INTRODUCTION. 



IN placing a publication of this kind upon the subject of ensilage, 

 I do not claim to have invented or made any improvements upon the 

 original practical experience as perfected, after years of many expe- 

 riments, by M. Auguste Goffart of France. To him alone belongs 

 the honor. In my opinion the dawn of day is upon us, and the sun- 

 shine will spread its golden rays upon the farmer on the practical 

 workings of preserving our green crops by ensilage. 



Mr. J. B. Brown of New York translated the publication upon the 

 subject of ensilage, by M. Auguste Goffart. I obtained this book 

 from the first, read it carefully and thoroughly. I then resolved to 

 build a silo, and try the experiment. As the surrounding farmers 

 said, after they learned what I was going to do, " You can afford to 

 lose it if it does not work well, and I don't believe it will." With 

 their consolation I did try it, built an experimental silo capable of 

 holding forty tons, filled it with green-corn fodder, and it proved a 

 complete success. 



And yet many farmers say to-day, " I do not believe it will work 

 half of the time." I then thought they needed some practical expe- 

 rience from a number of practical farmers. I concluded I would 

 publish a work upon the subject of ensilage, giving the practical 

 experience of practical farmers as well as my own. I made arrange- 

 ments to find out the practical farmers who had the courage to enter 

 into this comparatively new enterprise. I have either visited or cor- 

 responded with thirty-seven different parties, mostly farmers, who 

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