754B 



THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. 



BOOK VIII. 



methods of compressing stacks. By means of wire ropes great pressure 

 can be brought to bear on the stack. The ratchet-drums have, to be 

 attached to stout planks: these are let into the ground so that the 

 upper sides are Hush with the surface, 3 feet apart, centre to centre, 

 and long enough to project 2 feet beyond each side of the stack. The 

 timbers must be exactly 8 in. deep, and should not be less than 6 in. 

 wide; a few pieces of timber should be laid crosswise on these near 

 both outsides, to prevent the timbers from pulling up into the stack, 

 as is shown in fig. 321. Messrs. Reynolds, Messrs. Blunt, and others 

 have brought out very useful forms of presses. 



The most recent mode of making silage stacks is to cart the material 

 into a clamp, and make a heap like a drawn up dung-hill, the pressure 

 of the horses and carts consolidating it in the first instance, and a 



ll rill Jl, il ill !'l II hill! J.yiU Jill, 



^ 



Fig. 321. Johnson's Ratchet-Drum Press. 



field roller being used subsequently. Occasionally the silage-clamp is 

 merely covered with earth or straw, but final weighting and covering is 

 now very frequently done by stacking hay or corn on the top, whereby 

 the waste on the upper surface is reduced to a minimum. In making 

 silage, whether in the pit or in the stack, fresh layers should always be 

 put on within three days of each other until the whole is complete, or 

 mould will form. The sides of stacks should also be pared and put up 

 on the top within the same time, so that the amount of waste at the 

 sides may be reduced as much as possible. Mould will always cause 

 some waste at the sides, but mould only develops so far in as the air 

 can penetrate ; if, therefore, the sides are pared to the solid, so that 

 there is but little opportunity afforded for the .air to enter, the amount 

 of waste will be correspondingly small. 



