58 CHARLES ANTHONY GOESSMANN 



the hay more than is commonly supposed. Fodder 

 plants like clover lose largely in value during hay- 

 making, due to the loss of leaves. Both of these sources 

 of loss are avoided in the use of the silo. The quality 

 and quantity of ensilage made with ordinary care suf- 

 fers mainly from but one thing, fermentation. Admit- 

 ting that this waste may be greater than that of any 

 mode of preserving fodder, there are some advantages 

 which ensilage possesses for which it is difficult to find 

 an exact numerical value as compared with dry fodder 

 of the same plant: namely, it increases the rate of 

 digestibility of otherwise indigestible parts of the 

 green fodder, thereby compensating somewhat for 

 the loss of valuable soluble organic matter; and the 

 ensilage of those crops for which the system is 

 recommended is almost invariably more acceptable 

 to animals than the dry fodder. The silo system is 

 not a substitute for existing modes of preserving 

 fodder, but will prove a most valuable assistance to 

 increase our chances of securing larger quantities of 

 good fodder. 



V. THE INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 



Commercial fertilizers began to attract attention in 

 the United States as early as 1853. In that year Sam- 

 uel W. Johnson published the now historic article on 

 Superphosphate of Lime. 1 As chemist to the Connec- 

 ticut Agricultural Society from 1856 to 1861, and later 

 as chemist to the Connecticut State Board of Agricul- 

 ture, Johnson issued reports which included numerous 



1 Country Gentleman, March 1853. 



