1909.] 



Manufacture of Ensilage. 



299 



way of the resistant nitrogen-free material, Some of the 

 protein is broken down into amino-acids. The chief value 

 of the fermentation probably lies in the removal of such bodies 

 as lignin from the straw, thus making the cellulose more 

 easily attacked during the digestive processes. There is 

 probably no actual conversion of resistant into non-resistant 

 cellulose. 



The best proportion in which to mix the green and straw 

 is three of green material to one of straw (by weight), and in 

 most cases it should be unnecessary to add any water. The 

 greenstuff may consist of tares or any other suitable green crop, 

 but it is essential that the material should be perfectly fresh 

 when used. It should therefore be employed directly after 

 it is cut. In the experiments 1 cwt. lots were used, and it 

 was found that the material was most suitable for feeding 

 after six weeks; after that time, owing to the continual dis- 

 turbance caused by the taking of samples, putrefaction 

 gradually set in, and at the end of three months the material 

 was worthless for feeding purposes. On a large scale the 

 material would remain in good condition for a very much 

 longer period. 



Whether this means of using barley straw is applicable in 

 practice can only be ascertained by actual trial. Comparative 

 feeding experiments between the ensilage and roots would 

 also give much information. The making of the material 

 involves a considerable amount of labour. The straw and 

 greenstuff must be chaffed, and also carted and elevated. 

 On a farm where a small engine is kept the cost of labour 

 would be much lessened, and in making large quan- 

 tities an ensilage cutter and an elevator, such as are used 

 in the United States, would probably prove a good invest- 

 ment; an ordinary chaff-cutter, however, can be employed 

 quite successfully. Similarly a properly constructed silo 

 would give the best results, but the material can be fermented 

 in the stack quite satisfactorily. 



It should be pointed out that the experiments on which these 

 remarks are based were merely of a preliminary nature, and 

 require verification and development; the investigation, from 

 a chemical point of view, is undoubtedly in the right direction, 

 but the matter is so essentially one of practice that it must be 



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