Abstract
A growth-chamber is described in which attempts
have been made to grow microbe-free timothy grass
from which silage can be made without chance of
contamination. It was expected that useful
information about the chemical changes due to plant
cells in the ensilage process would result from
analyses of the products.
The attempts were only partially successful;
sterile silage was produced in one case only but
some tentative conclusions could be drawn from the
results of other experiments in which only a very
restricted microflora was present
As a result of plant cell metabolism the protein
breakdown, production of volatile base and possibly
of alcohol occurred to an extent comparable to that
observed in normal silage. No significant increase
in lactic or volatile acids took place but a definite
increase in succinic acid was noted although no
quantitative data were obtained. Hydrogen, which
is normally evolved by grass silage in tubes, does not
arise as a result of plant cell activity.
New methods are presented for the quantitative
estimation of volatile base and alcohol in silage
and qualitative methods of analysis are described
for amino-acids, volatile acids and other
carboxylic acids.
It is considered that the growth-chamber can
be further improved in design and with the technique
described should prove of use in other similar
studies to those reported and also in other plant
physiological investigations.
