CHAPTER VIII. 



EXPLANATIONS WHY ENSILAGE MUST KEEP. 



MANY farmers and others came to see the process of 

 filling the Silo with the green corn-fodder ; nearly all 

 declared that it would spoil, mould, heat, and rot. Sev- 

 eral said, " I guess you will have a fine lot of manure 

 before winter." I replied, " Gentlemen, it will not spoil 

 at all ; it will not even heat : it will come out just as 

 good feeding stuff as it is now, and I think better." 



None of them believed a word I said, it was plain to 

 be seen. They were certain that this last of my " new- 

 fangled notions " would prove a complete failure, and 

 they would have the laugh on me this time. Some 

 endeavored to cheer me up by saying that " even if it 

 did not work well for the purpose I intended, the Silos 

 would be a capital place to store fruit in, so that it won't 

 be all loss, any way." 



This kind of talk had been going on for several days, 

 and was, I confess, getting to be rather monotonous. 

 One day a number of well-meaning but incredulous 

 neighboring farmers were present. They knew nothing 

 of agricultural chemistry, or the philosophy of its pres- 

 ervation ; but I made up my mind I would convince them 

 that the green corn-fodder would keep instead of rotting : 



therefore I said, " You think it will heat and spoil, do 







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