-Us 



SILAGE 



the Spanish verb ensilar, ' to store grain in a 

 silo or pit.' It was originally employed to denote 

 the preservation of green forage in an air and 

 water tight silo the contents being tightly pressed 

 down so as to get rid of and permanently exclude 

 the oxygen of the air, and thereby prevent putre- 

 factive* fermentation. The practice, since its in- 

 trodnction into the British Isles, has been consider- 

 ably extended, so that the term silage is now 

 applied to fodder which has been preserved by 

 pressure in stacks as well as to that preserved in 

 silos by pressure. The practice of ensilage is of 

 great antiquity. From time immemorial grain lina 

 been stored in underground pits in eastern coun- 

 tries. In the time of Pliny it was, he tells us, 

 pursued with success in Thrace, Cappodocia, Bur 

 iHiry, (iml Spain. Varro also speaks approvingly 

 of the process, and asserts that by it wheat could 

 be preserved fresh for fifty years and millet for a 

 century. In early times it was probably employed 

 chiefly to hide stores of grain from invaders, ft is 

 now used mainly in the preserving of green food for 

 cattle and horses. The converting of green fodder, 

 AS distinguished from ripened grain, into silage is 

 believed to have been first practised in Germany. 

 In 1843, in the Transactions of the Highland and 

 Agricultural Society of Scotland, Professor Johnston 

 gave a detailed description of the German system of 

 making ' sour hay. ' The practice spread through 

 the Austro- Hungarian empire, where graves or 

 trenches, 4 feet by 6 or 8 feet in breadth and depth, 

 were dug and crammed with green grass or green 

 Indian corn, the whole being covered over with a 

 foot of earth. The distinction of first succeeding 

 in directing general attention to the subject was 

 earned by a Frenchman, M. GotTart, whose book, 

 Manuel de la Culture et de F Ensilage des Main et 

 atttrcs Foil rages verts, published in 1877, was not 

 only widely read in his own country, but was 

 translated into English and published in New 

 York in 1879. The method had already been tried 

 to a small extent in America, and the perusal of 

 M. GolTart's work aroused the deepest interest and 

 led to numerous and extensive experiments. The 

 general results were satisfactory, and soon the 

 system found its way into Great Britain. Al- 

 though several trials were mode earlier, the 

 systematic and extensive adoption of ensilage in 

 the United Kingdom dates from 1882. In that 

 year the successful experience of Vicomte Arthur de 

 Chezelles, who had been pursuing the system upon 

 a large scale in France, was made known through 

 the press to British farmers. A host of experiment- 

 alists were instantly at work, and so keenly was 

 public attention aroused that in 1883 the Ensilage 

 Commission, a private but highly influential body. 

 was formed to collect evidence and consider and 

 make known the merits of the practice. A mass 

 of valuable Information was collected and was 

 embodied in the official blue-books issued by the 

 government. 



The commission reported strongly in favour of 

 the system, concluding as follows: 'After sum 

 tiling up the moss of evidence which has reached us, 

 we CHII without hesitation aftirm that it has been 

 abundantly and conclusively proved to our satis- 

 faction that this system of preserving green fodder 

 crops promises great advantage to the practical 

 farmer, ami, if carried mil with a reasonable 

 amount of care and etlicieney, should not only 

 provide him with the means of insuring himself to 

 a great extent against unfavourable seasons, and 

 of materially improving the quantity and quality 

 of his dairy produce, Imt should also cnaMo him to 

 increase appreciably the nuiiilierof live-stock that 

 can be profitably "kept ii|M>n any given acreage, 

 whether of poM-n re or arable land, and proportion 

 ately the amount of manure available to fertilise 



it.' From 1883 the progress of the movement in 

 Great Britain was rapid. The British agricultural 

 returns first included statistics as to ensilage in 1884. 

 In that year 610 silos were reported as existing in 

 Great Britain. In the next three years the nmnlicr 

 increased to 2894. By 1887 it was proved by ie 

 peated ex]>eriiiients in England that silage might 

 lie made in stacks as well as in silos, and, as would 

 be expected, the discovery of the fact that the 

 advantages of ensilage could be attained without 

 incurring the cost of constructing a silo gave a 

 great stimulus to the movement. It is found in 

 practice that the percentage of loss by the spoiling 

 of the food is rather greater in the stack tlian in 

 the silo, but the balance of advantages is in favour 

 of the stack, which has therefore gained the lead 

 in popularity. Silos are in almost all conceivable 

 forms, some specially constructed at great expense, 

 others 'converted ' from existing buildings at -small 

 outlay. The cost of construction has varied so 

 much as from 8s. to 60s. per ton capacity. The 

 methods of pressure employed consist of dead 

 weights or of mechanical appliances. The latter, 

 being more convenient in application, are now most 

 largely used. Many ingenious contrivances have 

 been tried for pressing silage. One of the most 

 popular methods is by jacks, screw, and hydraulic. 

 Several systems of pressure which have been 

 patented are found to work admirably, both in 

 silos and stacks. Two varieties of silage are made, 

 the one 'sweet,' the other 'sour.' Originally all 

 the silage mode was of the latter kind. In 1884 

 Mr George Fry, of Chobham, England, mnde known 

 the results of experiments by which he proved that 

 sweet' or 'sour' silage might lie produced at the 

 will of the farmer. Prior to 1884 it was the uni- 

 versal custom to apply pressure as soon as the silo 

 was filled. The product of that met lmd was in- 

 variably 'sour' silage. Mr Fry filled his silo with- 

 out packing the material, and deferred applying 

 pressure for two or three days, until the tempera- 

 ture of the silage rose to about 120 to 140 F., when 

 pressure was applied and the top of the silo covered. 

 The theory advanced and proved by Mr Fry is that 

 this temperature is sufficiently high to kill the 

 bacteria which produce acid fermentation, and 

 that, with the bacteria killed and the silage then 

 weighted and the silo covered, the mass of green 

 fodder will remain sweet and be practically pre- 

 served under the same conditions as fruits, vege- 

 tables, or meats are preserved when tinned. This 

 process of making * sweet ' silage has been found 

 peculiarly suited for stack ensilage, and, as ' sweet ' 

 silage is on the whole preferable to 'sour,' the 

 method originated by Mr Fry bos lieen extensively 

 adopted. Temperature is tlie principal agent in 

 the making of silage. This is controlled by 

 pressure, and in the mass of silage it is measured 

 by the stack thermometer, which should always be 

 employed in silage-making. It is found a safe 

 practice to allow the temperature of the m.i^ to 

 rise to from 130 to 140 F. Mora applying pressure 

 if sweet silage is desired. Nearly all kinds of farm 

 crops, except roots, may lie preserved by the process 

 of ensilage. The crops most largely converted into 

 silage are meadow-grass, clover, rye-gross, lucerne, 

 sainfoin, vetches, maize, and the cereal crops. In 

 some cases the fodder is cut with the chad cutter 

 before being put into the silo or stack, but the rule 

 is, except with maize, to preserve it in its natural 

 length. Nearly all kinds of farm stock eat lioth 

 'sour ' and 'sweet' silage with relish, and it is the 

 prevailing experience that by the process of ensil- 

 age the feeding value of the fodder is as a rule 

 slightly enhanced. In wet climates the system is 

 of great importance, for it practically renders the 

 fanner independent of the weather in saving his 

 fodder cro|. 



