Manly Miles

“ The true ferments, which, through the investigations of Pasteur, are now known to be living organisms that produce fermentation as a function of their vital activity. Unlike the soluble ferments, these living organisms increase at the expense of the substances fermented. The true fermentations are therefore purely physiological processes, which are defined by Pasteur as "the direct consequence of the processes of nutrition, assimilation, and life, when they are carried on without the agency of free oxygen," or, "as a result of life without air." ”

“ You will see that we have got to a point in our experiments in which the mere growth of the crop is one item, and a very small one, in the scope of our inquiry; the relations of the crop to the manure and to the soil and atmosphere bring us face to face with problems of great difficulty, which require several life-times to elucidate. ”

“ When the influence of these varying conditions, which include the peculiarities of the crop, as well as the method of filling the silo, is so well understood that ensilage of a uniform and desired quality can be produced with certainty, the most important objections that are now made to it will be obviated, and it will readily take its place on the farm as a staple article of cattle-food. ”

“ Practically, then, in the light of the Rothamsted experiments, we may look upon the soil as the great source of the nitrogen of plants, as the atmosphere can furnish but a small proportion of the needed supply, and this is more than counterbalanced by the losses from drainage. ”

“ The mineral and nitrogenous constituents of plants are taken up by their roots from the soil, which is almost, if not quite, the exclusive source of these elements of plant-growth, while all of the carbon is elaborated by the leaves from the supplies in the atmosphere. ”

“ In the light of the physiological theory of fermentation it will, however, be readily seen that the living ferments, which produce acidity, are buried with the fodder as it is packed in the silo, and the exclusion of the atmosphere, as Pasteur has proved, is a condition that favors fermentation, the oxygen itself not being directly concerned in the process. When the greatest care is taken in packing the ensilage, the temperature of the mass will often rise above 100° Fahr. ”

“ Pigs, with food composed largely of grain, consumed from twenty-six to thirty pounds of dry substance per week, for each hundred pounds of live weight, and yielded one pound of increase in weight for each four or five pounds of dry substance in their food. Oxen, therefore, consume more dry substance of food, in proportion to their weight, than sheep, and sheep consume more than pigs, while, in return for feed consumed, pigs yield more than sheep, and sheep gave better results than oxen. ”

“ The legitimate aim of all systematic, exact experiments is to lay a foundation of well-ascertained and closely related facts on which may be developed a superstructure of science to supersede the theoretical speculations which form an important part of the prelude of scientific discovery. ”

“ The nitrogen applied in the manures that is not taken up by the crop or stored up in the soil, or lost in the waters discharged by the tile-drains, may therefore be fully accounted for in the amount that must be carried, under the conditions of the experiments, by the drainage-waters to the lower strata of the subsoil, without entering the drains. The estimated losses of nitrogen by drainage, based on the amounts detected in the waters discharged by the drains, may therefore with good reason be increased by the amount not accounted for in the crop and in the accumulations of the soil. ”

“ As the carbon, which forms about one half of the dry substance of plants, is all derived from the minute proportions of carbonic acid found in the atmosphere, it has been assumed that the comparatively small amount of nitrogen required by plants could be readily obtained from the abundant stores of this element in the atmosphere, and that wide-leaved plants, like clover and beans, could more readily assimilate it than those with narrow leaves, like the grasses. ”

“ Many of what are called restorative plants feed in the deeper layers of the soil, and they may, by their scattered foliage and thick roots, add to the stores of plant-food in the surface-soil, which may be used by plants of a different habit that are not deep feeders. ”

“ In the present state of our knowledge of the subject, the most desirable method may be to fill the silo without any packing, beyond that produced by the weight of the superincumbent mass, and then allow it to remain until the desired temperature is reached, before putting on the cover and weights. The best method can only be determined by carefully conducted experiments, that are made with a full knowledge of the different conditions that may have an influence in modifying the results. ”

“ The living organisms (bacteria) found in samples of fresh ensilage belong to the group of schizomycetes. Thus far no members of the group of saccharomycetes (yeast or alcoholic ferments) have been observed, by me, in samples from the interior of the silo that had not been exposed to the air. When a large surface of ensilage is exposed to the air, after the silo is opened, a variety of ferments may make their appearance, and with them several species of molds, but they are evidently produced from germs derived from the air. ”

“ There are many conflicting statements in regard to the value of ensilage as a cattle-food, and it may be that the failure to realize the exaggerated claims that were made for it when, first introduced has resulted in a reaction which naturally leads to a low estimate of its value. It must, however, be admitted that a large proportion of the farmers who have used it are fully satisfied that it is a desirable and valuable form of cattle-food, and many would not limit its use to the winter months. ”

“ This can only be done by killing the bacteria of fermentation in the earliest stages of their activity, which would result in the production of ensilage free from acidity, and closely resembling, in quality, the green fodder from which it is made. If the bacteria can be killed, when the silo is covered and weighted, the inclosed mass of ensilage will be practically preserved under the same conditions as fruits, or vegetables, or meats, are preserved when canned. ”

“ Barley, for a period of twenty-four years, on plots without manure, yielded annually an average of 18·3 pounds of nitrogen per acre, with a decline from an average of twenty-two pounds over the first twelve years to an average of 14·6 pounds over the next twelve years. Mineral manures, containing no nitrogen, applied to barley and wheat did not materially increase the yield of nitrogen in the crop. ”

“ When the roots of growing plants are distributed through the soil, they take up the nitrogen as it becomes soluble in the process of nitrification, and the loss by drainage is to that extent diminished. ”

“ As the animal matures, the mineral, the nitrogenous, and the fatty matters all increase in actual amount; but the percentage of both mineral matter and nitrogenous substance decreases, while that of the fat increases so as to much more than compensate for the decrease in that of the other solid matters. The result is that there is an increase in the percentage of total dry substance." The young animals, as the lamb and calf, had a larger proportion of water in the carcass than other animals in the same condition ”

“ In the light of these experiments the generally accepted theories of soil-exhaustion must be reconstructed, and the action and relative value of manures must be investigated from a new stand-point.
The exhaustion of a soil can no longer be estimated by the constituents removed in the crop, Wheat and oats, with other cereals, are generally considered as exhausting crops, and a summer fallow is looked upon as a means of increasing or restoring the fertility of the soil ”

“ From the results of the Rothamsted feeding experiments, we can not avoid the conclusion that the cereal grains and the highly nitrogenous linseed and cottonseed cakes have essentially the same value as fattening foods, and that there is but little, if any, difference in the feeding value of timothy and clover hay. When the production of manure is concerned, however, the clover has a much higher value than timothy, and the linseed and cotton-seed cakes are worth very much more than the cereal grains. ”