at Home and Abroad. 
181 
If, however, it is compressed by liydraulic or other st: caucus means it may 
remain comparatively uninjured, as the air will not so easily penetrate the mass. 
I used ensilaged rye daily from October 1882 to March 1883 for milking cows, 
consuming about 80 tons, in conjunction with swedes, mangolds, and 3 lbs. of 
cotton-cake per head per day. My silo was built in 1881, but it was filled the 
first year with brewers' grains. — August ISfh, 1883. 
Composition of a Sample of Clover and Saivfoin Ensilage sent hij 
Mr. Edmund B. Gibson. 
Soluble in water 70' 36 per cent. : — 
Water 57 'So 
Soluble albuminoids 3 '43 
Acetic and other volatile acids "28 
Lactic and other tixed acids "76 
Soluble nou-nitrogeneus compounds 6'11 
Soluble mineral matter 2 • 23 
Insoluble in water 29 • 64 per cent. : — 
Insoluble albuminoids 4 '44 
Crude vegetable fibre 23-32 
Insoluble mineral matter 1-88 
100-00 
Total nitrogen 1-2G 
November 12th, 1883. (Signed) Augustus Voelcker. 
PS. — Since writing the foregoing I have had ample opportunities of testing 
the feeding value of silage, as it has formed the staple food of eighty head 
of horned stock since the middle of October last. 
Mr. H. M. Jenkins saw the first section of the silo uncovered, and the silage 
was found in excellent preservation, with the exception of 2 inches on the 
surface, increasing gradually towards the sides for 2 feet down, when the 
mouldy portion ceased. 
The allowance of food for each cow in milk per day is as follows : — 
lbs. 
Clover silage 22 
Eye silage .. .. 26 
Straw chaff 5 
Hay chaff 5 
Barley or maize meal 3 
Eoots (3 pecks) 45 
Total weight .. lOG 
I find this combination the most economical and conducive to a full flow of 
milk, keeping the cattle in excellent condition. 
Now as to the cost of cutting and jjitting the fodder. I am imable to give 
the cost of each operation, but can estimate with accuracy the cost of pre- 
serving a ton of silage. A cubic foot weighs 45 lbs., and my five pits 
consequently hold 50 tons each. 
It took two and a half days to fill a pit, at a cost of 3?. 10s. £ s. d. 
per day, giving exactly per ton 0 3 6 
The cost of cutting, 2s. (id. per acre, or per ton 0 0 6 
The cost of the covering boards is 11. 6s. for each pit containing 
50 tons, or per ton 0 0 6 
The cost of securing boards and placing weights in position, per 
ton 0 0 1 
February 2(jth, 1884. 
Total per ton ,. £0 4 7 
