SOUR FODDER. 233 
that silage flavors are really due to enzyme action. But considering 
the fact that enzymes do not commonly produce any such flavors 
while bacteria do, and also that bacteria certainly grow in the silage 
after the first fermentation is over, it seems on the whole more 
likely that the flavors must be attributed to bacterial action. 
As a summary, then, it appears that silage involves three distinct 
processes, each of which is capable of producing a profound modifi- 
cation of the material in the silo. Probably all three may be con- 
cerned, in different degrees, at different times. The various lots 
of silage do not always ferment alike, even under seemingly identical 
conditions; and very possibly these three different processes are con- 
cerned, in varying degrees, in the different lots of silage. The sub- 
ject is complicated and probably so variable that we cannot at 
present say, with any degree of accuracy, just what is the usual 
course of events in this fermentation. A large amount of study 
remains to be done on this subject, and doubtless, when the matter 
is properly studied, so that it is better understood, great improve- 
ments can be made in the process. 
It is perhaps fitting to say that silage forms a good food for 
cattle, although some dairy companies refuse to accept milk from 
silage-fed cows. The reason that this kind of fodder has an effect 
on the milk is probably due to the dirt and filth that get into the 
milk from the silage food after milking, rather than to the silage 
that the animals have actually eaten. If the milk were kept clean 
and all the dairy processes carried out in a proper manner, it is 
doubtful whether any trace of silage feeding would show in the milk. 
But considering the carelessness in the ordinary dairy and the dirt 
that commonly gets into milk, it may follow that the effect of silage 
in the stable will show in the milk. 
V 
SOUR FODDER. 
This is a food for cattle made out of the waste from beet sugar 
manufactories, and other waste material. Slices of beet roots, after 
the sugar is extracted, steamed potatoes, corn stalks, and various 
other vegetable substances, may serve as its basis. This material 
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