64 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 



first sight appear ; for it must be explained, first, that 

 the month of January, during which this Series was con- 

 tinued, was the coldest and most inclement experienced 

 in this section for years ; second, that No. 14 was a cow, 

 dry upwards of a month prior to the commencement of 

 the tests, but which, about one week thereafter, came 

 back to her milk, she was finally dried off about the 

 middle of February ; and, third, that No. 16 was a sin- 

 gularly savage and unthrifty two-year-old Shorthorn bull, 

 that ill-brooked the close confinement incident to the ex- 

 periment. Again, Nos. 1 and 4 of Section III were 

 yearlings, weaned only a week or so prior to January 2d. 

 They had received, up to within a few days of that time, 

 hay, meal, and slops. No. 1 refused its rations at first, 

 and never ate more than half of the amount allowed. 

 No. 3, after the first week, ate nearly all. The close cor- 

 respondence of the results of Nos. 3 and 5 in Section V, 

 and Nos. 8 and 11 in Section VI, is especially worthy of 

 notice, and makes these four experiments particularly 

 valuable. In No. 18 of Section VII the heavier loss is 

 perhaps explained by the greater flow of milk, as shown 

 by the same number in Section VIII. It was remarked 

 by several in attendance on the animals that those fed on 

 ensilage alone appeared to suffer much more from the 

 cold than the others. Here we have practice confirming 

 theory, for the conversion o p a portion of the carbohy- 

 drates into acid and other principles, by the fermentation 

 incident to the process, and the consequent loss, compar- 

 ative, of the fat-formers, the fuel of the animal body, 

 would lead us to expect just such results. 



In Series 3d the animals were the same as those desig- 

 nated by similar numbers in Series 1st. Each, No. 15 

 excepted, received during the interval between the two 

 Series a daily ration, per one thousand pounds of live 

 weight, of fifty pounds of ensilage, corn ; six pounds of 

 the best hay, and three pints of corn meal, and in this 



