THE HISTORY OF SILOING. 255 



and of necessity somewhat crude in its character. 

 More recently however a few individuals have pub- 

 lished books on the subject which cover the same 

 with more or less completeness. But almost without 

 exception it would be correct to say these are pleas 

 for the silo rather than unbiased discussions of the 

 broad question of silage and the silo. 



In the judgment of the Author nearly all of 

 those who have written thus upon the subject in the 

 United States have overestimated the feeding value 

 of corn and its power to maintain animals in good 

 health when fed continuously as the principal food 

 ration. They have also apparently placed too little 

 value on soiling crops, more especially the legumes. 

 They have underestimated the worth of pastures 

 by viewing them simply as producers of so much 

 food without having sufficiently considered the 

 beneficent influence which they exert mechanically 

 and otherwise upon soils. And they have not 

 sufficiently emphasized the losses from making poor 

 and spoiled silage. However, it is but fitting to say 

 that the enthusiasm which has shut its eyes to these 

 and kindred truths relating to the siloing of crops 

 has been most helpful in fastening public attention 

 on a method of preserving fodder which is certainly 

 capable of bringing great benefit to our agriculture. 



It is now generally conceded that the first book 

 ever written on the silo is from the pen of M. Auguste 

 Goffart, an agriculturist of Sologne, near Orleans, in 

 France. The manual of the Culture and Siloing of 

 Maize is the title of the book in English. It ap- 

 peared in 1877 an d it contains the results of 

 many years of careful experiment in growing and 



