COMPOSITION OF MAIZE 



l6l 



^iven in table (232) is based entirely upon analyses made prior 

 to 1890. It is probable that much of the silage at the present 

 fime contains seventy per cent or less of water. Silage at the 

 Wisconsin Station^ in 1893 contained 64.3, and in 1894, 70.7 

 per cent of water. In an experimental sample the per cent of 

 vN'ater in the maize plant when it was put into the silo was 68. 9, 

 while when taken out it was 71.2 per cent. It thus appears that 

 t^le loss of dry matter in silage is greater than the loss of water. 



234. Ash. — The maize grain is characterized by a com- 

 paratively low percentage of ash. The ash appears to be prin- 

 cipally phosphates of potassiimi and magnesium.^ The ash 

 contains approximately fifty per cent of phosphoric acid (P2O5), 

 t flirty per cent of potash (K,0), and fifteen per cent of magnesia 

 ( VIgO). The extremely small amount of lime (CaO) present, 

 £ bout two per cent, has an important bearing upon the feeding 

 \ alue of maize whsn fed to growing pigs exclusively or only in 

 CDnnection with milk. Schweitzer found that the maize plant 

 removed from an acre of land 219 pounds of ash and 135 pounds 

 c f nitrogen. One-fourth the ash and one-half the nitrogen was 

 r amoved by the ear.^ 



The Massachusetts Station has found the fertilizing constit- 

 uents in air-dry substance to be as follows : 



\Yater 

 I»itrogen . 

 I'otassium oxide 

 .Sodium oxide . 

 t'alcium oxide . 

 lilagnesium oxide 

 Phosphoric acid 



Grain, i Whole ear, Stover, 

 per cent per cent per cent 



1 Wis, RpL 1895, p. 276. 



2 111. BuL 53, pp. 157-159. 

 * Mo. BuL 9, p. 23. 



