82 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



of preserving ensilage brought out the product that the Ger- 

 mans call weine saur. That is fermentation stopped at a slight, 

 pleasant degree of acidity. In relation to this matter Mr. Cal- 

 cord claims that the average quantity of ensilage, as heretofore 

 made, is about forty pounds; the cattle do not care for more, 

 but forage made by this system and device can be fed sixty 

 pounds or more daily, and all of it eaten without any waste, 

 giving the best results. 



The most interesting feature in this system is claimed to be 

 economy. From corn can be raised the heaviest and best crop of 

 forage at the lowest cost. The big butts contain the most sugar 

 and starch. These large stocks are preserved and come out in 

 a soft and pulpy state, and are all eaten. By those who have 

 tested it by keeping accurate accounts, the average cost of pre- 

 served green forage in Massachusetts is $2 per ton; in feeding 

 value three tons of it is equal to one ton of the best hay, making 

 preserved green forage at $6, equal to one ton of hay. 



I have no knowledge of this process except as I read of it 

 last year. If it has since proved successful it is valuable. 

 Hence, I give you the names of the gentlemen who tried it as 

 I found them. 



It has always been claimed' that to M. Goffart, a member of 

 the Central Agricultural Society of France, belongs the honor 

 of inventing the modern silo. He, however, simply improved 

 upon and elaborated the systematic conservation of ensilage. 

 His real success was in 1873 — tne exclusion of air by strong pres- 

 sure. His testimony is that silos built upon the ground are best for 

 winter feeding, and that underground silos are best for spring 

 and summer feeding. In France, however, soiling— feeding 

 green food in barns — in summer is largely practiced. In this 

 country soiling is not much practiced on account of the labor 

 involved. Hence, it is not necessary to enter into this phase of 

 the subject here. 



The practice of preparing- fodder and other feed for cattle by 

 cutting is as old as their domestication* perhaps. Large vege- 

 tables would require reduction in size before they could be 





