EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTS IN ENSILAGE. 35 



H, the movable partition with a transverse bar, P, which 

 holds it in position ; /, the truck. The pit is shown in 

 figure 9, as covered with a roof of boards as protection 

 from the weather, a measure of economy strongly recom- 

 mended by M. Piret. In this figure the covering of clay 

 is shown on the top of the fodder. This is beaten down 

 frequently, as it may become cracked or disturbed by the 

 settlement of the mass beneath. 



The cost of the process here described is represented 

 as being about three dollars per ton, including the cut- 

 ting, carrying, curing, and feeding of a crop equal to 

 nearly fifty tons per acre of green fodder, fifty thousand 

 kilos per hectare. This enormous yield appears almost 

 incredible to us, being a ton to less than four square 

 rods ; still we can not doubt but such a yield is not only 

 frequent, but that it is sometimes surpassed. It goes to 

 show that in the cultivation and use of this, our most 

 common crop, we come far short of the possible yield, 

 notwithstanding our favorable climate and the necessity 

 of every available economy to cheapen or increase its 

 production. 



