CROPS FOR FEED, SJLOING, ETC. 



241 



For Moving Ensilage Stuff, Hay, &c. 



Loaded up for the Silo. 



and binds all compactly together while it is moving. 

 When the clevis is provided with a small pulley wheel or 



loose sleeve of iron, it 

 saves friction and wear 

 and tear of the rope. 



Chemistry of the 

 Operations Any changes 

 made in the silo are of a 

 chemical character, due 

 to fermentation, and 

 require close attention. 

 Fermentation can be 

 regulated in two ways 

 by drying or wilting out 

 less or more of the natural 

 sap of the cut stuff before 

 it is put in the silo or 

 stack ; or by shutting out 

 the air by means of 

 pressure, got either by 

 tramping in the stuff, loading it above, or by rope 

 pressure, as in the Johnson stack apparatus. The 

 more natural moisture there is in the stuff when put 

 up the less it heats, and the temperature can be 

 regulated between 120 and 140 degrees the limits of 

 safety in green ferments. A very effective apparatus is 

 being introduced to aid in regulating the temperature. It 

 is an auger, with a handle so long that it can be sent six 

 feet into a mass of stuff. The handle is hollow right down 

 to the boring point, and into the handle a thermometer can 

 be inserted as required, and the temperature tested. With 

 this aid, good stuff to operate on, and the knowledge that 

 fermentation cannot go on without air, the chemistry of 

 ensilage-making becomes simple enough. There is one 

 other point worthy of attention : Milking stock like a 

 little sourness in their feed ; it promotes the secretions of 

 milk. The stuff full of sap when put in is the most likely 

 to sour. To make the sweeter ensilage, it may be the better 

 practice to let the stuff lie a little after it is cut, in order to 

 get rid of some of the sap. That the fermentation of 



