350 



Losses in Preparation of Silage. 



has been published in a recent report of the Wisconsin Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. 



When green plants are cut and placed in a heap, certain 

 physical and chemical changes occur, the mass undergoes a 

 rapid evolution of heat, and in a short time a marked 

 chemical decomposition is observed. These changes take 

 place when the material is stored in closely compacted 

 stacks, in pits in the ground, or in air-tight receptacles. 

 They are accompanied by a loss of dry matter, which is 

 greatly increased by access of air, and various organic 

 acids are formed, which give the silage a more or less sour 

 taste. In practice, these losses are subject to much variation, 

 ranging from 3 to 40 per cent., according to the completeness 

 with which air is excluded. In perfectly tight silos the 

 losses are reduced to a minimum. Where the construction 

 of the silo is such as to permit leakage of air, moulds 

 and other ferments develop rapidly, resulting in largely 

 increased losses. The losses may therefore be divided into 

 fi) those which are unavoidable, even in air-tight silos, and 

 (2) those incident to the faulty construction of the silo. 



As a result of their investigations into the causes and pro- 

 cesses of the changes which occur in the formation of good 

 silage, Professors Babcock and Russell state that these 

 changes are not due wholly to the action of bacteria as 

 commonly supposed, since it was found possible to make 

 silage of good quality and aroma without the presence of 

 bacteria and without the generation of a temperature exceed- 

 ing" 75° to 80 0 F. The changes which take place in the silage 

 are believed to be due to changes occurring in the tissues of 

 the ensiled material. 



The unavoidable losses in silage are due to the formation 

 of w T ater, carbon dioxide, and volatile organic acids. As these 

 changes are prolonged in the more active and immature 

 tissues in comparison with the more mature, the losses in the 

 first case are greater. 



The avoidable losses, on the other hand, are due mainly to 

 the decomposition of organic matter, induced by the develop- 

 ment of bacteria and moulds, the growth of which is greatly 

 facilitated by the admission of air as a result of imperfect 



