1882.] ENSILAGE. 117 



In other words, we should need to take 27 per cent, more 

 of green corn than of ensilage to get a given quantity of solid 

 food. 



And there is another point, and perhaps a more important 

 one than that. A ration which satisfies an animal must sat- 

 isfy it by giving it a sufficient quantity of all requisite nutritive 

 material. The animal must have what chemists call albumi- 

 noids ; that is, substances like raw beef and white of egg in 

 chemical character. It must have, next, carbhydrates, such 

 as sugar, starch, and digestible fibre. Now, green corn con- 

 tains but a small quantity, about one per cent., of albuminoids. 

 The animal must eat, and eat, and eat, in order to get enough of 

 that, and it is overloading itself with sugar and water and fiber, 

 because of the exceedingly small quantity of that ingredient. 

 When corn has undergone this fermentation, the albuminoids 

 are not diminished at all, probably ; but the sugar is dimin- 

 ished in quantity, and it therefore takes less consumption of 

 material thus concentrated to satisfy the wants of the animal 

 than it did of the original corn. It is also not improbable 

 that Mr. Kurd's animals have had, in his experiments, a bet- 

 ter proportion between their grain and their ensilage than 

 they had between their grain and their fodder corn. 



In the New Jersey Station Experiments, the chemist en- 

 deavored to adjust the different ingredients so as to get a 

 proper proportion of nutritive elements, and when he com- 

 bined foods with concentrated ensilage as the analysis showed 

 ho ought, to fit the German standard, he got a satisfactory 

 result in feeding. The New Jersey experiments go to show 

 that ensilage is as good as, but not any better, than other 

 kinds of fodder. 



I think the discussion of this matter will be of great ser- 

 vice, and I shall be very happy to learn that ensilaging does 

 increase the digestibility of fodder. Please understand that 

 I do not now deny such an effect ; I simply say that I see no 

 satisfactory evidence of it ; and the scientific evidence on that 

 subject, so far as I am acquainted with it, leads me to disbelieve 

 it. If it shall be found to be true, I shall be very happy. I 

 have no prejudice against ensilage, nor against its digestibility; 



