FOOD 



117 



such as bricks, boxes or baskets of stones, or of mechanical pressure 

 exercised by means of various systems of chains, screws, or levers. Instances 

 are known of silos being successfully weighted without the use of boards, 

 by simply covering the ensiled material with rushes, ferns, or other waste 

 substances, and above these with dry earth or sand to the depth of 9 inches 

 or a foot. 



" As in the case of all important innovations, it is not surprising that 

 the introduction of the system of ensilage into this country has been 

 met by a considerable amount of prejudice and incredulity. During the 

 progress of our enquiry we have endeavoured amply to discount all 

 exaggerated estimates of its merits. After summing up the mass of 

 evidence which has reached us, we can without hesitation affirm that it 

 has been abundantly and conclusively proved to our satisfaction that this 

 system of preserving green fodder crops promises great advantages to the 

 practical farmer, and if carried out with a reasonable amount of care and 

 efficiency should not only provide him with the means of ensuring himself 

 to a great extent against unfavourable seasons, and of materially improving 

 the quantity and quality of his dairy produce, but should also enable him 

 to increase appreciably the number of live stock that can be profitably kept 

 upon any given acreage, whether of pasture or arable land, and propor- 

 tionately the amount of manure available to fertilize it." 



Two kinds of ensilage are recognized: sweet and sour, but the sour 

 silage is most commonly in use. This is made by filling the silo as quickly 

 as possible, or stacking the grass as the case may be, and putting weights 

 on the top in order to check the rise of temperature which always occurs 

 when the silage stack is made slowly, and results in the formation of sweet 

 silage. In reference to the changes which grass undergoes during the 

 process of conversion into silage, the following tables will afford the 

 information in a condensed form. The analysis on ensilage is the mean 

 result of thirty-seven analyses made by Dr. Voelcker and published in 

 the Field. The analysis of grass is that of Kuhn and Grandeau. 



