48 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 



corn is put in large ditches, German Grube, Miethe, ten 

 or twenty rods long, and is here pressed in by a few men 

 walking on the green corn. The engraving, figure 14, 

 will explain the whole. The ditch is twelve feet deep, 

 twelve feet wide at the top, and six feet at the bottom. 

 The length will need to be sufficient to contain the fod- 

 der to be preserved. The ditch must be dug in dry 

 ground. When the ditch is filled, the green corn is built 

 like a stack upwards about ten feet over the level of the 



Fig. 14. SECTION OF HUNGARIAN DITCH. 



ground, as shown in the engraving. The finished stack 

 is then covered with earth about two feet thick on every 

 side. It is best to cover the top of the stack at first, be- 

 cause the weight of the earth pressing down the green 

 corn, so much earth is not needed for covering as is the 

 case when the sides are covered at first. 



"This sour-hay making enables us to store a large 

 quantity of juicy fodder for the winter, and if well 

 covered with earth it may be stored for a few years with- 

 out any injury. The most important of all is, the beasts 

 being once acquainted with this sour-hay, like it very 



