The Silo and Silage-stack Competition, 1885-86. 289 
from a doorway below. About 250 yards of soil were excavated, which raised 
the ground outside from 2 to 5 feet. Total cost — 
£ s. d. 
30,000 bricks made at home by his own men .. .. 30 0 0 
Bricklayers and labourers 24 10 0 
Lime, \l. 12s.; cement, \l. lis. G(Z. 3 3 6 
Excavating, 6Z. 15s. ; timber, 4^. Is. 9t^ 10 16 9 
Carpenters, 21. 19s. ; ditto, 2Z. 5s 5 4 0 
Slates for roof, 101. 8s. ; covering with earth, 17s. 6tZ. .. 11 5 6 
£84 19 9 
Floor partly sand and partly clay. The roof was of timber and corrugated 
iron, costing about 12?. 13s. Chaffing is not practised, and the cost, inclusive 
of cutting and of putting into the silo, was about 7s. Sd. per acre. We first 
inspected No. 1 silo, which contained the produce of 50 acres of meadow- 
grass, and is computed to contain 200 tons. The height of the silage when 
we measured it was 12 feet 4 inches, it having subsided about 4 feet 8 inches ; 
it was covered with earth about 6 inches in depth. When being filled, a 
horse with a boy riding him was employed as well as the men in treading 
and pressing it down. When we cut into the silage from the top to the 
bottom we found about six different varieties, which probably arose from the 
state of the atmosphere when the silo was being filled. Some was exceedingly 
sweet, and some rather sour; the latter we were told had been carted during 
heavy rain, the water running out at the bottom of the carts, and the men 
being completely wet through. The lowest stratum was carted when the 
weather was fine, and to our thinking was the best. Tlie walls of this silo 
were built of rough stone, and not cemented, which caused air to be admitted, 
and thus produced a certain amount of mould. The contents were fairly 
good. We then inspected No. 2, which, it will be seen, was a very large silo, 
part of a large barn, with corrugated iron roof, and weighted and covered with 
earth like the former. The earth was drawn up in baskets with a pulley by 
a horse, and evenly spread on the silage; no planks were used, and the 
subsidence after filling was not more than 3 feet. The quality of the silage 
was more uniform, with no mould at the sides, and very little damage on the 
top. This was a most useful specimen of good fodder, and a valuable illustration 
of the possibility of carrying out the system on a large scale at little cost. The 
cause of the great success of this very large silo evidently was that great care 
was taken iu pressing and treading it efi"ectually at the proper time. Mr. Trep- 
plin considers there are from 500 to 600 tons in this silo. The upper space 
under the roof is used as a receptacle for straw; were it not for that and 
for other dry storage, he says that he would not go to the expense of roofing. 
The silo was commenced filling on July 14th, and finished on August 20th. 
We think it would be interesting to state some facts communicated to us by 
Mr. Trepplin. He says he has gone into the practice of ensiling, as he wants 
an immense amount of food for winter use for his stock, especially milking- 
cows, to which he gives no other fodder, and he feels sure they give more and 
richer milk, and keep in better condition with silage than hay. Each cow 
has, in addition to the silage, 3 lbs. of meal per day ; the silage is chaffed 
with a little oat-straw, the meal is composed of maize, wheat, and barley. In 
the larger cowshed the cows are tied in rows, with a passage between them 
about 12 feet wide made of old railway sleepers, along which an iron tramway 
is laid for the waggons of food to pass along ; a trough for water and for 
mixing the food runs in front of each row. The cows have cabbages from 
October as long as it will last, and then silage. The cattle seem to be healthy, 
but not in high condition. About 700 head of cow stock is kept, and 300 
VOL. XXII. — S. S. U 
