ENSILAGE AND FERMENTATION 229 



buried with the fodder as it is packed in the silo, and the exclusion 

 of the atmosphere, as Pasteur has proved, is a condition that, favors 

 fermentation, the oxygen itself not being directly concerned in the 

 process. When the greatest care is taken in packing the ensilage, the 

 temperature of the mass will often rise above 100° Fahr. (I have ob- 

 ^ served a temperature of 105° under such conditions) ; and, when the 

 time of filling is extended over several days, a considerably higher 

 temperature may be developed. 



There are good reasons for the belief that, with less packing of the 

 fodder when put in the silo, the time of filling may be safely extended 

 until the temperature rises to a point that is fatal to the bacteria, and 

 this is the probable explanation of the reported cases in which the 

 ensilage is said to be " sweet," or free from acidity. 



The efficient cause of this preliminary heating process, or the 

 changes in the fodder involved in its development, have not been 

 determined by experiment, and we do not know the precise conditions 

 under which the best results may be obtained. 



In the present state of our knowledge of the subject, the most 

 desirable method may be to fill the silo without any packing, beyond 

 that produced by the weight of the superincumbent mass, and then 

 allow it to remain until the desired temperature is reached, before put- 

 ting on the cover and weights. The best method can only be deter- 

 mined by carefully conducted experiments, that are made with a full 

 knowledge of the different conditions that may have an influence in 

 modifying the results. It can not, however, be doubted that sour ensi- 

 lage can only be produced by conducting the process so that the tem- 

 perature does not rise above the point that is fatal to the bacteria 

 (probably 115° to 120°). 



Observations on temperature have been generally neglected when 

 silos were filled, and we, therefore, lack the necessary data for deter- 

 mining the precise temperature required to prevent fermentation, or 

 the most favorable conditions for producing it, from the results of 

 practical experience. 



Several cases have been reported to me in which the fodder at the 

 time of filling the silo was supposed to be " spoiled " from the high 

 temperature developed before it was covered and weighted, but on 

 opening these silos, after several months, the result uniformly ob- 

 tained was ensilage of the best quality, free from acidity. But a sin- 

 gle case has, however, come to my knowledge, in which the exact tem- 

 perature was recorded at the time of filling the silo, when the resulting 

 product was sweet ensilage. Mr. George Fry, of England, reports the 

 results of his experience the past season, which is of particular interest 

 in connection with my experiments with ensilage. He filled a silo 

 with Trifolium incarnatiim (crimson clover), "rough grass," and 

 " clover and rye grass," between the 7th and 30th of June, the tem- 

 perature recorded at the time of covering being 132° six feet from the 



