AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
341 
i880j 
sidered by itself, as what would be a profitable 
course for one might be the reverse for another. 
One may have a deposit of muck under conditions 
which would make it improper to dig and remove 
it, and the best economy would be to leave it where 
it is. If, for example, there is a deposit of muck 
in a low place, which can not be drained for want 
of sufficient out-fall. If the muck is removed from 
this there will be large open pits or ditches ; these, 
if left, will become pools of stagnant water, sure 
to be unsightly, and often unhealthy. It is true, 
these may be filled up, but the labor required 
would probably more than counterbalance any 
benefits that might come from the use of the muck 
as an absorbent or a fertilizer. It often occurs that 
the best use of a deposit of muck is not to remove 
it, but to cultivate and improve it; if it can be done, 
drain it thoroughly, and it may often be made the 
most valuable meadow upon the farm. In the 
opinion of those who have had the widest exper¬ 
ience in the use of muck, this is in many cases the 
best use to make of a deposit. Our point is, that 
with muck deposits, as with many other things in 
agriculture, there is no one rule to meet all cases. 
While it may be best for A. to dig his muck and let 
it find its way to the manure heap, such a course, 
if followed by his neighbor B., would, to use an 
old expression, “ cost more than it came to.” 
The Preservation of Corn Fodder in Silos. 
In an article with this heading last month, the 
principle upon which corn fodder and other green 
fodder is preserved by ensilage was described. It 
is, in brief, to cut the fodder as fine as may be, to 
store it in air-tight tanks or silos as compactly as 
possible, and to cover it as closely as practicable ; 
all the preparation in the way of structures and 
every operation in filling them having for its object 
the most thorough exclusion of the air. To those 
who would investigate the matter in full, we give 
the following references to the literature of the 
subject, from which it will be seen that it should be 
no novelty to the readers of the American Agricul¬ 
turist. Though there had been previous references 
to what is known in Germany as “ sour keep,” in 
which clover, beet leaves, etc., were preserved, the 
first important article we now remember was on 
“Sour Fodder Making,” by a Hungarian corres¬ 
pondent, published in October, 1873, p. 370. This 
described, with an illustration, the method of 
cultivating fodder com and storing it in pits or 
ditches, as practised in Hungary, and does not re¬ 
quire a building expressly for the purpose. In 
August, 1874, p. 297, we gave, from the same corre¬ 
spondent," Sour Fodder Making in Hungary.” This 
described the Hungarian method of storing beets 
and other roots, previously cut, with chaff in pits 
or stacks partly below ground and covered with 
straw and earth, with an engraving showing a pit. 
In April, 1875, pages 139-40, we gave an illus¬ 
trated description of “ A Dairy Barn” in Westches¬ 
ter County, N. Y., in which an account was given 
of a pit for the storage of brewers’-grains. Several 
thousand bushels of grains were kept in good 
condition for months, simply by excluding the air. 
About this time the preservation of green fodder 
attracted much attention in Belgium and France, 
and several articles by farmers and professors in 
agricultural schools appeared in the Journal cV 
Agriculture Pratique (Paris, the leading agricultural 
journal of France), giving methods and reporting 
general success. The important portions of these 
articles were presented in a condensed form in the 
American Agriculturist for June, 1875, pages 222- 
223, with six illustrations showing simple pits and 
extensive receptacles for the fodder built entirely 
above ground, with the method of filling, etc. 
In September, 1877, pages 335-836, we described 
" An American Silo.” This gave two illustrations 
of the pit attached to the Westchester Co., N. Y., 
barn (described in April, ’75), with hints as to the I 
utilization of such pits for the storing of corn fodder. 
