94 SILOS, ENSILAGE AKD SILAGE. 



tion, a loss of nutritive materials in curing corn fodder 

 by the ordinary process of drying, and there is also a 

 similar loss in the ensilage of the same fodder, but the 

 differences in these losses are comparatively unimport- 

 ant in deciding upon the relative practical economy of 

 the two methods. 



The demand for a supply of succulent food in the sys- 

 tem of feeding, the labor involved in harvesting, storing 

 and feeding out of the crop, and the waste of the fodder 

 in feeding under ordinary conditions of management, 

 must all be taken into the account in striking a balance 

 to determine the best paying method. 



It is generally admitted that jsome form of succulent 

 food is a desirable addition to the ordinary winter rations 

 of live stock, and the question arises as to the best and 

 cheapest method of providing it. The English farmer 

 looks upon his root crop as an indispensable adjunct of 

 his food supply for farm stock, but in this country, for 

 many reasons that need not be stated, the raising of root 

 crops will not, in all probability, be extensively prac- 

 ticed. The steaming of feed of all kinds has been urged 

 as the true solution of the problem, but this method 

 has failed to gain the approval of a large majority of 

 farmers, and where it has been tried on a considerable 

 scale, it is apparently on the decline. 



The ensilage of fodder corn has been found a conven- 

 ient and economical method of providing a supply of 

 succulent food during the winter months, or in seasons 

 of drought, and when properly conducted, as a part of 

 a consistent system of farm management, it has given 

 the most satisfactory results, and, in American farm 

 practice, at least, it must almost entirely supersede the 

 raising of root crops, or the steaming of fodder. Maize, 

 from its many valuable qualities, is conceded to be the 

 most important farm crop in the United States, and its 

 preservation in the form of green winter food will tend 



