Salicylic acid1ounce.Sulphur2pounds.Pulverized orange peel1/4ounce.Ground cinnamon3ounces.
Salicylic acid1
Sulphur2
Pulverized orange peel1/4
Ground cinnamon3
“This compound well mixed will burn slowly and generate fumes or vapor which have a peculiar action in the preservation of fruits, butter, milk, pies, bread, eggs, and all kinds of cooked or uncooked food. In treating meats add nitrate of potash, 4 ounces.
“Treatment: Provide a box or other chamber with shelves upon which the articles to be treated may be placed. Within the chamber, properly closed, I burn a suitable quantity of the compound, allowing the fumes to bathe the articles to be treated. The compound is of a quality that will burn slowly by reason of its peculiar composition, and it may be burned with fuel other than it contains.”
Salicylic acid, aside from its remedial value, is used largely as a preservative, either in a dry state or in the form of a solution in water or alcohol. Salicylic acid is a white, dry, crystalline powder, devoid of smell or taste, undergoes no change when kept in store, and is neither inflammable nor volatile. It can be procured in almost any drug store, and since 1874 a new process in its manufacture has cheapened it in price and placed it within the reach of all.
Medical authorities agree in considering the daily consumption of 1 gramme as being not only perfectly inoffensive, but decidedly beneficial to health. An individual living on a salicylated diet would not absorb so much of the salicylic acid per diem as that which is prescribed to be taken for the prevention of epidemics and other ailments, such as gout, rheumatism, catarrhal affections, etc.
The proportions in which salicylic acid dissolves are:One part by weight in 300 to 500 parts of cold water.One part by weight in 18 to 20 parts of hot water.One part by weight in 50 parts of glycerine.One part by weight in 3 parts of absolute alcohol.
In rum, brandy, wine, cider, etc., it dissolves according to their respective strengths and temperatures.
Note.—By contact with iron in any form salicylic acid takes a violet color.
This must be noted, especially when treating milk, etc., if contained in metallic vessels. The only bad effects will be simply slight discoloration.
It is a well-known fact that, especially in hot weather, meat, poultry, and game, although apparently quite fresh, prove, on closer examination, or often only when cooked, to be tainted and of bad odor. This can be entirely removed by either watering and washing the meat in a lukewarm solution of salicylic acid (three to four teaspoonfuls of acid to two quarts of water), or by adding a small pinch of the dry acid in powder, during the cooking.
To keep meat for several days from becoming high or tainted:
Place it for twenty or thirty minutes in an aqueous solution of 8 drachms of salicylic acid to one gallon of water.
Rub into the surface of the meat some dry salicylic acid, particularly about the bony and fatty parts; the meat to be afterward cleaned before cooking as usual.
Although the raw meat treated with the acid turns slightly pale on the surface it suffers no change whatever internally. Meat thus treated with salicylic acid requires, also, less cooking to render it tender.
A third of a teaspoonful (or, if the temperature be high, a little more) of the solid acid to a quart of milk delays the process of curdling for thirty-six hours, without influencing its property of yielding cream.
Washed with an aqueous solution (four drachms of acid to a gallon of water), or kept in it, or wrapped in cloths soaked in this water, keeps fresh for a very long time. Butter already rancid can be improved by treatment with a stronger solution (8 drachms of acid to 1 gallon of water), followed by washing in pure water. The bad smell often arising in salted butter is entirely prevented by addition of the acid.
Of every description, made in the usual way, but with the addition of about 1 drachm of salicylic acid to every 4 pounds of the preserve, will keep sound with absolute certainty for a much longer time, fermentation and mouldiness being prevented. Under exceptionally unfavorable circumstances, such as hot pantries, a little of the dry acid should be sprinkled on the top of the vessel or preserve pot. A tightly-fitting piece of blotting paper, previously saturated with a concentrated solution of salicylic acid in spirit, brandy, or rum, and placed on the top of the preserves will also greatly aid in keeping them.
