at Home and Abroad. 
149 
PS. — Since sending off my answers to your questions last October, I have 
»gaia opened my silo, and I am o;lad to say that the results of the third 
experiment are most satisfactory. The well-preserved condition of the grass, 
and the evident relish with which it is being eaten by all kinds of stock, 
confirm me in the opinion that ensilage is a valuable and economical method 
of saving green fodder. 
In this last experiment I made an important departure from my previous 
practice. I did not cut the grass inco chaff, but carted it direct from the field 
to the pit. Here it was well tossed about, evenly spread, and trodden down 
in the ordinary way. No salt was used. The weather was wet, and con- 
sequently the grass also; yet, when the silo was opened on the first of this 
month (February) there wa? certainly not more than the usual amount of 
waste. The black and mouldy portion was confined to a shallow and narrow 
belt around the edges of the mass, just beneath the shutters, and did not 
extend over the whole of the surface. After getting down a little way the 
fodder was found to be in as good condition against the walls as it was else- 
where. It was slightly acid to the taste, and emitted that peculiar and un- 
describahle fragrance which always distinguishes good " silage." 
Besides showing the uselessness of cutting the grass into chaff, there is a 
circumstance in connection with my present experience, which is very 
gratifying. Sheep eat the " silage " freely. A small flock of Shropshire 
breeding ewes are supplied with a feed every evening, and generally clear it 
all up before morning. They are running on grass-land. Another lot of 
30 ewe-lambs, also on grass, eat a cratch full, daily. If good hay is placed in 
one end of the cratch, and " silage " in the other, the latter will be con- 
sumed to the last mouthful almost before the bay is touched — at least by the 
majority of the lambs. A few animals in each lot still hold aloof, or only 
partake very sparingly of the pitted fodder. Horses seem to care less about 
it than other stock ; nevertheless two young colts and a pony eat it with 
evident relish. 
I have not kept any exact record of the cost of carting the crop from the 
field and completely pitting it ; indeed it would not have been easy to do so, 
as the work was carried on very irregularly. "Whenever the weather was 
good enough for harvest operations the process was discontinued, and the 
men's efforts directed to securing some field of hay or crop of oats, as the case 
might be. Thus, on some days, perhaps only a couple of loads of grass would 
be pitted. If the interruption was likely to extend over more than one day, 
the shutters were placed in position and loaded with a few stones or bricks, 
otherwise this precaution was dispensed with. In no case were the whole of 
the weights put on until the silo was full. 
Even when carried out in the disjointed manner above mentioned, the 
whole cost of the operation would not exceed from 12s. to 14s. an acre, or, 
say, 2s. Qd. per ton of grass pitted. Besides, it must not be forgotten that the 
work was only carried on when other methods of harvesting were out of the 
question. 
In conclusion, I may say that the more experience I have of ensilage the 
more I value it. It has merits which must eventually ensure its adoption 
over the greater portion of this kingdom. Neither landlord nor tenant can 
long afford to ignore or refuse to practise a system which bids fair to relieve 
the farmer of some of his greatest anxieties : by enabling him (1) to secure 
his forage crops, in good condition, even in the wettest seasons (when they are 
generally the most abundant). (2) To do this in the simplest and most 
economical manner. (3) To preserve their natural succulence ; and thus, 
(4) to partially, if not entirely, dispense with the costly root-crop. — ■ 
February mh, 1884. 
After the foregoing exhaustive statement, it is scarcely 
