EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



281 



On the same day the adjoining plot of Salzer's fodder corn, which had 

 been planted in hills IS inches apart, in rows three feet apart, May 7th, 

 and cultivated on the same dates and in the same manner as the sorghum, 

 was also harvested and put in the silo. 



The analyses of the sorghum and of the Salzer's improved fodder corn 

 are given as numbers 21 and 27 in the table on page 88. The yields per 

 acre of the two plots are given in the following table: 



Green fodder .. 



Dry matter 



Protein 



N. free extract 



Crude fiber 



Fat 



Sorghum. 



lbs. 



38,676. 

 7,700.39 



425.43 

 4,254.36 

 2,169.72 



448.64 



Silage 

 i oru. 



lb?. 



29,684. 



8,655.85 



736.16 



5,734.95 



1,733.54 



311.68 



As far as the yield per acre is concerned, the sorghum excelled the 

 silage corn in total green fodder, but when the water was driven out, the 

 yield of dry matter per acre was much greater in sjlage corn. The yield 

 of protein by the silage corn was 310.73 pounds per acre more than was 

 produced by the sorghum, a difference of 73 per cent. 



It is only in the crude fiber and in the fat, which includes a large 

 amount of the green matter of the leaves, that the sorghum excels the 

 silage corn. 



The silage was fed toward the spring of 1897, and the significance of 

 the chemical analysis was shown by the cattle. While the silage from 

 the corn was eaten up clean, that from the sorghum was picked over and 

 the woody stems rejected. The total weight of sorghum silage did not 

 shrink in the silo in gross weight in any greater proportion than did the 

 corn silage, and, as is shown by a comparison of analyses 27 and 34, on 

 page 88, the chemical composition of either sorghum or fodder corn 

 was but little changed by keeping in the silo. 



The silage was fed to the general herd in January, 1897. The five 

 cows, Houwtje D, Aida II, College Pogis II, College Rosa Bonheur, and 

 Belle Sarcastic, yielded for the week ending January 13th, 39.18 pounds 

 of butter fat; for the week ending January 20th, when they were fed on 

 the sorghum silage, 39.06 pounds of fat; for the week ending January 

 27th. when they were fed on fodder corn silage, 40.15 pounds of fat, and 

 for the next three weeks, when fed on corn silage, the grain ration being 

 constant throughout, 39.24 lbs., 37.88 lbs. and 37.74 lbs. As far as was 

 observed the cows ate the sorghum silage with as much avidity as the 

 corn silage, except that they rejected the woody stems. 



Sorghum fodder grown in another field was shredded and fed. No 

 careful experiments were conducted on the point, but it was noticed 

 that the cows rejected a larger proportion of the stems of the sorghum, 

 notwithstanding its content of sugar, than they did of the shredded corn 

 fodder fed at about the same time. 



Sorghum shows at no point, superiority to corn as a forage crop. On 

 the other hand, its low yield of protein and its harsh, woody stems go far 

 36 