Can be kept for a very long time by being placed for half an hour in a cold, saturated, aqueous solution of the acid, then allowed to dry in the air, and, as usual, kept in a cool place. Some prefer to coat them by dipping them in melted paraffine after they have been treated in this manner. (Use no straw or hay in packing eggs.)
Are most effectually preserved for a long time by the addition of1/2to 1 ounce of the acid per 20 pounds of these substances. It is also well to place a paper soaked in the salicylic acid solution on the top of them, which greatly enhances the preserving effect.
In the manufacture of vinegar, salicylic acid is also of great importance to prevent false or excessive fermentation, putridity, etc.
With respect to wine the experiments of Prof. Neubauer of Wiesbaden have proved that the introduction of the acid for the preservation of wine marks an era of great industrial progress, as it energetically prevents, even when used in very small quantities, the formation of mould germs and other circumstances which are injurious to wine, while it absolutely arrests secondary fermentation, cloudiness, etc. As wine differs very much in its constitution the requisite quantity of salicylic acid must be found out by practice in each particular case. About1/4to3/4of an ounce per 50 gallons will be found sufficient for most wines. In using the salicylic acid for this purpose it is recommended to make a strong solution of it in pure spirit, perfectly free from fusel oil, and then to add of this solution as much as may be requisite.
If in addition to this the casks are washed out with an aqueous solution of the acid it will prove of great service, and all other agents at present used for this purpose will soon be abandoned. The larger the amount of sugar in proportion to the alcohol the more salicylic acid will be required. The addition is best made when the wine has attained its full ripeness. The effervescence of wine in spring, or after carriage in warm weather, will at once be stopped. The salicylic acid kills all kinds of germs, and destroys the growth and action of any yeast which may still be present; it is therefore of incalculable value in effectually preserving wine, and as a preventive of the deterioration to which this liquid is subject.
Must, fresh from the press in autumn, can be kept without fermentation perfectly fresh, bright, and sweet for six to eight months by the addition of 1 to11/2ounces per 50 gallon, or of3/4ounce per 100 bottles. Sparkling Must requires an addition of 6 to 7 ounces of salicylic acid per 100 gallons. In the same manner all kinds of fruit-wine which, as is well known, soon turn sour, can be preserved by the addition of a similar quantity of salicylic acid. Must kept still for transport can at any time be set into fermentation by a slight addition of carbonate of soda and fresh yeast.
Experiments made upon a large scale have placed beyond a doubt the remarkable properties of salicylic acid as a preventive of secondary fermentation and acidity in beer, and as a preservative of beer in a sound condition when sent out or exposed to the noxious influences of warm cellars, change of temperature, etc. The amount of salicylic acid required to produce the best effects in preserving beer varies according to the quality of the malt liquor; but half an ounce per barrel of 36 imperial gallons will be very generally found to answer the purpose well. The addition of the salicylic acid delays secondary fermentation in stock and export beers, which may then be kept for any length of time without becoming unsound or of unpleasant flavor. Less than a quarter ounce of the powder of salicylic acid per barrel of boiling wort strewn into the same while turning out will destroy or suspend the vitality of the false ferments, especially that of the lactic ferment, in the fermenting vats, and this not only without injury to the yeast cells, but keeping them free from parasitical growths. In this manner the fermentation will take a steadier course and enable the liquor to attain its perfection during the ensuing still fermentation in the cask, into which another quarter ounce or more of the acid is to be given per barrel a fortnight before racking. Stout, and in fact all beers for export to a hot climate, require rather more.
For long transports the acid in powder can be simply thrown into the export casks, in which it dissolves in the course of three days instead of a week, which is required by the cold beer lying quietly.
The clean bottles must be rinsed with a solution of 1 part of salicylic acid in 4 or 5 parts of spirit (free from fusel oil), which can be poured from 1 bottle to another. Or, a small pinch of the acid in powder is placed in every bottle before filling.
