New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 643 



which losses were estimated were not all of them suited to pro- 

 duce the best possible results. It is probable that experience will 

 enable us to considerably reduce the amount of loss in the silo, 

 but it is not so likely that the necessaa'y loss in keeping the dried 

 fodder can be materially diminished. The cost of good barn 

 shelter for hay or dried fodder containing an amount of nutriment 

 equal to the silage is as great as that of the silo. The same 

 amount of dry matter in food can be stored in the form of silage 

 that would occupy about three times the space in the form of 

 dried fodder. 



When fed in quite large quantities corn silage is usually eaten 

 without waste, but when feeding the dried fodder there is as a 

 rule considerable refused by the cattle, especially if the fodder is 

 not finely cut or shredded. For feeding in summer to cows that 

 have some pasturage, the dry fodder will not do, for not enough 

 will be eaten to sustain the milk flow; while silage is readily eaten 

 and in time of dry pastures during the latter part of summer will 

 help greatly to keep up the flow of milk. 



The loiss of protein in corn kept in the form of silage is propor- 

 tionally somewhat greater than that in the dry fodder. Even 

 without this loss, and also when feeding the fresh plant, corn 

 requires an accompaniment in the ration for milch cows of some 

 more nitrogenous food. Usually such highly nitrogenous grain 

 foods as linseed meal, cottonseed meal and the gluten meals are 

 fed to good purpose with corn silage. The possibility of feeding 

 liberal quantities of these products when their market prices are 

 lower than their fertilizing values may be considerable advan- 

 tage on farms where commercial fertilizers are regularly pur- 

 chased. Wherever it is desirable for any reason to feed but 

 little grain it is well to have clover hay for winter feeding and 

 clover or some mixed jvea silage with that of corn for summer 

 feeding. When several silos are used, or a large partitioned silo, 

 the different kinds of silage stored separately can be fed together. 



Clover makes silage of excellent quality and has been used for 

 this purpose in many silos through the country. Several mixed 

 crops have been tried at various times but not extensively. A 



