Experiment Station Report. 37 



m the strict sense of the term. Nor, again, does the mere 

 presence of lactic acid necessarily imply the presence of 

 lactic ferment. As a matter of fact, different fermentations 

 may give rise to one or even several identical products." 



From this statement of the physiological conditions that 

 modify the products of fermentation, it must be seen that 

 uniformity in the quality of ensilage can only be secured by 

 preventing fermentation altogether, or reducing it within the 

 narrowest possible limits. This can only be done by de- 

 stroying the bacteria of fermentation in the earliest stages ot 

 their activity, which would result in the production of ensi- 

 lage free from acidity, and closely resembling in quality the 

 green fodder from which it is made. 



If the bacteria can be killed, when the silo is covered and 

 weighted, the enclosed mass of ensilage will be practically 

 preserved under the same conditions as fruits, or vegetables, 

 or meats are preserved when canned. The practical ques- 

 tion, then, presents itself as to how this can best be accom- 

 plished. 



An extended series of observations on samples of the 

 ensilage from the experimental silo, have already been made, 

 and arc still in progress, to determine the temperature re- 

 quired to kill the bacteria which are the cause of fermenta- 

 tion. This will, without doubt, vary somewhat with the 

 kind of produce under treatment and its condition at the 

 time of harvest. Thus far my experiments seem to indicate 

 that a temperature of from 115° to 122°, maintained for one 

 or two hours, will be sufficient to kill the bacteria under the 

 conditions in which they are now placed. 



The time of exposure, as well as the temperature, must 

 have an important influence on the result. 



A degree of heat that would kill the mature and active 

 bacteria would not, in all probability, kill the germs which 

 might produce a succeeding generation if the given tempera- 

 ture was continued but a short time. 



From observations on the temperature of the silo after it 

 was covered and weighted, it may with reason be expected 

 that the initial temperature will remain nearly constant for 

 several days, and perhaps for weeks, which would ensure the 

 destruction of any successive generations of bacteria that 



