THE FARM.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 22, Issue 67, 29 August 1911, Page 2

THE FARM.

HISTORY OP THE SILO AND ENSILAGE. j From the evidence at hand, wc find that the silo has been in use in one form or another, from ancient times. Historians tell us that in former times grain was buried in (iuderground pits as a means of saving it or concealing it from marauders. The people ill Northern Europe were accustomed to preserve their forage in a similar manner. But not until the middle of the nineteenth century did the practice become general, j The leaves and tops of the sugar j beet seem to have been largely re- ; sponsible for the spread of the silo. ; European agriculturists cultivated this plant for the manufacture of | sugar and alcohol, using the beet j tops for feeding their cattle, and ! found that the tops buried in pits retained their freshness and were relished by the stock. This was expensively carried on in France. M. Reihlen of Stuttgart, Germany, ‘ one of the earliest advocates of this practice was the owner in 1870 of a large sugar beet factory. Having great success in the process of the preservation of beet pulp, he was induced to apply it to o crop of green maize (corn) which had come ! to him unexpectedly. The result was an astonishing success, and for fifteen/ years this process -was continued with increasing satisfaction. ' In 1877, a French farmer, August Goffart, published a “Manual of the Culture and Siloing of Maize and Other Green Crops,” the first book i published on the subject. Mr. Goffart is sometimes called the “Father of Modern Silage ” as through his publication he brought the value of the silo before the farmers. j Numerous accounts of European ex- 1

perimcnts ■ were given in our agricultural press and a complete description of the system of the French Mode of , Curing Forage" was given in a paper with that title in the annual report of the United States Department of Agriculture for 1875. Mr J. B. Brown, of New Yorlc, translated Mr. Goffart’s hook in 1879, and the next year Dr. J. M. Bailey issued his ‘"Book of Ensilage." These publications and experiences aroused the interest of the progressive American farmer and gradually the silo has become a necessity to successful and intelligent stock farming.

The .first silo' in the United States

is said to have been built in 1876 by M. P. Morris, of Maryland, and in 1881, Prof. I. P. Roberts, of Cornell University, erected the first silo to be used for experimentation. From then on, thc v interest in silos and silage has increased, and at the present time the preservation of green feeds has become of immense value to the stock.farmer and dairyman. All kinds of live stock .find the silage palatable and succulent. It creates an appetite and stimulates the milk flow.

It is strange that there is still so much ignorance on this subject. Despite the literature and statistics showing the benefits of the silo, the most absurd and unfounded opinions regarding it are entertained. The truth of the matter is that the silo is an invention positively beneficial to stockmen.