CLAIMS FOR THE TRENCH.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 239, 27 September 1930, Page 12

CLAIMS FOR THE TRENCH.

Advocates of the “trench” claim that it makes a more even quality of ensilage than is possible in a big “pit.” The modus operand) i; to start filling the pit at one end, first by driving the sledges through the pit and pulling off at its entrance. and later by working across from side to side until the greenstuff is some five or six feet above ground level. Next day a furthersection of the pit is filled in, using the first day’s filling as a ramp up which the empty sledges come from the pit. Each section, or day's filling, is allowed to “cook” for a certain ' time—usually from two to three days—before it is covered with earth in the usual way to exclude both air and rain. With this method the trench is being covered as it is filled, and as < j.ch section is not excessively deep, it is unusual to get sour ensilage on the bottom and sweet on top as is often the case in a big, deep pit which takes some time to fill. It is essential to fill the trench well above ground level so that when it has sunk to its full extent and the earth covering is applied, it forms an arched “roof,” in appearance like a potato pit, which will turn any rain into small trenches which can be ploughed alongside and lead away from the trench.

When it is opened for feeding out, the trench again has an advantage over the larger pit. In the , first place there is no big pull out for the team as there is from a deep pit; then there is only a comparatively small face to work at which is exposed to the air, and even where only a small quantity is being fed out daily there is little risk of the exposed ensilage going mouldy. With a trench, also, should it not be found necessary to use at any one time all the material which is stored, it is possible to refill that part which has been emptied without disturbing in any way that section which was unused. Usually once a big pit is opened its contents must be all filled before it can be refilled.

USEFUL ON PLOUGHABLE LAND.

A shallow, long, and comparatively narrow trench has obvious advantages in a paddock which will probably bo required for cultivation in the future. It can be constructed alongside a fence where, if full, it will not take up valuable space and need not interfere with the ploughing as it will really only occupy headland. On flat land where the winter water-level is comparatively close to the surface, a shallow ensilage trench is much less liable than a deep pit to become waterlogged, and indeed, when there is any fall at all, the long trench can bo kept dry even in damp land by keeping a drain pipe open at the bottom end. One feature of ensilage pit and trench construction which must not be 'lost sight of is that the spies must bo as nearly perpendicular ns possible. Sides with a batter, or gradual slope in towards the bottom, prevent the ensilage material from settling evenly. The result is that pockets of air are formed along the sides, where the ensilage will become over-cooked and finally mouldy, and a tendency of the pit, when finished and covered with earth, to sink in the middle and thus col lect rain water which penetrates to the pit and may possibly spoil the whole crop.