The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-07-02
THE Farm.
Sweet Ensilage.

The va:iouS kinds OF Fermentation
that take place in vegetable substances
are due to minute plants ( Fungi which
by their growth set up change in veg
etable compounds. Thus, the yeast plant
fermeuts the bread, beer, etc; and SIM
liar minute plants, which occur in fruit
juices, produce wine, cider, etc. The
minute plants which produce these
forms of fermentation require the access
of air that they may pretorm their tunc-
tions. There is another group Of these
minute organisms which multiply in a
different manner from those just noted
and which cause the formation Of Tactic
and other acids, which are known as
bacteria. These occur 10 myriads In
fresh ensilage, and live and carry on
their fermentation when the air is c0m-
pletely excluded from the silo. Dr..
Miles experiments at the Agricultural
College at Amherst, Massachusetts,,
were directed to ascertaining the con-
ditions under which these bacteria live.
and how they could be destroyed. He
found that the bacteria Of Tactic fermen-
tation, and of kindred ferments, are
killed by temperature of one hundred
and sixteen degrees, if this be long con-
tinued; but they are destroyed much
more promptly if exposed to higher
temperature of one hundred and twenty
to one hundred and twenty FIVE degrees.
When freshly cut corn ensilage is
exposed to free access of air in the silo,
the mass heats. 1t under-goes pro.
cess of gentle burning (crenaacusis), with
a rise of temperature which may readily
reach to one hundred and fifty degrees.
Hence, if the cut fodder lies up loosely
in the silo, and that is slowly filed, the
filing being continued through several
days, high temperature, from one hun
dred and twenty five to one hundred and
forty degrees or more, may be easily
obtained with an imperceptible loss of
fodder, and the same is true of other
plants.
Doctor Miles asoertained that the ex-
clusion of air from fresh ensilage,
whether packed or not, does not only
not destroy the growth of the bacteria
of fermentation. but promotes it. The
result of this continued growth Of bac-
terra is the conversion of the entire con-
tents of the silo into what is know as
s'sour ensilage." This is the sourer the
older it is. There are great variety Of
products from this repressed fermenta-
ton, and on exposure to the air the en-
silage becomes, in some case, still sour
er from the formation Of acetic acid, or
vinegar.
It has been ascertained that the ex-
clusion of air from ensilage that has been
heated to one hundred and twenty or
one hundred and twenty-five degrees,
stops all action, and the mass gradually
cools down. The bacteria of fermenta-
ton are, at this temperature, complete
ly destroyed-root, branch and germ
and the mass remains as if it were in a
completely sealed preserve jar. Indeed
the process of ensiloing is much the
same as that in preserving fruits in
closed jars. BY the exclusion of air
while the substance is hot, fermentation
cannot take place.
The above is essentially the theory as
announced by Doctor Miles. After its
announcement, cases in which the filling
of silos had been, by accident, very
slow, in which great heat had taken
place, and on this account were suppos-
ed to be ruined, were reported; but con-
trary to expectation, they yielded sweet
ensilage, the best the farmers reporting
the cases had ever seen. The odor of
the ensilage was positively sweet-like
that of molasses-and it was greatly
relished by the COWS and at the same
time it proved to be superior as milk
producing feed.
After the theory and practice of Doc
tor Miles we're announced, we heard OF
those of Mr.. Geo. Fry, in England, who
had been working in the same direction,
and had arrived at the same conclusions.
Since then, Doctor Niles views have
been confirmed over and over again,
here and abroad.-American Agricultur-
ist.