at Home and Abroad. 
245 
less than 1/. per acre on the whole acreage of the farm, and 
probably 25 per cent, more ; but of course, as already suggested, 
on many farms more grass would be fed, as well as a large pro- 
portion if not all of the aftermath, and in such cases the cost of 
silo accommodation would be proportionately lessened. 
It will be gathered, therefore, that I regard the system of 
ensilage as a valuable addition to the resources of the English 
farmer, but not as a complete substitute for the old haymaking 
process. In different districts there will doubtless soon be 
annual uses made of the system with as much regularity as 
wheat is now sown, and some at least of these uses can already 
be indicated. Take, for instance, the North of England, where 
autumn rains, and even early winter snows, render it almost im- 
possible that clover aftermath can be made into hay for winter 
use ; the process of ensilage enables it to be preserved almost 
without considering the state of the weather. On clay-land 
farms, where turnips are notoriously difficult and expensive to 
grow, but where nevertheless some succulent winter food must 
be obtained, ensilage supplies the solution of the difficulty. On 
such lands, tares can be grown profitably ; and witli care, but 
not without, they can be preserved for winter use as an excellent 
and very nourishing substitute for turnips. Again, take a 
suburban dairy-farm, practically all grass, and up to the present 
time dependent upon purchased mangolds, cabbages, and other 
succulent food which will enable the cows to be kept profitably 
through the winter ; now the system of ensilage enables the 
suburban farmer to make a portion of his grass into a succulent 
and stimulating food, yielding more milk and costing far less 
money than the roots which he was formerly obliged to purchase. 
Lastly, I will indicate an arable farm in the southern and south- 
eastern counties, where feeding a large head of stock is the great 
object. On such a farm, immediately after harvest, a portion of 
the stubbles can be sown with rye or winter vetches, reaped in 
April or May, and preserved in silos ; then a crop of roots, 
tares, or even maize can be sown, the roots to be used as hitherto 
during the winter, and the other green crops after having been 
pitted in the autumn. In all these cases, it seems to me that 
the undoubted loss of nutritive matter, which is one result of 
the processes of fermentation, is of very small importance in 
comparison with the practical advantages of ensilage, and the 
element of security which it contains. ,r 
Readers of the foregoing Report will doubtless have noticed 
that in some important respects I do not follow some previous 
writers on the modus operandi of ensilage. While having 
drawn my conclusions from the evidence furnished by practical 
men, supplemented by my own observations, I am free to admit 
