COUNTRY LIFE
WE have always been taught to make hay when the sun shines, both by farmers and superficial philosophers ; but it now seems that both are quite wrong. The agricultural research workers have discovered that sunshine destroys the vitamin that is particularly needed by stock, though it may manufacture or indeed directly supply other vitamins. So it follows that silage, which was once held to be a second best, has definite superiorities over the best sun-dried hay. Bottom's verdict that " good hay, sweet hay, has no fellow " no longer holds good. Artificially dried grass, on the other hand, keeps its greenery and its most essential vitamin. It follows that- the silo is not a mere concession to our wet climate, but a conserver of qualities that the sun may waste. It is almost as wrong (though not yet a crime in law) to waste grass, even lawn mowings, as to waste paper. Silos are in fact being very rapidly multiplied—on golf courses as on farms— and it is found that the cheap paper and wire silo has points of superiority over concrete. It may be less porous to wet ; and one of the standard troubles is that the outer circle of the silage may become mouldy, and the difficulty of its separation is great.
Previous page