The corks should always be boiled in water containing 1 ounce to the gallon, which is also efficient in disinfecting tubes, taps, etc.
Dissolve3/4of an ounce of salicylic acid in a gallon of cider, and then add this amount to each barrel of cider. This is superior to any preparation of lime. The cider must be treated when fresh.
Are successfully preserved for a length of time from decomposition or deterioration by means of salicylic acid. One-thousandth part of the acid introduced into a vat of gelatine or into decoctions of animal matter, prevents their undergoing decomposition for an indefinite period of time. Calico printers are using half a pound of the acid to every 100 pounds of dressing starch, in order to entirely preclude the disagreeable odor arising after awhile from dry goods in store.
If the bark-color be slightly salicylated, this liquor will not undergo the change which, instead of making the hides and skins swell, often causes the opposite effect, contracting them by an alkaline action, and at the same time imparting to them a putrid odor. Treatment with carbolic acid also leaves a most objectionable odor, especially in fine leather goods. The use of salicylic acid will thus be found highly remunerative to all tanners, as it has proved in the industries already alluded to.
Three drachms of salicylic acid are used to every 300 pounds of beetroot in the diffusing liquor, in order to prevent fermentation, and for destroying the parasitical growths, especially noticeable in the old material.
Fumigation with the acid purifies the air and walls of closed rooms. Simply evaporate some on a heated shovel, which must not be red-hot.
The air in crowded buildings, schools, barracks, hospitals, factories, etc., will be improved by keeping the floors sprinkled with the solution. In sick rooms this is of great importance, the dust settling on the floor being the readiest receptacle and means of transmitting the microscopic fungi or germs of infection which float in the air.
Are very well cleaned and disinfected by washing them with an aqueous solution of the acid. This deserves especial notice.
It is evident that numerous advantageous applications of salicylic acid are carried out besides those enumerated above, but the descriptions already given will enable any person interested in the matter to find out the best means of deriving profit from the wonderful properties of this extremely useful substance.
BY JOHN TAYLOR.
Houses built on this plan are lined throughout the inside with sheet iron. There is a layer of felt nailed to the sides, ceiling, and floor of the room, and on this is nailed the sheet iron. It is then painted with two heavy coats, it being the aim to fill up all joints and seams with the paint. But as the tin and felt do not render the room absolutely air-tight, I am of opinion that it can as well be dispensed with. It might save some ice if the seams were all soldered. The layer of cement, asphaltum or gas tar, which should cover the ground below the joists, is to protect the room from the moisture and warmth of the earth. Above this layer should be about 30 inches of dry sawdust or turners shavings, well packed up to the level of the top of the joists.
The drainage from the ice is carried off by a series of V-shaped tin or iron troughs, which run between the joists, all of which carry the water to one point, where it is carried outside by a trap-pipe. These troughs reach over to the center of the top of the joists, and are soldered together, so that no water will drip on the floor below. It will be seen that in this plan there is no sawdust or other preservative in contact with the ice, and that the air of the room circulates around and over the ice. As long as the temperature of the goods stored is above the temperature of the room there will be a gentle draught around the mass of ice, and of course all the moisture in the air, vapors, and odors from the goods will condense on the ice and pass off, so that you can keep milk, cream, butter, fruits, and meats all in the same chamber without danger of injuring the flavor of either. The atmosphere of the room is always dry, sweet, and pure.
The features of this plan can as well be carried out by arranging a room inside of another building.
