234 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



"Make hay while the sun shines," but make silage in any weather. 

 There was no spoiled silage when I got to that which was run through 

 the shredder when it was soaked with rain. 



I see no reason why second cutting of clover cannot be mixed with 

 corn silage. I surely put my clover in late enough. Next year I will use 

 corn as my clover will be run out, but when I get more clover I will not 

 hesitate to put it in the silo if I need it. It is not every summer we have 

 such perfect clover haying weather as last and the silo may come handy. 

 Sometimes when I overfeed and feed too late the milk is tainted with a 

 sweetish taste and odor. It is due partly to the lack of ventilation in the 

 old barn The cows breathe silage odor all day and night. But much of 

 the odor is taken out by the separator. By being careful there is none 

 whatever. If I were a cattle feeder instead of a dairyman I would not 

 hesitate to use the silo. I had three cows that were of no use to me. The 

 first I sold to a butcher without having had any grain. The second and 

 third had corn for two weeks to put a finish on them and it was amazing 

 how they did fill out. It was no trouble to sell those to the butcher 

 though they were out of a dairy herd. Silage, corn, and quick finish. 



SILAGE OR CORN FODDER. 



Farmer and Breeder. 

 We are frequently asked, "Why put up a silo when good corn fodder- 

 contains as much nutriment as silage?" says A. W. Trow in St. Paul 

 Farmer. While corn fodder is a cheap and valuable food, it would, be as 

 reasonable to ask, why not feed the cows the peat that is dug from the 

 words have no* always fallen on barren soil, though the interest taken in 

 cent of nutriment and there are scores of unwholesome things that are 

 rich in food elements which are worthless for feeding purposes for the 

 reason that they are unpalatable and indigestible. While nutrient is an 

 indispensable qualification of a food it is valueless when it is in a form 

 that is unpalatable and it is not only worthless but a detriment if the ani- 

 mal's digestive machinery is unable to assimilate the nutriment. Food 

 must first be good enough to eat, and then digested before the nutriment 

 can be turned into milk or meat. Herein lies the great advantage of 

 silage over the dry fodder. Silage is so palatable that stock eat every 

 portion of the corn plant, while fodder in dry form is not unusually over 

 half eaten, especially if the stalks are coarse. The silage being so im- 

 pregnated with water and the cooking process which it goes through in 

 the silo renders it very digestible. While stock thrives on green grass 

 alone, this same grass in dry and woody form is not so palatable or digest- 

 ible, and consequently much grain must be added to keep the stock in 

 as good condition as they will keep on grass alone. The drying process 

 deprives the grass as well as the fodder of its succulence. It takes from 

 the; plant much of its laxative and corrective qualities which are so essen- 

 tial in producing milk and healthy animal development. Silage is to dry 



