8 UTILIZATION OF PEA-CANNEEY REFUSE FOE FORAGE. 



stock, with the exception of sheep, as corn sihige. He winters about 

 50 head of cattle and when spring comes they are always in good 

 condition. The onty objection he has to the silage is the bad odor 

 and the fact that it is very heavy to handle. 



The principal objection raised to pea-vine silage is that it some- 

 times taints the milk. This may be prevented by postponing feeding 

 until after milking. 



Another dairyman states that he secured the best results by alter- 

 nating pea-vine silage with corn silage, feeding one for two or three 

 weeks, then changing to the other. The pea-vine silage invariably 

 increased the flow of milk, but also tended to decrease its keeping 

 qualities. 



PEA-VINE SILAGE FOR BEEF CATTLE. 



Pea-vine silage has little value as a fat i)ioducer, Init regardless of 

 this fact it is very highly regarded as a supplementary feed for beef 

 cattle. Quite a number of feeders are using the silage, and almost 

 invariably they claim that their cattle keep in much better condition 

 than where no silage is fed. One New York canner writes that he 

 annually feeds from 250 to 275 steers on the refuse vines from his 

 factory. He begins feeding silage with a little corn meal in the winter. 

 The amount of meal is gradually increased until the animals are on 

 a fidl ration. They are usually fhiished off and ready for beef early 

 in June. 



The following is extracted from a letter from a canning comi)any 

 at Rome, N. Y. : 



We have used the silo for many years in which to preserve this by-product. We 

 grow from 700 to 1,000 acres of peas in connection with our plant, and the waste from 

 this, as well as from what the farmers grow for us, we find very valuable for both horses 

 and cattle. We use no hay whatever in feeding our stock, including the work horses, 

 and they seem to enjoy the feed and thrive on it. In the fall we usually purchase 

 several hundred head of cattle, which we winter, feeding them on silage exclusively. 

 In this way we secure fertilizer to assist in keeping up our farm. The farmers in the 

 vicinity would be glad to buy all the silage we have, but we prefer to keep the manure 

 for our farms. We have handled this waste in silos and by other methods for many 

 years, and after varied experiences have finally concluded that this is the best method. 



PEA-VINE SILAGE FOR SHEEP. 



In many sections of New York and Wisconsin pea-vine silage has 

 come to be very highly regarded as a feed for sheep. In Wisconsin 

 a large number of lambs and wethers that are being fattened for the 

 market are fed on this silage in ])ieference to any other roughage. 

 The common practice is to take the sheep off of the pastures about 

 the 1st of November and put them on a ration of silage and com 

 meal. At first they are given about 10 pounds of silage and from 

 one-half to 1 pound of meal each day. The quantity of silage is 



[Cir. 4.'3] 



