2G Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



Mr. Litchard. — I know of no crop as good as corn. We want 

 ensilage for its starch and sugar. More of those elements can be 

 produced from an acre of corn than in any other crop. Let the 

 ensilage be balanced with the protein foods, such as wheat bran, 

 clover, gluten, etc. 



Mr. Cook. — We have no right to compare corn with pea vines 

 or clover as ensilage crops; one is carbonaceous, the others nitro- 



nous. 



1 h\ Smead. — Some farmers want sorghum for the silo, but why 

 shall we grow it ? We are after carbohydrates in ensilage ; that be- 

 ing our object, why grefw sorghum, when we can get them in corn at 

 less cost:' Clover, pea vines and other crops have been put in the 

 silo : but I find it best to use the corn for ensilage, and then balance 

 it with the clover and other protein foods. 



Question. — What variety of corn does Mr. Van Alstyne prefer 

 for the silo? 



Answer. — We have gone to extremes in growing ensilage. At 

 first we planted too much seed. The next time we did not plant 

 enough seed. My preference is a happy medium in ensilage. I 

 grow the variety that produces most and matures earliest in my 

 neighborhood. So far, I prefer "Learning," having tried all the 

 others. I plant 12 quarts of seed per acre, and, as a rule, har- 



-t about 15 tons of ensilage. We aim to cut our ensilage when 

 the ears begin to dent, and to put it into the silo as rapidly as pos- 

 sible. 



Question. — Is " Pride of the North " corn a balanced ration 

 for dairy cows, after being cured in the shock? 



Mr. Smith. — ■ I suppose that has reference to cutting the stalks 

 as we talked about this morning and which Mr. Lillie answered. 

 Prof. Voorhees of New Jersey, experimented on the lines of dry 

 corn fodder and ensilage for three years. Everything was anal- 

 yzed. The result was a loss of but five per cent, in ensilage, while 

 that in corn, cured as soon as possible after cutting, was 21 per 

 ent : in that left three or four weeks, there was an additional loss 

 of nearly 15 per cent. Then, too, there was a gain of 

 15 per cent, in milk for the ensilage corn over that from 

 the stalks. A cow weighing 1,000 pounds requires a pound 

 protein per day to keep her in normal condition. If she is 



iving 20 pounds of milk per day she will require about two 



nd one-quarter pounds of it. This she could not obtain from corn, 

 unless she was forced to eat more than she could store and digest. 



