IS ENSILAGE A SUCCESS? 135 



pretty theory, — or was, as long as it lasted, but that was 

 not long. As well try to fan a fire to such intensity that it 

 would extinguish itself and without injury to the fuel. 

 Careful students soon discovered that the bacteria of the 

 silo were particularly hapi)y and active at the very temper- 

 atures which it was claimed would destroy them. Temper- 

 atures from 120 to IGO^ F. are most favorable to their 

 development and activity, and it requires at least 185° to 

 destroy them, while fermenting ensilage does not often 

 exceed 140°, and no authentic record of 150° F. can be 

 found. How men could so deceive themselves, — and some of 

 scientific reputation have been among them, — it is hard to 

 understand ; but the evidence is conclusive that they were 

 wrong. I have never yet been so fortunate as to see any 

 ensilage which I could call " sweet." Of course, the mate- 

 rial differs greatly in the degree of its apparent acidity, and 

 as comparative terms, sour and sweet may be convenient as 

 applied to ensilage, although deceptive. I see no evidence 

 that any relation exists between the method of filling the 

 silo — the slow process or the quick process — and the 

 acidity of the product. On the whole, I prefer the straight- 

 ahead way, — no undue haste, but pushing the job of harvest- 

 ing and filling to completion without unnecessary delay. It is 

 most economical of labor, especially if the task is a large 

 one, and gives ensilage of full as good quality. Yet, if cir- 

 cumstances make slower work desirable, or if an accidental 

 detention occurs, there need be no fear of serious loss. On 

 this sul)ject of quick and slow filling, I may refer, for excel- 

 lent experiments and discussions, to the annual reports of 

 the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Massachusetts and 

 New York. 



Evening and tramping cut fodder as it goes into the silo, 

 is not essential ; but both seem desirable, for several 

 reasons, if carefully done. The evening process, especially, 

 tends to uniformity in quality throughout the pit. This is a 

 valuable property and seldom true of the whole contents of 

 a silo. Let the even spreading be continual as the chopped 

 forage falls into the pit; assign a man of judgment to this 

 task, and if tramping is done also, let it be particularly 

 around the edges, next to the walls and in the corners. 



