686 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



field-cured fodder, after being run thru the cutter, was fed in opposition 

 to the silage to dairy cows along with equal quantities of hay and grain. 



At the Vermont Station the green fodder corn, converted into silage 

 and fed with hay and grain, produced 11 per ct. more milk than the 

 same amount of dried corn fodder fed with the same allowance of 

 hay and grain. In the Wisconsin trial the corn crop produced 243 Ibs., 

 or 3 per ct., more milk per acre when fed as silage than when fed as 

 dried corn fodder. 



In the following table are summarized the results of these and other 

 trials in which the amount of milk produced from 100 Ibs. of total dry 

 matter in rations containing silage or corn fodder was determined : 



Corn silage vs. fodder corn for milk production 



Milk from 100 Ibs. dry matter 



Station and number of trials Silage ration Fodder ration 



Lbs. Lbs. 



Wisconsin (Rpt. 1888), 3 trials 104.2 95.8 



Wisconsin (Rpt. 1889), 3 trials 110. 5 104.8 



Vermont (Rpt. 1892), 1 trial 82.0 76.5 



Pennsylvania (Rpt. 1890), 1 trial 111.9 106.3 



New Jersey (Bui. 122), 1 trial 116.2 103.0 



Average of 9 trials 106.0 98.6 



Averaging these trials we find that 7.4 Ibs. more milk was produced 

 from 100 Ibs. of dry matter in the silage rations than in the rations con- 

 taining fodder corn. The higher value of the silage is not due to any 

 increased digestibility of the silage over well-cured dry fodder, for we 

 have seen that, on the average, corn silage is no more digestible. (298) 

 The superiority of silage is largely due to the fact that while good- 

 quality silage is eaten with little or no waste, a considerable part of the 

 corn fodder is usually left uneaten. As a matter of fact, various trials 

 show that the dry matter of that part of the corn fodder which is actu- 

 ally consumed may have just as high a nutritive value as an equal 

 weight of dry matter in corn silage. 100 It has been pointed out in a 

 previous chapter that less of the nutrients in the corn crop are lost when 

 it is ensiled than when it is cured as dry corn fodder. Another reason 

 why silage gives better results than dry corn fodder is that cows given 

 this succulent, palatable feed usually consume a heavier ration than 

 those fed the dry fodder. Hence they have a larger amount of nutrients 

 available for milk production after the maintenance requirements of 

 the body have been met. 



631. Corn silage vs. hay. In spite of the great importance of corn 

 silage for feeding dairy cows, relatively few experimental data are 

 available to show the actual comparative value of corn silage and hay 

 for milk production. In a trial with 6 cows at the Vermont Station, 101 

 Hills found that when corn silage was substituted for mixed timothy, 



100 Wis. Rpts. 1890, 1891, lol Vt, Rpt. 190L 



