ENSILAGE TREATED. 65 



good, firm, dry, and compact clay subsoil, that a simple earthen pit 

 makes the very best silo. Science supports this conclusion, the result 

 of my experience, for the antiseptic and absorbent powers of soils are 

 now well known ; and the earth-walls permit the read}' escape of the 

 air forced out b}' the enormous pressure from above. The location 

 should be near the barn for convenience in feeding, on the upper side 

 of a hill-side barn, in order to be on a level with the basement in 

 which the cattle are stalled (such is the position of our No. 3). 



I have only experimented with the large Southern field-corn : from 

 the liability of all varieties to mix, I confess 1 have in}' doubts as to 

 the superior merits of the much-lauded mammoth varieties. Seed 

 imported from Central America would be probably the best. I ex- 

 pect to have numerous experts this season, testing, not onl}* differ- 

 ent varieties of corn, but every other forage-plant grown. There 

 can be no question as to the superior feeding value of ensilaged 

 clover ; and I believe the several cuttings, afforded by certain forage- 

 plants during season, will equal amount of corn. Ensilage is, at 

 at least, fifty per cent cheaper than hay. 



Finally I will give you a few practical hints. In taking ensilage 

 from pit, it is best to only uncover a very narrow section of end, 

 and to cut the slice, not more than a foot or so wide, down to bottom 

 from top. Remove this, and spread loosely and thinly on barn- 

 floor : it keeps perfectly for ten days and upwards, becoming slightly 

 more acid, and is more relished b}* stock, and the loss of w- eight by 

 evaporation is slight. The thin spreading prevents any rapid changes 

 and consequent loss. 



Such management is more economical, as a large quantity can be 

 more cheaply moved at once ; and also by removing whole slices, it 

 prevents loss that will follow if only several layers are removed, and 

 some left without covering and weight ; for, in this case, the upper 

 remaining layers are spoiled by contact with the air for a few inches 

 down. We have had some thus loosely spread for three weeks, with- 

 out any deterioration or change, except the increased acidity men- 

 tioned above, being visible. 



Finally, again, one writer contends, I see in a recent article, that 

 the acetic fermentation first takes place. A sample of ensilage taken 

 with great care from the interior of the pit, and excluded from the 

 air, and immediately placed under the field of the microscope, re- 

 vealed not only the characteristic fungi of the acetic fermentation, 

 but also those of the alcoholic. No doubt both processes occur sim- 

 ultaneously. 



