Preserving Green Forage 63 



the top plank to the bottom. To test the 

 exhaust, -I connected the governors both at 

 top and bottom of the pit with a steam vac- 

 uum pump. As soon as the air was removed 

 and juice came into the pump, I cut off the 

 connection with the bottom, and the pump 

 threw a stream of juice from the top 10 feet 

 high into the air. Therefore, more pumping 

 or pressure was useless, the juice has taken 

 the place of the air, and capillary attraction is 

 keeping it there throughout the mass. In 

 practical operation, capillary attraction is suffi- 

 cient to convey and keep the juice at the 

 top. This has the effect of keeping the 

 forage wet and cold, and seems to give it a 

 ripening process, rendering it more palatable 

 and assimilable, as evinced by the continual 

 improved quality as we cut into it. The cover 

 should be removed no faster than we cut down 

 vertically. As I have had no heat or fermen- 

 tation in the pit, the forage does not heat up 

 when taken out and exposed to the air. In 

 very cold weather, I pour over the forage in 

 the feed-box one to two gallons of hot water 

 to each 100 pounds; but it will not start 'to 

 increase the heat, as there are no germs of 

 fermentation in the forage, apparently. The 

 forage has a density in the pit of 50 pounds 

 to a cubic foot. 



