IS ENSILAGE A SUCCESS? 155 



total loug forage of nearly all classes of domestic animals, 

 daring the season when they would ordinarily be kept on 

 dry food, as well as its usefulness in supplementing short 

 pasturage. But if there be any lingering doubts as to the 

 expediency of feeding ensilage to even this moderate extent, 

 none can exist as to its admirable effect when used simply as 

 a condiment or appetizer, in addition to the usual ration. 

 Treating the fatting steer or the milch cow as a machine, it 

 is often desirable to increase the appetite or give tone to 

 the system by a gentle laxative. In such case a good article 

 of ensilage can be positively asserted to answer as well as 

 the same weig-ht of the best roots. Fed as little as ten or 

 fifteen pounds a day to an animal of 800 to 1,000 pounds 

 weight, which would be equivalent to a peck of roots, its 

 efiects are soon seen in the improved condition of the bowels, 

 increased appetite, brightened coat and generally thrifty 

 appearance of the creature. 



Examined with care and an effort to view the subject as 

 an impartial student of the facts, I have found in the silo 

 system of storing and preserving forage no royal road to 

 fortune, and no such "magical results" as were announced 

 by the enthusiastic friends of the system eight or ten years 

 ago. We surely do not take any more food out of the silo 

 than we put in, and generally a good deal less. But I am 

 led to believe that the material is preserved in a form more 

 acceptable to animals and productive of better results than 

 when dried and fed dry. There is no evidence that ensilage 

 is soon to "revolutionize farming in New England," yet it 

 is surely an important and valuable auxiliary to the succ(;ss- 

 ful farm practice in this region, and is gradually, healthfully, 

 growing in popular favor. The number of silos in New 

 England is steadily increasing, together with the acreage 

 devoted to ensilage crops. The work is yearly being sys- 

 tematized and performed with greater economy, and the 

 average product is yearly improving in quality. Here and 

 there one hears of an abandoned silo ; but when such a case 

 is investigated, the true facts are found to furnish a full 

 explanation of the occurrence without prejudice to the 

 system itself. 



The general economy of the system depends mainly upon 



