296 Tlie Silo and Silage-stack Competition, 1885-86. 
Messrs. Pochiii's Concrete Silo, Croft, near Leicester. — This is described as 
a new structure, formed of concrete slabs, 4 feet, by 2 feet deep, and 2 inches 
thick. These slabs are tongued and grooved into each other at the edges, 
and are fixed by bolts into a framework consisting of standards of wood and 
iron, part of two of the standards being removable to allow one row of slabs to 
be taken out to form a doorway for filling and emptying. The roof is made of 
a simple framework covered with corrugated iron sheets, and capable of being 
removed by pulleys fixed into the roof-plate and running along a channel of 
iron. The foundations are fixed into a wooden baulk, let into the ground 
about 6 inches ; no lining is used, as the adamant is smooth ; the total cost 
was 211. Is. The silage was weighted with concrete slabs, similar to the 
sides of the building, and granite chippings in bags. The silo was not erected 
until Mr. Pochin had completed haymaking, and he bad carted into it a lot of 
rough grass cut from the hedge sides, with docks, nettles, thistles, and weeds 
of all sorts. It was filled between August 22nd and 30th ; on examination we 
found considerable damage and waste, and Mr. Pochin considered it much 
cheaper to make silage than hay, the former costing not more than 8s. per 
acre ; his meadows are very liable to flood, and considerable damage has been 
done by this means. He considers it invaluable for ewes and lambs, producing 
a better flow of milk, and bringing the lambs earlier to market. His lambs 
were considered the best of the season in Leicester market last year. He gives 
oue-third silage cut into chaff with hay and straw. His cows have a portion 
of silage, and no ill-effects have been discovered in their milk. Last year 
30 beasts, 160 sheep, and 13 working horses were fed on silage, and all did well, 
but one horse persistently refused to eat it. The silo was not more than 
half filled, as there was nothing to be had for filling it; about 13 tons had 
been put in, and it was computed that there were 11 tons now in. No 
temperature had been taken, but from a larger silo he found the temperature 
had risen from 70° to 130°, and then gradually went down to G0°. We saw 
some silage two j^ears old, made from good grass, which was sour, and in 
excellent condition ; this was from a silo of the same size and construction as 
the one exhibited. 
Silage Stacks. 
3Ir. C. 0. Johnson's SUo Stack.- — On November 20th, we visited this gen- 
tleman's silage stack at Oakwood, Croft, near Darlington. This was composed 
of autumn sown tares, seeds, and clover, and old land grass — all put into one 
stack, which is 19 feet long, 17 feet wide, and 11 ftet to the caves, and i7 feet 
high to the peak of the ridge. The system of pressing is the " Ensilage 
Stack press," invented by the exhibitor. The general description of the stack 
is that it is built in the oijcn air, the top peaked and thatched like an ordinary 
hayrick ; it contains IG loads of green fodder, and the cost of the ])ress for the 
130-ton stack was 181., which is the selling price. The pressure is obtained 
by a flexible galvanised iron rope.* Mr. Johnson estimated the cost of 
cutting, carrying, and pressing the stack at about 18s. per acre. In general, 
the silage was sweet and jiarticularly good ; there was a vein of about 
2 inches deep across the stack of dark silage — this was after the stoppage 
on the first Sunday and four following day.s — and about halfway up 
the stack a considerable amount of dark silage around the jtlace where 
the thermometer had been inserted in a tube of boarding 4 inches square, 
which would not have been the case if a i)roper tube had been used. There 
was a space, on the average, of about 8 inches of damaged silage along 
both sides and ends of the stack ; but from the size of the stack and its 
density we calculated that the waste was not more than about li percent. 
* See last number of the ' Journal,' p. 729. 