In 1877 Mr. Auguste GofFart, an eminent French 
agriculturist, published at Paris a work on “En¬ 
silage.” This was translated by J. B. Brown, of 
New York, and published in 1879. Besides Gof- 
lart’s original work, this had an appendix giving 
several other articles and notes by that author and 
several of his countrymen, the experience of Fran¬ 
cis Morris of Maryland, extracts from the American 
Agriculturist, besides a note giving “ Conclusions 
of the Translator,” in which he 6ays: “The first 
notice of this matter in this country seems to have 
been made in the American Agriculturist of June, 
1875.” As shown above, Mr. B. was not exactly 
right as to the date, though quite correct as to the 
fact. This work was, we believe, published by the 
“N. Y. Plow Company,” in part at least to aid in 
the sale of the implements made by them for the 
cultivation and cutting of fodder corn. In April, 
1879, we gave an engraving and description of the 
“Ensilage Cutter,” aud in July of the same year 
noted that a supplement to Mr. Brown’s translation 
had been published in a pamphlet form. 
On July 6th last, Mr. O. B. Potter read before 
the “Farmers’ Club of the American Institute” 
a paper giving his experience in preserving fod¬ 
der by ensilage. This appeared in the “ N. Y. 
World” of July 9tli. Mr. Potter’s address is not 
given, but we infer that he lives in Westchester, 
N. Y. Had there been some one present to ques¬ 
tion the writer upon a few points which need ex 
planation, this would be the most direct, practi¬ 
cal, and compact presentation of the subject of 
ensilage that we have yet seen. 
The latest contribution to the literature of the 
subject has this title : “The Book of Ensilage ; or 
the New Dispensation for Farmers. Experience 
with Ensilage at ‘ Winning Farm.’ How to pro¬ 
duce Milk for one cent per quart; Butter for ten 
cents per pound ; Beef for four cents per pound; 
Mutton for uothing, if wool is thirty cents per 
pound. By John M. Bailey, Proprietor of ‘ Winning 
Farm,’ Billerica, Mass., and ‘ Virginia Stock Farm,’ 
Sussex Co., Va. Billerica, Mass. Published by the 
Author. 1880.” There are also 60 me quotations on 
the title page which we omit. Preceding this title 
page is an advertisement of “ Bailey’s Practical 
Tree Trimmer,” one of “ Mammoth Ensilage Seed 
Corn,” aud a portrait of “Yours Respectfully John 
M. Bailey,” and also Mr. Bailey’s hat. Of intro¬ 
duction and contents there are 10 pages ; to the sub¬ 
ject of Ensilage 111 pages are devoted. The Horses, 
Sheep, Shorthorns, and Swine, for sale by the author 
are described in 81 pages and 28 pages of “ The 
Book of Ensilage ” are occupied by advertisements 
of animals, fertilizers, implements, etc., offered by 
other parties. As mutton can be, according to the 
title page, raised “for nothing” if one gets enough 
for his wool, so we supposes book can be published 
“for nothing,” if one can get enough advertise¬ 
ments, at good prices. Less than half of “The Book 
of Ensilage” is occupied by ensilage, the larger half 
being an advertising medium. 
Having referred the reader to the sources of infor¬ 
mation, we recapitulate the important points. Our 
Hungarian friend described a pit dug in dry soil, 12 
feet deep, 12 feet wide at top, 6 feet at bottom, and 
as long as need be (10 to 20 rods); he stated that 
this might be walled if stone or brick could be ob¬ 
tained cheaply, but that this was not necessary. 
Later writers prefer to make the pits wholly, or in 
part, above ground, and advise them to be care¬ 
fully walled with brick, stones, or concrete. Some 
French pits built quite underground, and lined 
with masonry, are 9 feet wide above, 6 feet below, 
6 feet deep, and 75 feet long. Goffart built 6ome 
of his silos entirely above ground, but, on the 
whole, prefers to have them one-ha.f their hight 
below ground, and this is the plan generally pre¬ 
ferred. According to Bailey, a silo 12 feet high 
aud wide, and 30 feet long, will hold 80 to 100 tons 
of fodder, or enough to winter 12 to 15 cows. The 
walls should be thick enough to resist the pressure 
of the earth without, and those above ground, the 
pressure from within; where concrete is used, they 
should be 15 inches thick. As the fodder soon 
wilts and occupies less space than before the 
mass settles, it is desirable that there should be 
nothing in the shape of the pit, or the character of 
the interior surface of the walls, to prevent the 
mass from settling evenly and becoming compact 
and solid throughout. A suitable roof is needed 
to shed rain. The cutter should cut the corn into 
half-inch lengths or smaller, and be run by steam 
or horse power. The fodder com should be cut at 
the time it is in its best condition for feeding, i. e., 
when the “ silk” first appears. The cut fodder is 
trampled down as close as possible, and during the 
intervals of the work of filling, planks should be 
put on the top upon which weights are placed. 