I should have explained before that the ice does not rest directly on the joists; but there is a bed of oak lath, about11/2by 3 inches, laid across the joists, about 4 or 5 inches apart, on which the ice is laid. I wouldfurther suggest that another cold chamber can as well be had by making a cellar under the one shown, with a lattice floor between them. It would be necessary to finish the sides and bottom of this cellar in the most complete manner, as above described. At the entrance to the store-room there must be a vestibule, either inside or outside, as space or circumstances may direct. If outside the walls should be thick and the door very heavy. The doors, both inside and outside, should be fitted with rubber, so as to close perfectly tight, and both doors must never be opened at the same time. This vestibule should be large enough to contain a fair wagon load of goods, so that if you are receiving a load of stuff you are not required to stop until all is in the vestibule and ready to store. This house only needs filling once a year. The temperature will range from 34 deg. in winter to 36 deg. in summer, and will preserve fruit perfectly from season to season. The opening for putting in the ice, shown just under the pulley in the cut, has two doors with a space between; each door a foot thick. The window in the cold room has three sets of sash, well packed or cemented. The walls are 13 inches thick, lined with 17 inches of sawdust. Thirty-six inches of sawdust are put on the floor over the ice. The building shown is 25 feet square, inside measure, and 22 feet from floor of cold room to ceiling over the ice. The ice-room is 12 feet high, and the cold room 9 feet. Pillars are required under the center of the ice.—Country Gentleman.
Settlers in the newer portions of the country are often deprived of many comforts which are easily accessible in long-settled places. Whatever contributes to lessen these privations, if at little cost, should merit special attention. A cheap ice-house may be made to afford an important share of country comforts in such settlements. There is nothing to prevent an abundant supply through the heat of summer where there is a stream or sheet of water within two or three miles from which clear blocks of ice may be sawed. Sawdust is the best material for packing,but in its absence chaff, chopped straw, or even straw unchopped may be made to answer the purpose.
Fig.1.
Fig.1.
A costly and elaborate building is no better than the cheapest structure for keeping ice, if care is only taken to have it properly packed, which is very easily done after one “knows how.” We have never seen ice better preserved through a long and hot summer than in a board shanty with only one thickness of siding, and that full of cracks and crevices. For a new settlement one built of logs, like that shown in the accompanying figure (Fig. 1), may be made to answer a good purpose. The floor may be slabs, and the roof a covering of brush to hold the packing to its place, if a slab roof is not readily made. If sawdust is used for packing, the crevices between the logs will need close stopping; or, still better, it can be faced on the inside with slabs set upright, with the smooth side inward. If straw is employed, the rough logs may remain, and the crevices between them may be left open. For sawdust a well-packed space of 10 inches between walls and ice will keep the ice well; chopped straw should be 15 or 20 inches thick, and long straw should occupy a space of 2 feet. Stiff, coarse straw will not answer unless packed very solid; finer and softer, as of thickly sown oats, is better, and the walls which it forms need not be quite so thick. Fine hay would be still better, and would answer if only a foot and a half thick and well put in. Dry swamp moss, such as nurserymen use for packing trees and plants, would be one of the very best substances for protecting the ice, if only a foot thick.
Fig.2.
Fig.2.
Having prepared the house and packing cut the blocks of ice of precisely equal size, using a cross-cut saw with one handle removed, to go under water. The size should be measured and scratched on the surface for the saw to follow. Two feet square is a convenient size. When cutlift them out with a light plank having a batten nailed across one end to hold them (Fig. 2). Place about 10 inches of sawdust on the floor (or twice as much solid straw), and build the structures solid with the ice blocks, ramming in the sawdust or other packing as the structure goes up (Fig. 3). When finished cover it with a thickness of packing nearly equal to that at the sides. It is important that there be free ventilation over the top, which the loose brush will not prevent. If there is a slab roof the air must blow freely between this roof and the top covering. The slab floor will allow a free drainage of all the water which runs down through the packing from the melting ice.
Fig.3.
Fig.3.
Fig.4.
Fig.4.
Fig.5.
Fig.5.
A structure nearly as cheap as the preceding is represented in Fig. 4. It is made by setting rough posts into the ground with the inner sides straight or faced with the ax, and then nailing common rough boards on them (like a tight fence) to a sufficient height. The floor is made as already described, and the roof may be boards or slabs. The openings at the gables perform an important part in the ventilation by admitting all the air that can sweep over the top sawdust. Fig. 3, already referred to, is the ground plan, and Fig. 5 is a vertical section.
