SILAGE 27 



is digestible (practically equal parts of pure albumin and amids), 1.3 per 

 cent crude fat, 13.5 per cent nitrogen-free extract, 9.5 per cent crude fibre, 

 and 3.5 per cent crude ash or mineral matter. There is present also 1.24 

 per cent of lactic acid (according to Liechti 1.6 to 4.1 per cent) and only 

 0.14 per cent of undesirable volatile acids. 



The chief advantages of this method of preserving feeding stuffs are, 

 according to Wenckstern : 



1. Increased food value. 



2. Favorable effect on milk secretion. 



3. Saving of labor. 



4. Independence of vv^eather conditions. 



5. Saving of storage room. 



Final judgment on the value of this form of feeding stuff can not, how- 

 ever, be pronounced at this time. According to the investigations of the 

 agricultural experiment station of Bern-Liebefeld, neither press feeds 

 (sw^eet silage) nor the ordinary sour silage possess any advantage over 

 ordinary dry hay in feeding for milk production. On the contrary, the 

 taste and flavor or odor of the milk are said to be unfavorably affected, 

 and even made unfit for the production of Emmental cheese. 



According to Liechti, the loss in dry matter in this process is compara- 

 tively slight, 5-9 per cent as compared w^ith 15-25 per cent in sun-dried or 

 air-dried hay (including the mechanical loss of 5-10 per cent in handling 

 in the field). The losses are confined mainly to the nitrogen-free extract 

 (11-18 per cent) and pure albumin, v^hich is partly converted into am- 

 monia and otherwise loses 50 per cent in digestibility. Of 100 parts of 

 digestible crude protein only 45 parts remain in the completed sweet silage. 



d. Ordinary or Sour Silage 



The method of producing sour silage is suitable for succulent or fleshy 

 feeding stuff's, which can not be air dried, e. g., leafy forage, beet tops, 

 green Indian corn, beet and potato pulp, etc. Under unfavorable weather 

 conditions the method is also resorted to for the preservation of grass, 

 clover, alfalfa or lucerne, esparset, vetches, mixed forage, etc. 



Ensilaging is also specially adapted for preserving the less palatable 

 feeding stuffs like potato tops and lupines (Stutzer). As a rule these mate- 

 rials (beets and potatoes) are previously reduced to small pieces or the 

 interstices are filled with beet or potato pulp. 



This material is stored in pits, 10 feet wide and 6 or 7 feet deep, with 

 clay or cement bottom, or in regular silos. It is thoroughly compressed 

 and then covered with a one-inch or one-and-a-half -inch layer of chaff 

 or leaves. When the mass has become heated to 95° to 104° F. it is 

 covered with a layer of earth 3 feet thick, well tamped down, or with a 

 layer of planks well weighted. In this condition the feeding stuffs under- 

 go a lactic acid fermentation. The fermentation is complete after the 

 lapse of 6 to 8 weeks and the silage is ready for use. It has characteristics 

 resembling those of cooked feed, a sour odor and taste, and may contain 