Formerly a portion of 6traw was put with the 
com fodder, but this is not now regarded as neces¬ 
sary or even desirable; neither is salt needed 
to preserve the fodder, though sufficient may be 
added to make the food palatable to the animals. 
The pits or silos are not filled at once ; after what 
may be cut in a day, or enough to fill the pit to the 
depth of about two feet, has been put in, it is 
allowed to remain for about 36 hours, is then 
thoroughly trodden down, and a similar deposit of 
freshly-cut fodder placed upon it, and so on. 
Great importance is attached to the proper clos¬ 
ing up when the pit is full. The successful keep¬ 
ing of this fodder depends upon exclusion of air. 
M. Goffart prefers to cover his by first placing a 
layer of several inches of straw upon the surface ; 
upon this he puts boards or planks laid crosswise, 
so that they may be taken out one by one, as the 
fodder is removed in feeding. The boards should 
fit closely at their edges, and upon them are to be 
placed weights to keep up a continuous pressure 
upon the mass below. For this purpose logs, 
stones, bricks, or other heavy material may be 
used, or old bags, or, preferably, boxes filled with 
earth may be made to serve as weights. 
Mr. Potter prefers to cover the fodder first with 
straw for about two inches, and upon this a layer 
of clean earth at least six inches deep. After the 
earth has been in place a week or so, it is ex¬ 
amined,, and if any cracks are found they are to be 
closed with fresh earth. This examination should 
be repeated two or three times. Mr. P. does not 
find that any other weight beyond that of the 
earth is necessary, but suggests that should ad¬ 
ditional pressure be desired, it may be secured by 
increasing the thickness of the layer of earth. 
If pits are made in the open ground, they should 
be covered with a thick layer of straw and several 
inches of earth, putting on as much as would be 
required in the locality for protecting turnips, etc. 
We have had special reference to the preservation 
of fodder corn, but the process is equally applicable 
to other green fodder crops, such as sorghum, the 
various millets, etc. Where beets are raised in large 
quantities their leaves may be preserved, and 
where cabbages are grown for market there is a 
large amount of refuse leaves that could be thus 
put down—indeed the process is really a modifica¬ 
tion of that for making sour-krout. 
Clover has long been preserved in this manner in 
Germany. A friend who has seen it fed, describes 
the clover as coming out as a brown, “cheesy” 
mass, which has a strong odor of fresh clover, 
and which the cattle eat with the greatest relish. 
Mr. Potter, in the paper referred to, speaks in the 
highest terms of clover preserved in this manner, 
and says: “Among all our products in the North¬ 
ern States there is none that will be more enhanced 
in value by this system than red clover.” He 
advises the mixing of clover, or grass in which 
clover predominates, in the same pit with and 
through the fodder corn. He says: “The clover 
becomes, after the first fermentation, a putty-like 
mass, which fills the interstices of the coarser and 
more fibrous fodder,and thus makes the whole much 
more compact and weighty than it would other¬ 
wise be, while it improves the quality of the food.” 
In conclusion, we would say that we think that 
there is sufficient merit in this method of preserv¬ 
ing green fodder, to make it worth while for our 
farmers to look into and experiment with. The 
trouble with every new thing is that some enthusiast 
gets hold of and advocates it in an extravagant 
manner, as the one thing that is to bring in the 
“good time coming.” He finds followers, who 
abandon the old ways for the new, and not finding 
the new all that they expected, overlook the real 
merits it may have, and denounce it as a whole. 
Our advice is to “go slow.” Try every new plan 
of promise to see how far it may be useful to you ; 
examine its faults as well as its merits. Those 
leaders who start off with a band of music and a 
