208 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



as was required for storage of the green corn. The green 

 corn was at first placed lengthwise and flat in the trench, 

 trodden in thoroughly, carried up above the surface of the 

 ground three or four feet, and straw placed over the top ; 

 then the earth thrown out of the trench was packed 

 upon this green corn, and, as it settled, more earth was 

 thrown on to prevent cracking so as to admit the air. 



These rough pits were found to preserve the fodder with 

 most of its original succulence, and although more fermen- 

 tation had occurred than was desirable, yet cattle ate it 

 greedily, compared with what they did hay. This mode 

 was continued for several years in Germany, and was 

 adopted by many in France. It soon became evident that 

 the more solidly it was packed into the pit the better it was 

 preserved. The next step in improvement consisted in run- 

 ning the fodder through a straw-cutter, and cutting it into 

 short lengths of half an inch or less. In this state it packed 

 much more solidly, and was thus rendered less penetrable 

 by air, and much more could be stored in the same space. 

 When put up in this way, and much care taken to preserve 

 a solid crust of earth over it, the fodder came out in much 

 better condition, frequently only undergoing saccharine fer- 

 mentation. Even this rough way of preserving the green 

 food was considered a great improvement over drying. 

 But a most important advance upon this system has been 

 made by Mons. A. Goffart, of France. He desired some- 

 thing more certain and uniform in its operations than the 

 covering of earth. He built two parallel walls, air-tight, 

 and as far apart as was convenient from 10 to 15 feet, and 

 8 to 12 feet deep. The ensilage is packed between these 

 walls and trodden in closely to the top. Wishing to get rid 

 of the earth, which was liable to get mixed with the feed, he 

 hit upon a cover of planks, placed across the silo, fitting to 

 the wall, but moving down as the body of the green ensi- 

 lage settled. To keep this plank cover pressing on the top, 



