290 



Journal of Agricultural Research 



Vol. X, No. 6 



Table III. — Chemical change's in alfalfa silage — Continued 



Moisture content. — The moisture content was highest in the silage 

 made from alfalfa and molasses 20 to i. In the others the moisture 

 content was practically the same or a little lower than in silage made 

 from well-matured com or kafir. The moisture content depends on the 

 amount of wilting before the alfalfa is put in the silo, and the moisture 

 content of the supplement. 



Content of total and amino nitrogen. — The nitrogen in amino form 

 or titrable nitrogen was determined by the formal titration method, as 

 described in the preceding pages. In all cases there was a sharp increase 

 in the amount of titrable nitrogen in the material after it had been in the 

 silo one day, as compared with the amount present before it was put into 

 the silo. After the first day the increase in titrable nitrogen was gradual, 

 up to the tenth or fourteenth day, when the maximum was reached. 

 The amount fluctuated after this time, but this was probably due to 

 variation in the samples. The silage made from sweet-sorghum butts 

 had the largest amount of titrable nitrogen. The percentage amount of 

 titrable nitrogen in the silage from these seven silos was approximately 

 the same as in the silage made from fresh alfalfa put up in the bottles, 

 but it was much less on the average than that made from wilted alfalfa 

 put up in bottles. There was about the same ratio between total and 

 titrable nitrogen that was found in the silage in the bottles — that is, 

 nearly one-third of the total nitrogen was in the amino form. 



Total acidity. — The total acidity was determined in the alcoholic 

 extract as described in the preceding pages and the results calculated as 

 lactic acid. The maximum amount of acidity was reached in approxi- 

 mately the following number of days: Alfalfa alone, 14 days; alfalfa 

 and molasses 20 to i, 8 days; alfalfa and molasses 10 to i, 12 days; 

 alfalfa and com chop, no days; alfalfa and sweet-sorghum butts, 100 

 to 150 days; alfalfa and rye, 11 days; rye alone, 27 days. It should be 

 noted that in those cases where the maximum was reached in the longer 

 time a comparatively large amount of acidity was developed in about 

 two weeks. Also, when the maximum acidity developed in the longer 