There are three requisites to be secured in order to keep the ice successfully: 1st. The closely packed, non-conducting substance on each side, under and above the mass of ice. 2d. Perfect drainage at the bottom without the admission of air. 3d. Free circulation of air over the top covering. If these requisites are observed the result will be entirely satisfactory.—Country Gentlemen.
Procure two dry-goods boxes, one of which is enough smaller than the other to leave a space of 3 or 4 inches all around when it is placed inside. Fill the space between the two with sawdust packed closely and cover with a heavy lid made to fit neatly inside the larger box. Insert a small pipe in the bottom of the chest to carry off the water from the melting ice. For family or grocers’ use this will prove even more serviceable than some of the high-priced patent refrigerators.
Select a dry, shady spot; dig a ditch for carrying off the waste water, and over it place a lath-work. Upon this lay a thick layer of moss, leaves, or sawdust. Now pile upon this the cakes of ice, the larger the better, and cut or sawed square in such a manner as to leave as few spaces as possible, filling up those which may occur with fine sawdust in order to prevent the air from penetrating into the interior of the pile. It is best to build the pile in the form of a pyramid. When completed it is covered with straw, moss, or leaves as thick and as close as possible, a layer of earth being thrown upon it to secure the covering and as a further protection to the ice. Where a stream or lake is inaccessible from which to procure ice for filling ice-houses, especially where a small quantity is stored, the ice can be frozen with water from the well in boxes or other contrivance made especially for the purpose, which we leave to the ingenuity of those who are interested.
Refrigerating salts and mixtures are used to produce cold artificially. They are used with or without ice or snow. As is well known common salt mixed with pounded ice or snow lowers the temperature to a considerable degree, so there are other mixtures which will produce a still greater degree of cold. The following simple and cheap preparation, when mixed according to directions, will produce artificial cold sufficient to cool wines, etc., without the aid of ice: Take common sal-ammoniac, well pulverized, 1 part; saltpeter, 2 parts, and mix well together: then take common soda, well pulverized. To use, take equal quantities of these preparations (which must be kept separate and well covered previous to using) and put them in the freezing pot; add of water a sufficient quantity, and put in the article to be frozen in a proper vessel and cover up until cooled as desired.
These tables consist of mixtures having the power of generating or creating cold, with or without the aid of ice, sufficient for all useful and philosophical purposes, in any part of the world at any season:
FREEZING MIXTURES WITHOUT ICE.MIXTURESThermometerSinks.Degree of coldProduced.Muriate of ammonium5 partsFrom +50° to +10°40Nitrate of potassium5 partsWater16 partsMuriate of ammonium5 partsFrom +50° to +4°46Nitrate of potassium5 partsSulphate of sodium8 partsWater16 partsNitrate of ammonium1 partsFrom +50° to +4°46Water1 partsNitrate of ammonium1 partsFrom +50° to -7°57Carbonate of sodium1 partsWater1 partsSulphate of sodium3 partsFrom +50° to -3°53Dilute nitric acid2 partsSulphate of sodium6 partsFrom +50° to -10°60Murate of ammonium4 partsNitrate of potassium2 partsDilute nitric acid4 partsSulphate of sodium6 partsFrom +50° to -14°64Nitrate of ammonium5 partsDilute nitric acid4 