INTRODUCTION. 9 



by that author and several of his countrymen, the expe- 

 rience of Francis Morris, of Maryland, extracts from the 

 "American Agriculturist," besides a note giving "Con- 

 clusions of the Translator," in which he says: "The 

 first notice of this matter in this country seems to have 

 been made in the ' American Agriculturist' of June, 

 1875." As shown above, Mr. Brown was not exactly 

 right as to the date, though quite correct as to the fact. 

 Prof. M. Miles, then of the Illinois Industrial Uni- 

 versity, in 1875 experimented in the preservation of 

 broom-corn seed. He stored it in pits, just as turnips or 

 other roots are stored, putting on a layer of straw, and 

 covering this with some eight to twelve inches of earth. 

 Pits put up in September were opened the following 

 March, and were found in satisfactory condition ; where 

 the covering was only eight inches deep, the outer portion 

 was dry and moulded, forming a compact crust a few 

 inches thick, but the interior was fresh and bright, while 

 a covering of twelve inches of earth preserved it better. 

 A sample of this ensilaged seed, sent to us at the time, 

 was perfectly sweet, and bad much the odor of brewers' 

 grains. What may be the feeding value of these imma- 

 ture seeds of Broom Corn is not determined ; cattle ate 

 them readily, and there would appear to be no difficulty 

 in keeping them perfectly well, should it be desirable. 



HOW IS THE FODDER PRESERVED? 



It is well known that a mass of green fodder, if loosely 

 stacked up, will soon ferment, heat, and pass into decay. 

 In the silo, the fodder is closely packed, and in an air- 

 tight receptacle, and these conditions, instead of encour- 

 aging decay, prevent it, and favor the preservation of the 

 mass. Several chapters have been written on "The 

 Chemistry of the Silo," but to understand them requires 



