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ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



soon settles, becoming so tightly packed that little or 

 no air can enter. The top of the silo, except for a 

 covering from the rain, may be kept open to the air, 

 and no harm will result. The first few inches of ensi- 

 lage which are exposed to the air will rot, but the 

 ensilage will be found perfectly preserved below. A 

 covering of straw helps to preserve the top layer of 

 ensilage. The slight fermentation that has taken place 

 in the ensilage, it is claimed, improves it as a food for 

 stock; but whether this is true or not, ensilage is much 

 enjoyed as a food by all classes of stock. 



Ensilage is very valuable as a stock food because it 

 furnishes a supply of fresh food at a season when green 

 food is unobtainable. It is also a very economical way 

 to preserve food, for by this process great quantities of 

 food may be stored in a very small space. The feeding 

 of ensilage during the winter months is beneficial to 

 the health of animals. While ensilage furnishes a 

 valuable food for all classes of stock, it is especially 

 valuable for milch cows. Feeding ensilage to milch 

 cows causes the animals to give a greater supply of 

 milk, and at the same time keeps them in better health. 



We learn from Roman writers that the practice of 

 preserving fodder as ensilage is a very old one. It is 

 probable that the process was known to them hun- 

 dreds of years before the birth of Christ. In this 

 country ensilage is a comparatively new thing, the 

 practice having been begun about 1875, and was based 

 upon the method then in vogue in France. It rapidly 

 grew in favor until now a silo is part of the equipment 

 of every first-class farm where stock is kept. The 



