NATURE AND VALUE OF FOOD. 45 



remainder." The judges, Messrs. Fowler and Baker, found a 

 stack 19ft. long, 17ft. wide, and lift, to the eaves and 17ft. 

 high to the peak of the ridge, composed of silage from autumn- 

 sown tares, seeds, and old grass — supposed to contain 130 tons 

 of silage. The cost of the apparatus for a stack of these dimen- 

 sions is 18Z., and Mr. Johnson estimates the cost of cutting the 

 forage, carrying the same, and pressing the stack, at about 18s. 

 an acre. The silage was sweet and good ; about Sin. of the 

 ends and sides was damaged, but this was calculated to repre- 

 sent only 1| per cent, of the whole, and though dark and 

 inferior it was readily eaten by the cattle. Whilst the stack 

 was in process of building the temperature reached 160 to 177 

 degrees. Above the wires the stack was topped up with rough 

 hay and straw, and thatched. It is, of course, probable that 

 equal pressure will be obtained at less cost, but we have here a 

 most important advance in our practice, and the process of 

 ensilage is now brought well within reach of the tenant-farmer, 

 who may well be excused if he pauses before undertaking costly 

 structural works in making air-tight silos. Now let us suppose 

 a case. The grass farmer provides himself with the necessary 

 pressing apparatus. Weather is unfavourable for hay-making, 

 he puts the grass into a stack, secures the proper heat for fer- 

 mentation, and then straps it down. We foresee great results. 

 Sour silage, if used in large quantities, may have an injurious 

 effect on breeding animals ; sweet silage, on the contrary, will 

 be conducive to health. Much has yet to be learnt before we 

 arrive at the scientific treatment of silage ; but a great deal has 

 been done, and we may now justly regard silage as a most 

 important and available winter food, within reach of nearly 

 everyone who takes the trouble to understand the process of 

 manufacture. 



On the use of artificial food, in which we include home-grown 

 grain as well as purchased materials, we find a great diversity 

 of practice, partly arising from varying conditions, and partly 

 from ignorance of the digestive processes. We shall not arrive 

 at uniformity until the feeding of the cattle has been made the 

 subject of carefully conducted experiments. The commercial 

 mind, accustomed to subject every process to experiment and 

 test, will be surprised to find that questions of such importance 



