STATE DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 551 



several men that were superintendents of different departments in Bor- 

 den's great enterprise up there. One of these gentlemen says, "Gurler, is 

 there any reason that the Borden people should refuse to take the milk 

 from the dairies that feed silage?" And I says, "Yes, there is a reason, 

 but it is not the fault of the system, but it is the fanlt of the men." 

 Silage is a moist feed, and if it is exposed for a few days it will spoil in 

 the average weather, and if a person is not systematic in going over the 

 surface of the silo every day it will spoil before it is fed. You must not 

 have the silo too large. Don't forget that point. You must uncover this 

 surface systematically. Y'ou must keep down the decay. The average 

 farmer won't take the proper care along that line. He will allow this 

 surface to be exposed so long that it will decay and his cows will be 

 sick. Several years ago I used to have an argument every time I would 

 meet a prominent member of one of the milk stations in the city, and he 

 would commence an argument with me about silage and try to ridicule 

 me for feeding silage. I told him one time, "I will wager you two to one 

 that you can't tell the milk from a silo-fed herd unless that it is sweeter 

 milk of the two," and he has never mentioned it to me since. Some of 

 you know about the work that was done at Champaign with silage and 

 clover hay. They had a farm there that they were retailing milk from for 

 the college, and they divided ofC the cows, one part they were feeding clov- 

 er hay, which we consider the most superior as a dry feeder, and the other 

 on corn silage, and they put this milk out to their customers, they not 

 knowing which was which. Their customers were among the faculty, 

 largely, and there was a large majority of those customers that selected 

 the milk of the silo as the best milk of the two. When they get up and 

 argue against silage as a food, they don't know what they are talking 

 about; and I just come back and say, as I said when I started out, that 

 silage is as much superior to dry feed as camied fruit is to dry fruit. 

 There ai'e not very many of us that would like to have the mistress of the 

 house put us back on dried apples and peaches. We would get sour. Just 

 the same with the cows and silage. 



Now, Mr. President, what do you say about their asking questions as 

 I go along? 



A Voice: Mr. Gurler, what experience have you had with sorghum 

 silage? 



Mr. Gurler: I never had any. 



.Mr. Burnside: Do you use any special brand of corn? 



Mr. Gurler: My corn, the majority of it, I plant is ordinary field 

 corn. But now I plant an Early Dent corn first and then I plant some of 

 the medium, and then 1 plant some of the Virginia. You see I put up 

 2,000 tons, and I can't do it in a minute. I have a good straight two 

 months' work. 



