210 



CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT. 



10000 



The chief characteristic of this silage is the large amount of 

 albumen it contains. In this respect it is not excelled by any 

 samples of silage that have come under my notice. The silage 

 that most nearly resembles it is that made from mixed ryegrass 

 and clover. It cannot fail to excite surprise that such a substance 

 as bracken, which has hitherto been regarded as a useless and 

 troublesome weed, difficult to eradicate and injurious to pasture, 

 should be found to have the composition of the choicest culti- 

 vated fodder. 



Although the analysis of bracken resembles that of clover 

 hay, it may reasonably be doubted whether it is as nutritive a 

 fodder. The relative digestibility of the two fodders can be 

 satisfactorily tested only by means of feeding experiments, 

 which I hope ^vill be carried out next wonter. I am informed 

 that the stock to which this silage was ofi'ered ate it readily and 

 throve on it. 



The experience of Mr Robert. Stewart, Culgniff, who made a 

 stack of bracken silage last autumn, is confirmatory of the value 

 of the fodder. His stock ate it with much relish, and consumed 

 the whole of it. Unfortunately, it was all eaten some time 

 before I applied for a sample, so that I cannot give an analysis 

 of it. It would probably not differ much from the comj^osition 

 of the Pitfour silage, for another sample sent by Mr Calder, 

 Halterbum, resembled it very closely. The following is the 

 analysis of that sample : — 



Moisture, 

 Solids, 



F.— 



Solids dried at 212' 



Albumen, .... 



Non-albuminoid nitrogen x 6-25, 



Carbohydrates, &c., 



Oil (ether extract), . 



Woody fibre, .... 



Ash, 



72-75 

 27-25 



100-00 



12-85 

 0-89 



5311 

 3-00 



23-10 

 7-05 



lOO'OO 



In external appearance this sample closely resembled the 

 Pitfour sample. It was of a dark brown colour approaching to 



