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Ensilage is the process of preserving green food for cattle in an undried condition in a storage silo, a pit for holding grain from which air has been, as far as possible, excluded. The fodder which is the result of the process is called silage. In various parts of Germany a method of preserving green fodder precisely similar to that used in the case of Sauerkraut has prevailed for upwards of a century. Special attention was first directed to the practice of ensilage by a French agriculturist, Auguste Goffart of the district of Sologne, near Orleans, who in 1877 published a book detailing the experiences of many years in preserving green crops in silos. Goffart's experience attracted considerable attention. The conditions of dairy farming in the United States proved eminently suitable for the ensiling of green maize fodder; and the success of the method was soon indisputably demonstrated among the New England farmers. The favorable results obtained in America led to much discussion and to the introduction of the system in the United Kingdom, where, with different conditions, success has been more qualified.