16G 
Report on the Practice of Ensilage, 
?nds of every description from nooks and corners in the park — 
In fact, every description of green food that might otherwise 
have been wasted had been put into the silo. 
Some additional facts ascertained during this visit may be 
worth recording. First of all, I should mention that the 
covering is done with great care, as follows : — Immediately 
upon the chopped fodder a layer of bran about 2 inches thick is 
placed, then the boards, along the joints of which thin strips of 
zinc are placed, Mr. Easdale (agent to Mr. Stobart) asserts 
that these precautions prevent the development of any mould 
whatever, and keeps the bran as dry as dust. The cost of the 
zinc is stated to be very trifling — not more than \l. for the 
larger silo described above, which contained about 90 tons of 
silage. Mr. Easdale put the cost of making hay in fair weather, 
supposing the crop to be 1^ cwt. per acre, at 205. per acre ; and 
the cost of preserving the grass from the same land by ensilage, 
including cutting, carting, chopping, &c., at 24s. per acre, 
notwithstanding that he reckoned 1 ton of hay to be the dried 
result of 5 tons of grass. The great expense of the process of 
ensilage is, no doubt, the carriage of so large a quantity of 
moisture, and if the field is at any great distance from the silo 
this must be an important consideration. Mr. Easdale also 
stated that the beasts received 75 lbs. of silage per head per 
diem, and that he regarded this as equal to 95 lbs. of turnips 
and 25 lbs. of hay. In fact, he positively asserted that in his 
opinion the silage was worth 21. per ton, which, at the rate of 
5 tons to 1 ton of hay, would require hay to have a feeding- 
value of lOZ. per ton to be equal to the silage from the same 
quantity and quality of grass. 
18. Mr. J. Swan, Stoncfield, Lincoln. — I have two silos, each 27 feet long and 
14 feet deep, and entirely below the level of the soil- They are constructed of 
14-inch brick walls grouted with hydraulic lime-mortar and faced with 
Portland cement, with which the bottom of the pit was lined to the thickness 
of 3 inches. This was considered sufficient, as the pits were excavated out of 
solid rock. The silos arc covered with 3-inch planks, which form also the 
floor of the barn or store-house which has been built over them. The first 
cost of the silos without the store-house was 100^. 8.s. 3(^.,'and I expect that 
they are permanent. 
Filling the silo No. 1 was commenced on June 20th with long grass : and 
by means of temporary sides above the walls the material was jiiled up to a 
height of 2 feet G inches on the 22nd, and was then weighted to the extent of 
120 lbs. to the square foot. On July 10th it was filled up again and the 
weights replaced ; and finally, on August 7th, the space created by further 
shrinkage was filled up with green oats, tares, and lucerne chaffed to the 
length of li inches, and weighted as before. The filling of silo No. 2 was 
begun on July 5th and finished on the 7th, also with unchaffed grass. It was 
then partially weighted with 40 lbs. per square foot; and on the flth the 
