INVESTIGATIONS AT THE COLLEGE 57 



success of the operation depends upon the dryness of 

 the pit in which the material is packed, the careful 

 packing down of the mass in the silo, especially along 

 the sides, and the keeping out of the air, particularly 

 during the earlier period of fermentation. During the 

 process of fermentation the green feed loses weight, due 

 to the loss of more or less organic matter and water. 

 Some of the starchy or saccharine substances are 

 changed to lactic acid, and sometimes to alcohols and 

 fatty acids. The nitrogen percentage is usually higher 

 than that of the green feed. 



After this general discussion of the method, he de- 

 scribes a number of European experiments with ensil- 

 ing different crops, including clover, the leaves and tops 

 of beet-roots, and sugar-beet pulp and straw combined 

 with a green crop, giving hi each case the chemical 

 changes which took place in the product. 



From these examples he concludes: 'That the silo 

 system furnishes no exception to the rule that our 

 practical modes of preserving fodder are accompanied 

 with a loss in quantity and quality of valuable plant 

 constituents, and that any attainable higher feeding 

 value is almost invariably secured at the sacrifice of 

 quantity. The question of waste is simply a matter of 

 degree when comparing existing modes of keeping fod- 

 der with that of the silo system/ 



There are some advantages which the silo system 

 possesses over other systems. It is independent of the 

 weather. This is of particular importance in the case of 

 juicy plants. Exposure of green crops to rain, even for 

 a few days during hay-making, alters the quality of 



