fortunately those conditions under which we had a 

 contented peasantry, caring little for wealth, and living on an 

 income which was so small that a bad year made little or 

 no effect on that income, those conditions are certain to 

 change ; in fact, sufficient evidence is already forthcoming 

 that the change will come about .sooner than was ever 

 expected if it has not already begun. 



That being the case we hope it does not require much 

 boldness to suggest to the consideration of farmers a 

 system which has been proved, in similarly circumstanced 

 countries, good, and which has in this Colony been shown, 

 both by Government and private experiment, to be a very 

 likely source of increased profit. 



If the green fodder, which at some period of most years 

 grows naturally or can be easily reared, could be saved 

 over in its green state to that season of the year when green 

 food is impossible or scarce, stock could be kept in a uniform 

 condition throughout the whole year ; also dairy cattle 

 could be kept in a full flow of milk from January to 

 December. Again, if in years of plenty, green stuff could 

 be cut and stored, the losses attending years of drought 

 would not need to be feared. 



A method of storing food stuffs has been known from the 

 earliest times, but it is probably only within the last few 

 decades that a method of preserving green food began to 

 be looked into and experimented upon. During the last few 

 years the system has been received with so much favour by 

 farmers in the more advanced agricultural countries, that 

 the benefits to be derived may safely be taken as 

 considerable. 



Although much investigation and experiment is yet 

 necessary in the Colony to determine particulars, as for 

 instance the best crops to grow for preserving, and the 

 cheapest and best building in which to store those crops, the 

 general principles which underly the process are well known. 



The method is known as Ensilage ; the place in which 

 the material is stored is termed the Silo ; the resulting 

 preserved material is called Silage. 



The making of silage then has passed through the experi- 

 mental stages, and, we think, can be confidently recom- 

 mended to the farmers of South Africa, as n very practical 

 method of making provision in a time of plenty against a 

 season of want. 



