THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



235 



Construction of a Silo. 

 Local circumstances must determine 

 what material can be most economically 

 used for the construction of a silo. 

 Where plenty of gravel and sharp river 

 sand can be procured nothing in our 

 opinion can equal concrete walls. Tlie 

 division walls sliould be 2 feet thick, but 

 18 inches will be sufHcient for the out- 

 side walls, as these will be built against 

 the excavated bank. One-third of the 

 silo should be above ground and two- 

 tliirds below. Doorways as far down as 

 the natural surface should be provided, 

 so as to facilitate the filling of the silo 

 and also the getting out of the ensilage. 

 These openings can be closed up wfth 

 planks as the silo is being filled, and re- 

 moved as the ensilage is being taken out. 

 The walls of the silo should be as smooth 

 and plumb as possible, so as to allow the 

 ensilage and covering planks to go down 

 easily as the mass subsides. The walls 

 and bottom of a silo should be air and 

 water-tight. It was thought and recom- 

 mended at one time to provide drainao-e 

 at the bottom of the silo, but this is "a 

 fallacy, as no moisture should escape 

 from the silo ; and a drain that would 

 carry off water would also allow air to 

 get m, which would do a great amount of 

 damage to the ensilage. It has been said 

 that it makes no difference whetlior a silo 

 cost £20 or £500, one will preserve en- 

 silage as well as the other, the only thing 

 required is continuous pressure! But 

 you cannot moke small silos as effective 

 as large ones, nor can you pack the fodder 

 so well against rough surfaces as against 

 walls that are smooth, consequently there 

 IS more waste of fodder with small pits 

 and rough surfaces than with large silos 

 and smooth walls. 



_ Cheap eartlien silos (holes simply dug 

 m the ground) are more likely to popul- 

 arize the system of ensilage among the 

 farming community than expensive 

 masonry, and where the earth is sound 

 this plan may l)o adopted with perfect 

 success. 



Filling the Silos. 

 Before saying anything on this head, 

 it will be as well to state that there are 



now two recognised varieties if ensilage, 

 viz., sweet and sour ensilage. By the 

 term "sour" it must not be understood 

 that the ensilage is in any way offensive ; 

 it has a pale greenish yellow colour, and 

 a slightly vinous odour. Sweet ensilage, 

 on the other hand, is of a brown colour, 

 and of a sweet luscious odour. Sour en- 

 silage has been found to be most suit- 

 able for animals producing milk, and 

 sweet ensilage for fattening stock. When 

 it is desired to produce sour ensilage, the 

 scrop may be cut when full grown (but 

 before any of the moisture has escaped), 

 and carted to the silo immediately it is 

 cut, and pressed tightly down. The 

 sooner the silo is filled and the weights 

 ajiplied the better for sour ensilage. If 

 the crops are of a rough nature, such as 

 barley, vetches, maize, &c., they should 

 be pressed through the chaff-cutter, but 

 the finer English grass does not require 

 chaffing. When filled rapidly and im- 

 mediately weighted, the temperature will 

 seldom exceed 80 deg. Fahr., and little or 

 no fermentation will take place. 



Sweet Ensilage. 

 When it is intended to produce sweet 

 ensilage the crop may also be cut when 

 full grown ; but it must lie a day or two 

 in the field, so that, at the time of being 

 put away in the silo, it contains less than 

 70 per cent, of moisture. The process 

 of filling should go on slowly, so that the 

 temperature may rise from between 125 

 to 150 deg. Fahr. Should the tempera- 

 ture not be sufScient either the fodder 

 has been too wet, or the filling and con- 

 sequent compression has been going on 

 rapidly. When a sufficiently high tem- 

 perature has been obtained, it should im- 

 mediately be cooled down to below 90 

 deg. by applying the pressure, or the en- 

 silage will rapidly spoil. The testing 

 the temperature of the silo is a very 

 simple matter. Procure a 12-feet length 

 of common inch gas pipe, to this weld a 

 steel point, drive this into the ensilage 

 mass about the centre, and by means of a 

 small glass thermometer and a piece of 

 siring you can test the temperature at 

 various depths. I should mention that 

 it is well to put a little wool in the hot- 



