Preserving Green Forage 35 



which they may get from the air, or they may 

 get it from the sugar and starch in the corn, 

 direct, without air. They live and thrive in an 

 atmosphere of carbonic acid. 



Now, with this explanation, how is it possu 

 ble for corn to be placed with safety in a silo 

 slowly, when mixed with all the air possible to 

 get in with it, heating in the centre enough 

 to kill bacteria, and toward the sides the 

 proper temperature to develop germs into the 

 greatest activity, the bacteria in the mean time 

 multiplying indefinitely by subdivision in the 

 best medium, sugar and starch, for supporting 

 their life, I ask how is it possible to stop 

 such fermentation before the contents of the 

 silo spoil ? 



On the other hand, suppose the heat does 

 not rise above 86, true fermentation does not 

 take place, but the action of the air upon the 

 forage, with moisture, develops a fungus growth 

 upon the outside of the forage, which may 

 continue, passing through mould and black 

 rot to destruction. This often happens in 

 corn fodder when the process of desiccation 

 has been imperfectly performed, but true fer- 

 mentation in the silo evolves and often ends 

 in a light or dirty yellow residuum, with foul 

 odors, more or less pronounced, nauseating 



