858 . ANNUAL. RKPORT OP THE Off. D«c. 



be universally provided on the farms throughout Pennsylvania. 

 In my judgment the safest and most successful feeder of the future 

 will be he who will make the best use of America's most abundant 

 and cheapest food — plant corn. , 



The English farmer imports American corn and sorely laments 

 the fact that he is unable to produce that which is produced abund- 

 antly with so much ease in America. During the past three years 

 repeated efforts have been made to secure seed corn from Northern 

 Minnesota, that will sufficiently mature in Great Britain to' pro- 

 duce good silage, hoiking to procure for the English farmer that 

 which is so valuable in this country. 



The Holland farmer has successfully made silage of grass in 

 earthen pits for many generations. From an almost exclusively 

 grass-diet he has produced a most productive and sturdy breed of 

 dairy cattle. His endeavor has been to approach that condition 

 v/hich we have selected as our ideal or '"nature's best." He cuts 

 his grass for liay while it is immature, yet nutritious, and provides 

 warm stables for his cattle in winter, placing them in comfortable 

 stalls in the same building that provides shelter for himself and 

 family. Probably there is no advanced dairy country where the 

 farmers for centuries have maintained their dairv cattle on whole 

 plant natural food to a greater extent than those of Holland; and 

 nowhere do we find a more vigorous, productive and strong con- 

 stitution breed of cattle. 



Of all forage crops produced abundantly on the farms through- 

 out Pennsylvania f])at are ronsumed in a succulent condition there 

 is none that so nearly approaches the ideal food that nature so 

 abundantly provides in the forepart of the growing season than 

 good corn silage. In view of tlie facts pertaining to this food, 

 which we have been able to gather, that is, those which m.ay be 

 considered essentials as to economical dairy feeding, as, cheapness, 

 whoU>someness, value as a food product alone, the effect on the 

 ration when combintHl with other foods, as Vvell as the unknown 

 i'tt'ects of the vast amount of by-products that are now consumed, 

 it seems to n\o that the dairymen of Pennsylvania to-day cannot 

 afford to omit from the winter ration, which is provided for dairy 

 cows, a lib(M'al amount of good corn silage. 



MK. DETKICIl: i am so well pleased with the paper that I have 

 lu) questions to ask. 



DK. CONARD: I would like to ask Professor Watson whether 

 he considers it practicable to make silage of rye and crimson clover 

 mixed, cntj^ing both at the same time, and if so, what would be the 

 feeding value of it? 



