454 Bacteria in Relation to Country Life 



shown, marked losses of dry matter occur in the process 

 of making brown hay. The losses fall most heavily on 

 the carbohydrates and on the amides and soluble pro- 

 tein compounds. The making of brown hay, cannot 

 therefore, be regarded as economical, and the practice 

 is justifiable only in locations where rains are very 

 frequent and interfere with the ordinary process of 

 curing. Under such conditions, the farmer finds the 

 preparation of brown hay a guarantee against spon- 

 taneous combustion. 



Corn silage. — This substance is one of great economic 

 importance in the United States. Vast quantities of 

 corn are annually stored away in silos and form, later, 

 a palatable and nutritious food for dairy cattle. The 

 process of ensiling corn involves the cutting of the 

 immature plants into small pieces which are then carried 

 into square or circular structures known as silos. The 

 material thus placed in the silos is compacted to exclude 

 the air and is allowed to undergo fermentation. A rise 

 of temperature occurs, large quantities of gas are evolved, 

 and acids are produced which impart a characteristic 

 taste to the material. 



Careful experiments indicate that for the first two 

 or three days the cells of the corn plants still have life 

 in them. Their vital activities induce chemical changes 

 that are evidently of moment in the making of silage. 

 A part of the starch and sugar is thus transformed into 

 gaseous products, some of the soluble substances are 

 transformed into insoluble modifications, and slight 

 losses of amides, of protein and of fat undoubtedly occur. 

 The changes, in so far as they are of a purely chemical 



