EXTRODUCTIOX. 



Within a verr few jears the term " Ensilage " has ap- 

 peared in our agrienltnral Journals, meaning the preserv- 

 ing of green fodder by placing it in SUos. In an intro- 

 duction to a work on Silos and Ensilage, it is well to 

 define the meaning of these terms. Enropean writers 

 all give the word • • Silo " as deriyed from the Spanish. 

 It means any underground place for preserving grain, 

 roots, or other farm products. In American usage the 

 term ' • Ensilage '" means the preservation of green fodder, 

 especially com fodder in Silos. The term of M. Goflart, 

 "Ensilage de Mais," has been abbreviated in this country 

 to Ensilage, and is supposed to apply solely to fodder 

 com thus preserved, unless modified, by naming some other 

 crop, as ensilage of lye, etc. 



In England the terms "Pitting"' and the "Potting" 

 of fodder are sometimes used, to mean the same as 

 ensilage. 



Ensilage is used, not only to indicate the process of 

 preserving fodder, but also as a noun, and applied by our 

 writers to the fodder that is thus preserved. 



The process of ensilage consists in packing green com 

 fodder, or any other succulent fodder, in close pits or 

 receptacles, called SUos. It is essential that the silos be 

 perfectly air-tight. They may be built in either of the 

 methods indicated in this work. They may be entirely 

 above the ground, partly below the surface, or altogether 

 underground, in the form of a well or pit ; the impor- 

 tant point being to have a thoroughly air-tight receptacle. 



This method, which has come into prominence through 

 the experiments of M. Goffart, of Burtin, France, has 



