116 HEALTH AND DISEASE 



or raised above it. Later on it was ascertained that very excellent results 

 could be secured by merely cutting the green crop irrespective of the 

 weather and stacking it in the ordinary way. It was found advisable to 

 have large stacks in order to ensure sufficient pressure, and it was necessary 

 also to cover the top of the stack with planks, close together, and to place 

 on the planks any available heavy articles, pieces of machinery, large 

 blocks of stone, and, in fact, any articles which might be encumbering the 

 farm premises uselessly. The added weight, however, to the top of the 

 ensilage stack, whatever might be its amount, did not appear to affect the 

 density of the mass more than 4 or 5 feet down, and some very fair 

 stacks of silage were made without any added pressure at all; but there 

 is no doubt of the advantage of pressure in preventing mould at the upper 

 part of the stack. It was calculated during the enquiry that the process 

 of preserving green crops in this way, in the silo and by stacking under 

 pressure, was extremely economical. It was found that grass preserved in 

 this way yielded about five times the weight of the same grass made into 

 hay. The other crops which were used for preservation by converting 

 them into silage were rye, oats, millet, maize, barley, and sometimes wheat. 

 And if these crops were in condition for cutting before the middle of June, 

 before the seeds began to get hard, the land would be cleared in time for 

 a second sowing. 



Silage was intended to be used chiefly for cattle, but in reference to its 

 use for horses also the commissioners reported as follows: — 



" Strong as the evidence has been of the advantage of ensilage for 

 keeping all stock in healthy condition, farm horses have by no means 

 been excepted. We have received highly satisfactory accounts from several 

 quarters of the health of working teams when given a limited proportion 

 of silage, mixed with food. Among the plans of silos which have been 

 submitted to us, those which consist of external walls, either above or 

 below ground, whether of concrete or of stone, brick or clay lump 

 cemented within, appear to be the most efficient; but in all cases, the 

 absence of air depends upon two conditions: first upon its expulsion from 

 the mass of forage ensiled, and, secondly, upon its exclusion when this is 

 covered. Whatever may be put into a silo, it should be thoroughly well 

 trodden in, and rammed down at the edges into a compact mass; with 

 this object the advantage of rounding off the corners has been impressed 

 upon us by some witnesses. To ensure the exclusion of the outer air it 

 has been found useful to cover the mass with close-fitting boarded lids or 

 shutters in one or more divisions, with a layer of bran, saw-dust, or earth 

 above them. Weights being required above this layer, to keep the mass 

 compact, may be applied either in the form of any convenient dead-weight, 



