488 
On the Chemistry of Ensilage. 
The taste of this sample was very sweet, and the smell quite 
fragrant, like that of well-made good hay. It kept well for 
about ten days, and then turned mouldy. 
4. Lord Middleton sent me on the same day (Dec. 24th, 1883) 
another sample, which was made from unchopped meadow-grass, 
put into the silo in September 1883. 
On analysis, the meadow-grass silage was found to have the 
following composition : — 
Water 74-40 
*Albummous compounds 1-62 
Soluble carbo-hydrates 2*87 
Crude vegetable fibre 19*27 
Mineral matter (ash) 1*84 
100-00 
* Containing nitrogen "26 
Volatile acids, calculated as acetic acid . . . . '21 
Non-volatile acids, calculated as lactic acid .. -22 
The silage was of good quality, and kept better than the 
sweet chopped oats silage, which contained mere traces of acid ; 
whilst that from unchopped meadow-grass was decidedly acid, 
and contained about \ per cent, of butyric and other soluble 
acids, and about the same proportion of non-volatile lactic acid. 
5. Mr. E. B. Gibson, Saffron Walden, also sent me a sample 
of sweet silage, which, on analysis in January 1884, gave the 
following results : — 
Water 75-60 
*Albuminous compounds 2-62 
Soluble carbo-hydrates 2-04 
Crude fibre 17*85 
Mineral matter (ash) 1-89 
100-00 
Containing nitrogen -42 
Volatile acids, calculated as acetic acid . . . . - 07 
Non-volatile acids (lactic acid) - 04 
It will be seen that this sample contained scarcely any vola- 
tile or non-volatile acids. It kept fairly well for about a 
fortnight, and then turned mouldy. 
6. On the 12th of November, 1883, I received from Mr. Ed. 
B. Gibson a sample of clover and sainfoin silage, which I sub- 
mitted to a detailed analysis, which gave the results shown on 
page 489 to be the composition of the mixture. 
This sample contained only 57^ per cent, of water. It was 
decidedly acid, and found to contain in round numbers f per cent, 
of lactic acid and \ per cent, of volatile acid, and went rapidly 
mouldy. 