partsPhosphate of sodium9 partsFrom +50° to -12°62Dilute nitric acid4 partsPhosphate of sodium9 partsFrom +50° to -21°71Nitrate of ammonium6 partsDilute nitric acid4 partsSulphate of sodium8 partsFrom +50° to 0°50Muriatic acid5 partsSulphate of sodium5 partsFrom +50° to +3°47Dilute sulphuric acid4 partsFREEZING MIXTURES WITH ICE.MIXTURESThermometerSinks.Degree of coldProduced.Snow or pounded ice2 partsFromanytemperatureto -5°..Muriate of sodium1 partsSnow or pounded ice5 partsto -12°..Muriate of sodium2 partsMuriate of ammonium1 partsSnow or pounded ice24 partsto -18°..Muriate of sodium10 partsMuriate of ammonium5 partsNitrate of potassium5 partsSnow or pounded ice12 partsto -25°..Muriate of sodium5 partsNitrate of ammonium5 partsSnow3 partsFrom +32°to -23°55Dilute sulphuric acid2 partsSnow8 partsFrom +32°to -27°59Muriatic acid5 partsSnow7 partsFrom +32°to -30°62Dilute nitric acid4 partsSnow4 partsFrom +32°to -40°72Muriate of calcium5 partsSnow2 partsFrom +32°to -50°82Crystallized muriate of calcium3 partsSnow3 partsFrom +32°to -51°83Potash4 partsCOMBINATIONS OF FREEZING MIXTURES.MIXTURESThermometerSinks.Degree of coldProduced.Phosphate of sodium5 partsFrom 0° to -34°34Nitrate of ammonium3 partsDilute nitric acid4 partsPhosphate of sodium3 partsFrom -34° to -50°16Nitrate of ammonium2 partsDilute nitric acid4 partsSnow3 partsFrom 0° to -46°46Dilute nitric acid2 parts
Muriate of ammonium
Nitrate of potassium
Water
Muriate of ammonium
Nitrate of potassium
Sulphate of sodium
Water
Nitrate of ammonium
Water
Nitrate of ammonium
Carbonate of sodium
Water
Sulphate of sodium
Dilute nitric acid
Sulphate of sodium
Murate of ammonium
Nitrate of potassium
Dilute nitric acid
Sulphate of sodium
Nitrate of ammonium
Dilute nitric acid
Phosphate of sodium
Dilute nitric acid
Phosphate of sodium
Nitrate of ammonium
Dilute nitric acid
Sulphate of sodium
Muriatic acid
Sulphate of sodium
Dilute sulphuric acid
Snow or pounded ice
Muriate of sodium
Snow or pounded ice
Muriate of sodium
Muriate of ammonium
Snow or pounded ice
Muriate of sodium
Muriate of ammonium
Nitrate of potassium
Snow or pounded ice
Muriate of sodium
Nitrate of ammonium
Snow
Dilute sulphuric acid
Snow
Muriatic acid
Snow
Dilute nitric acid
Snow
Muriate of calcium
Snow
Crystallized muriate of calcium
Snow
Potash
Phosphate of sodium
Nitrate of ammonium
Dilute nitric acid
Phosphate of sodium
Nitrate of ammonium
Dilute nitric acid
Snow
Dilute nitric acid
[American Chemical Journal.]
The following simple form of constant water bath, which wastes no water, I have found to be very convenient:
A tube of glass or metal, not less than1/4of an inch internal diameter, the ends of which are cut off obliquely, is bent as shown in the cut. It should make an angle of about 30 deg., or a little greater, with the horizontal. The angle may be diminished if the bore of the tube is increased. One end is inserted in the water bath, the other in an inverted bottle. The height of the water in the bath is regulated by the depth of immersion of the tube in it. The boiling is not interrupted by the feeding, which takes place slowly and regularly. It is necessary that the ends of the tubes should be cut off obliquely. The same form of tube answers equally well for keeping a constant level in a filter or drying chamber.
A brass tube is much better than a glass one, as it does not crack at the water level after using for a time. Brass tubes can easily be bent by ramming full of sand, stopping the ends, and bending them over a curved surface. A large number of baths can be run by this apparatus by connecting them with a bath fed by it.—Charles T. Pomeroy.
