158 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



of silage, of nearly similar feeding value and palatability to corn 

 silage. 



The grain sorghums (Egyptian corn, kafir, milo maize, feterita, 

 etc.) are used for silage to a limited extent in the western States. 

 They make a good silage if cut when the seed is ripe; this is not 

 relished quite as well as corn silage, and is eaten in smaller amounts 

 than this, e.g., by dairy cows 20 to 25 pounds per head daily as a 

 maximum feed. The Kansas station found that kafir silage ranks 

 second to corn silage as a feed for dairy cows, and that it is better 

 than sorghum silage for production of milk. 8 



In dry, hot sections, where the grain sorghums give relatively 

 large yields and where Indian corn cannot be successfully grown, 

 these crops will doubtless assume great importance in the future 

 as silage crops on dairy and other stock farms. 



Alfalfa is used only to a limited extent as a silage crop. There 

 is ordinarily no difficulty in making it into good hay in the western 

 States where this crop grows to best advantage and is of the 

 greatest economic importance. It is, however, made into silage by 

 many farmers; if run through a cutter and siloed immediately 

 after mowing, before it has wilted much, and carefully tramped 

 down in the silo, it will make good aromatic silage that is palatable 

 to dairy cows, steers, sheep, and other farm animals after they have 

 become accustomed to it. Like all silage made from legumes, it 

 has sometimes a stronger and less agreeable flavor than corn silage, 

 owing to the butyric acid formed therein, but stock soon learn to 

 like it. It has not been shown, however, that alfalfa silage has a 

 higher feeding value than corn silage, ton for ton, although it is 

 considerably richer- in protein and contains somewhat more dry 

 matter per ton than corn silage. 



In California and other western States where foxtail is often 

 a serious pest in alfalfa fields during the early part of the season, 

 the first crop is siloed by some farmers, and the foxtail thus ren- 

 dered harmless; the beards remain soft in the silage and do not 

 cause trouble to farm animals eating it, as is generally the case 

 when this crop is made into hay, especially if cut rather late, after 

 the foxtail heads are nearly ripe. Silage from such weedy alfalfa 

 will be of good quality if put up in accordance with the directions 

 given, and is often better than that from pure alfalfa. The last 

 crop of alfalfa is also frequently siloed in the region mentioned, 

 owing to the rainy weather that is likely to prevail at this time, 

 rendering it difficult to make this crop into hay. 



8 Circular 28. 



