PRESERVATION OF SILAGE 385 



returns from high priced land, because milk, butter, and beef can be 

 produced more cheaply on silage than on any other food stuff the 

 farmer grows. 



Another thing that makes silage of so much value is the fact that 

 many different crops may be utilized and made much more valuable 

 than in any other way. Among the crops most commonly grown for 

 silage are corn, clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, sorghum, rye and oats. These 

 crops when stored and preserved in an immature state, form "ensilage" 

 or "silage." Corn, because of its immense production of foliage 

 and ears, makes one of the most valuable crops to be utilized for 

 silage purposes. Cow-peas, clover, sorghum, and the others named, 

 may be utilized to fairly good advantage. During rainy spells it is 

 often a good plan to put clover and alfalfa into the silo. This pro- 

 vides a means of saving a crop which might otherwise be destroyed 

 by rain. 



PRINCIPLES OF PRESERVATION. The receptacle or vat in 

 which the silage is preserved must be tight enough at the base and 

 around the sides to exclude all air. Within a short time after the 

 maize or other green material has been packed in the silo there is a 

 great accumulation of heat.* This tends to start an upward current, 

 thus excluding the surface air which might enter from above. The 

 mass generally reaches its maximum temperature in the course of 

 only a few days. This rise of temperature is due to chemical changes 

 during which oxidation takes place, producing compounds which did 

 not exist in the fresh material. 



The nature of the chemical changes which actually take place is 

 very complex and is supposed to be due to the action, of ferments 

 which are believed to be the same as the ferments which bring about 

 the formation of alcohol, lactic, acetic, and other closely allied acids. 

 Whether the entire degree of fermentation is brought about by the 

 ferments or partly by some other agent is not definitely known. Bab- 

 cock and Russell have conducted experiments at the University of 

 Wisconsin to determine the causes of silage formation. These in- 

 vestigators after careful research have come to the conclusion that 

 silage formation is not due wholly to bacterial action. 



The information secured by the investigations of these men led 

 them to believe that the respiratory processes and intra-molecular 

 activity within the plant, are the chief causes of the chemical trans- 



'A temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit has been reported. 



