278 Journal of Agricultural Research voi. x. No. 6 



MOISTURE AND ACIDITY 



The figures obtained in the moisture determinations showed that the 

 amount of moisture present may be a favorable condition for the develop- 

 ment of the proper amount of acidity, but it is not by itself a determining 

 factor. The general average showed that the bud stage had the highest 

 amount of moisture, that the tenth-bloom and the full-bloom stages 

 were practically equal, and that the seed stage had the lowest amount. 

 These moisture percentages are consistent with the changes in the alfalfa 

 as it matures. 



The general average percentage for acidity showed that a high moisture 

 content or a low-moisture content did not necessarily correspond to a 

 proportional development of acidity. The acidity figures also showed 

 that alfalfa alone gave the lowest percentage, and that alfalfa and corn 

 gave the highest percentage. 



CONCLUSIONS FROM THE WORK OP 1914 



The experiments showed that alfalfa was suitable for making silage when 

 mature enough for making hay ; that it was possible to make silage from 

 alfalfa alone when coarsely cut and tightly packed, but in such condi- 

 tions success was obtained only once in four cases; that if substances 

 containing fermentable carbohydrates were added, the chances of suc- 

 cess were loo per cent. 



EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE INFLUENCE OP WILTING, TIGHTNESS OF 

 PACKING, ADDITION OF WATER, AND ADDITION OF VARIOUS SUPPLE- 

 MENTS 



In the spring of 1915, 132 bottles ^ were filled under as many conditions. 

 There were four degrees of tightness of packing, making four bottles in 

 each set. The first bottle was packed as full as possible, and the weight 

 of alfalfa in each was determined. Into the second bottle was put 75 

 per cent, into the third 50 per cent, and into the fourth 25 per cent as 

 much as into the first bottle. These four bottles will be referred to as 

 first, second, third, and fourth. The supplementary material was mixed 

 with the alfalfa before packing, and as nearly as practicable the relative 

 amount of material was kept uniform. While the material in the first 

 bottle was very tightly packed, more so than is possible in the silo, the 

 second corresponded to tight packing in the silo, and the third to rather 

 loose packing. The alfalfa in the fourth bottle was much more loosely 

 packed than would occur in the ordinary silo. 



Alfalfa was used in three conditions; green, wilted, and wilted plus 

 water. All alfalfa was cut in about one-tenth bloom. The wilting was 

 so timed that about one-fourth of the moisture had evaporated. Only an 



' The complete report will show that 48 additional bottles with air valves were put up, but results from 

 these are omitted entirely from this paper. 



