved in a similar way. Some have gone so far as to pack some green 

 stuff in barrels by way of experiment ; some have piled stalks in heaps and covered with dirt. 

 When the heat and moisture of the season have favored vegetation and produced larger 

 crops than could be consumed before frost destroys it, many a farmer has doubtless revolved 

 the problem in his mind. 



Apple pomace, turnips, cabbage, and different kinds of leaves seasoned with celery, 

 grape leaves, leaves of beets, beets themselves, pulp of beets, beets from sugar-factories, 

 some of these have been preserved in pits from time immemorial in Europe for feeding cows 

 and goats. Necessity has so long compelled the efforts of human beings, that we may find 

 precedents in almost every line of improvement. But all experienced men who know the 

 great difference that separates a happy suggestion, or even a successful attempt, from a prac 

 tice well enough confirmed to become the base of a regular business, will admit that these 

 proceedings, do not destroy the merit of any man who, like Monsieur Auguste Goffart, has 

 accomplished a continued success. In 1876 the French Government rewarded him with the 

 prize so dear to every Frenchman, the Decoration of the Legion of Honor.&quot; 



How to Build a Silo. Various methods of preserving different crops in a green 

 state in such a manner that their nutritive value will remain unimpaired have been resorted 

 to, some of which have proved exceedingly satisfactory, while others have resulted either 

 wholly or partially in failure. Although the system of ensilage is still in a comparatively 

 experimental stage, and the experience and experiments of the future will suggest and 

 develop improvements upon the present standard attained, enough has already been demon 

 strated by this system to show that its success is no longer a subject of doubt or conjecture, 

 but an established fact. The methods thus far that have resulted most satisfactorily are by 

 the use of the silo and trenches, the former being most generally preferred. In giving 

 directions respecting the manner of building a silo, it may be of special interest to the 

 farmer to receive this instruction directly from some of the pioneers in the ensilage system, 

 who have thoroughly tested silos of different construction, and are therefore prepared to 

 speak from experience. &quot;We have, therefore, adopted this method, in the main, in connection 

 with the subject, as well as in giving the experiments which have led to successful results. 



Mr. Potter s Method of Constructing Brick Silos. Mr. 0. B. Potter, of New 

 York, the first person to try the ensilage system on a large scale in this country, furnishes us 

 for this work the following description of his manner of constructing silos: 



&quot; The process of preserving fodder in pits is exceedingly simple and easily practiced. 

 The conditions of success are these: 



First. The preserving-pits must be wholly air-tight, so that when sealed, the air cannot 

 come in contact with the food preserved. 



* A metre is about three feet and 8 inches. 



