590 Journal of A gricultural Research voi. xn, No. 9 



it is not believed that the stover silage is as palatable as is that made 

 from fresh com, it did prove to be a very acceptable feed which was 

 preferred by cattle to any of the dry roughages furnished. Some ex- 

 periments in which the actual feeding value of stover silage is deter- 

 mined in comparison with ordinary silage and other roughages are 

 desired, and it is hoped that such tests may be carried out at this Station 

 in the near future. 



The keeping quality of stover silage appears to be excellent, pro- 

 vided sufficient water is added. Although, as is the case with other 

 types of silage, the surface material undergoes a moldy spoilage 

 accompanied with heat formation, this condition does not extend to 

 more than the ordinary depth. The silage made in this experiment 

 was not all used during the following winter, and the remaining material, 

 at the time of this writing nearly 1^2 years old, is still in excellent con- 

 dition. In view of the very satisfactory results obtained wdth such 

 an inferior raw product, we do not hesitate to predict success in the 

 ensiling of any stover which is in reasonably good condition. 



Probably the most important consideration for the successful pro- 

 duction of stover silage is the amount of Vv^ater to add. This obviously 

 will vary according to the quantity of water contained in the stover, and 

 this factor should be taken into consideration. While it would be 

 more scientific and exact to determine the most desirable amount of 

 water to add by means of moisture tests on the stover, such a recom- 

 mendation would find no place in farm practice. In our experimental 

 silo the proportion was about 2 parts of water to i of stover, but the 

 stover was probably somewhat drier than would usually be the case. 

 As may be seen from the moisture determinations, which are reported in 

 another section (Table I), the quantity of water added was none too 

 much; in general appearance and to the touch some of the samples 

 seemed to be considerably below the most desirable point. 



A laboratory test was carried out upon this point by making stover 

 silage in small jars with varying quantities of water and examining 

 after about one month for general appearance and condition of moisture. 

 The stover used in these tests was very dry. Samples which were 

 made with equal parts by weight of water and stover, as well as those 

 made with i }4 parts of water to i of stover were too dry to undergo a 

 typical fermentation and form good silage. Those which had water in 

 the proportion of 2 parts to i of stover made good silage, but did not 

 appear to have as much moisture as would be best. Samples put up 

 with 2)4 and with 2^ parts by weight of water to i part of stover were in 

 good condition when opened and apparently did not contain an excess 

 of water. 



It seems that in general, when reasonably fresh stover is used, about 

 2 parts of water by weight to i of stover would be advisable, while for 

 older and drier stover a slightly larger proportion of water may be more 



