128 
Report on the Practice of Ensilage 
tion in the Greek sii'os, but many philologists maintain that it is 
an Arabic word. Be that as it may, it is certain that " far back in 
the ages " underground pits or cellars were used, and are still used, 
in Eastern countries for the storage of grain, instead of placing 
avait donnee pour une lieure ; lorsque des hommes instruits et intelligents 
descendirent dans ces silos de rhistoire, ils ne commencerent pas par s'apercevoir 
des tresors que le destin y avait successivement accmnules. — Fouviei.le, Presie 
scientif., 1865, t. i. p. 162. 
Fosse's recouverts de terre dans laquelle on place les betteraves pour les 
conserver. 
Coffres en charpente, isoles et suspendus, employes pour remuer le ble' ct le 
ventiler. 
Ettm. — Espagn. silo ; du grec <nphs, silo. 
E. LiTTBE, ' Dictionnaire de la langue fran^aise,' t. iv. 
Silo, — s. m. (mot espagn., meme signif.). Fosse souterrain oii Ton conserve 
le grain. 
Sorte de punition, infligee a nos soldats, en Afrique, et qui consistait a les 
enfermer dans une espl-ce de caehot souterrain. Condamner a trois jours de silo. 
Les silos sont d'un usage constant chez plusienrs peuples du 3Iidi, qui en ont 
re9u la pratique des Komains. Nous ne les connaissons en France que depuis 
1810, epoque oil Jourdain les etudia chez les Basques, qui leur donnent ce nom. 
Ce sont des sortes de puits sees en forme de carafe, on d'entonnoir renverse. 
Leur profondeur est commune'ment de trois metres, et les parois ainsi que le fond 
en sont revetus de nattes de paille. II y a des silos construits dans le roc et qui 
out plus de 25 metres de profondeur. Dans les silos ordinaires, le ble' se conserve 
un an Eans y toucher, et, en renouvelant la paille, une vingtaine d'anne'es et plus. 
MArEiCE Lachatbe, ' Xouveau Dictionnaire Universel,' t. ii. p. 1333. 
[Traxslatiox.] 
October 4, 1883. 
As regards tlie word '■ silo," from which is derived " entilage," you remember 
that we found it in the dictionary of the ' Acade'mie Framjaise,' of 1835 ; but it 
does not give the origin. This origin is " basque " (a little ethnographic 
district on the top of the Pyrenees, and extending on either side into France and 
Spain). In fact I find in the ' New Course of Theoretical and Practical Agricul- 
ture,' Paris, 1822 :— 
Silo = " basque," name for that which corresponds to a grain-pit (Bose). 
Olivier de Serves, Seigneur du Pradel, who was born in 1539, and died in 1619, 
author of ' The'atre d' Agriculture et Mesnage de Champs, ' published in 1600, 
did not know the word " tih," but knew its meaning under the name of " cros," 
Below is his description (vol. i. p. 163. Edition of 1804, Paris, Huyard) : — 
" There remains for me to speak about another sort of granary, as novel a* 
any I have seen, as there seems reason to disbelieve the experience of good 
found in their use. They are used in La Gascoyne and La Guyenne, where they 
employ these granaries more than in any other province of this kingdom. They 
are deep pits dug in the ground, called " eras," into which one descends witli 
ladders for bringing in or carrying away the fodder, &c. Plixt considered 
such pits to be the best way of preserving com, &c., as was practised in his time 
in Thrace, Cappadocia, Barbary, and Spain. Vauko was also of his opinion, 
asserting that wheat can be kept sweet and entire, 50 years, and millet 100 : at 
the same time stating so as to strengthen his opinion, that when Pompey the 
Great was sweeping the sea of pirates, there was found at Ainbratia a large 
supply of beans (in good and sound condition), in a cavern where they had 
remained stored away since the time when King Pyrrhus was fighting in Italy , 
and nearly 120 years had then passed." 
To this pas.sage corresponds the following note (page 181, vol. i. same edition), 
YvART, membtr of the Institute, being the author : — 
"In 1707 111 re was discovered in the citadel of Melz a large quantity of corn. 
