112 



EXPERIMENTS WITH ENSILAGE, 

 TABLE SHOWING THE YIELD OF MILK. 



All opportunity is here offered to call attention to the fact that up to a cer- 

 tain point the yield of milk may be influenced by the quantity of digestible 

 food ; but beyond this point ATliich is determined by 1)reed, time of calving, 

 and individual peculiarity, an increased amount of food fails to increase the 

 yield of milk. Ensilage can produce no more milk than any other fodder 

 which contains an equal amount of food, a point well illustrated by the above 

 table. 



While the yield of milk and its percentage of butter cannot be increased at 

 will, it is well-known that its quality may be very materially influenced by the 

 feeding. It is claimed for ensilage that it makes "winter butter equal to June 

 butter," a claim willingly adniitted, butter made from the fodder being to our 

 knowledge of unusually line color and flavor. 



The composition of ensilage is by no means constant, as the following table 

 of analyses shows ; soil, variety of corn, method of planting and cultivating, 

 and above all, the time of harvesting exert a decided influence on its quality. 



The samples furnished by Mr. Piatt and Messrs. Whitman & Burrill had the 

 characteristic vinous smell which indicated that they had been exposed to the 

 air before reaching the laboratory — and probably an analysis of a perfect sam- 

 ple would have indicated a larger amount of nutritive matter. From personal 

 observation at the silo, we know that Mr. Piatt's ensilage was as well preserved 

 as any we have seen. 



In this table the samples have been arranged with reference to their percent- 

 age of water and carbhydrates : 



Carbhy- 

 drates. 

 Pr. Ct. 



Mr. Mills, Pompton, N. J 



Mr. Morris, Oakland Manor, Md 



Buckley Bros., Port Jervis, N. Y 



Ooe Bros., West Meridian, Conn 



Mich. State Agricultural Col., Lansing 



College Farm, New Brunswick, N. J 



Mr. Piatt, Sufrield, Conn 



Whitman & Burrill, Little Falls, N. Y. 



James Lippincott, Mt. Holly, N. J 



Dr. J. M. Bailey, Billerica, Mass 



13.04 

 12.03 

 10.73 

 9.62 

 8.68 

 8.28 

 8.08 

 7.65 

 7.91 

 7.03 



The amount of ensilage to be used depends entirely upon its quality and upon 

 the plans of the farmer. 



Mr. Mills, for instance, could make up a full ration for a cow of 1,000 

 pounds live weight, by feeding daily eighty pounds of his ensilage and five and 