Note.—We have used for a number of years in this laboratory a form of constant water bath which was contrived by Mr. Edward Bogardus, formerly chemist to the New Jersey State Geological Survey. As I have not seen it described in print, and as it is cheap, simple, efficient, and ingenious, I will draw attention to it here.
The following cut represents the apparatus:
It consists of two tomato cans connected by a tin tube. Into one of the cans a bottle of water is inverted. We generally use a five-pound acid bottle. The other can makes the bath. This bath can be left running over night without fear. A large number of baths can be run by this contrivance by simply connecting them, by means of rubber tubes, with a reservoir replenished by an inverted bottle. Old fruit cans make excellent baths. A series of holes can be punched round the lower edge of a fruit can, thus affording a distributing reservoir. Corks holding short pieces of glass tube are inserted into the holes. By means of these the reservoir can be connected by rubber tubes with a number of baths at quite a distance. The baths are made by punching a hole near the lower edge of a fruit can and inserting a cork and short piece of glass tube. When the extra vents of the reservoir are not used, they can be closed by a short rubber coupling and a pinch cock.—Peter T. Austen, Chemical Laboratory of Rutgers College (New Jersey State Scientific School).
The practice of preserving roots, vegetables, and plants by covering them with earth or by placing them in cellars, etc., is an ancient one, but the practical application of the principle on a large scale to the preservation of fodder-corn, clover, etc., as a food for stock is comparatively a recent practice, the first silo in this country having been built within the last twelve years. Previously, however, the French and English gave the subject considerable attention, but it seems that within the last two or three years our American experimenters have made great improvements in the process and construction of the silo by which moresuccessful results have been attained than ever before and have awakened much interest among the progressive class of farmers and stock-growers throughout the country.
A number of the Agricultural Experiment Stations located in the different States, particularly those of Wisconsin, Illinois, and also the Agricultural College at Guelph, Ontario, have made extensive applications of the process. Several articles from them detailing the success of the experiments for the past season have appeared in the columns ofThe Breeder’s Gazetteof this city. Through the courtesy of the editor and Prof. W. A. Henry of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station we are enabled to present full instructions in regard to constructing and filling a silo. These, with clippings which we include from the writings of others high in authority on the subject, contain as full an account of recent experiments as we can give with our limited space.
“Agriculture never took a longer stride in advance than it did when the silo was added to the practical equipment of the farm. Most of us were slow to realize this at first, and a great many are yet unwilling to concede the advantages claimed for the silo, but the utility of the modern silo cannot be gainsaid, for without it we are left at the mercy of the elements in the handling of our great corn crop. There was much truth in the statement that the silo as first introduced was too expensive for the average farmer, but in no department of the farm has there been such a change of opinion and methods of attaining desired results as is the case with the silo. The modern wooden building is not only less expensive but vastly superior to the original cellar or stone structure and every year’s experience is throwing light in hitherto dark places, so that in a short time the progressive dairyman or beef-raiser will think no more of filling his silo than our fathers did of filling the barn with hay, and with proper facilities for handling the corn no part of the silo work will be as hard as pitching hay over the ‘big beam.’” * * *Supt. Adams, Wis. Agr. Exp. Station.
* * * Asilois a place where fodder is preserved in a succulent condition. It may be a pit, a box, a mow, a tank, a building, or a trench in the earth.Silageis the word denoting the fodder so preserved.Ensilageis the term applied to the process or system.Ensileis the verb expressive of the action of making silage.Ensilorstands for the person using thesilotoensilefodder forsilageby the process ofensilage. —Prof. James W. Robertson, Ontario Agr. Col., Guelph.
* * * I further believe that our present knowledge of the silo and the best methods of storing crops therein is not perfect, and that we will make great advancement in the future; but that we have reached a point where this method is within the possibilities of our average farmers, and it is this class most of all that needs this method. The time has come when we must produce more beef, butter, wool, and pork to the acre or sink beneath the wave of competition that is driving over our land. The silo seems to be a valuable and important means to this end.—Prof. W. A. Henry.