48 



MISC. PUBLICATION 194, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Table 7. — Average composition, in percentage, of pasture clippings at intervals 

 throughout the growing seasons of 1929, 1931, and 1932 at the United States 

 Dairy Experiment Station, Beltsville, Md} 



GREEN MATERIAL 



Approximate date 



Phos- 

 phorus 



May 6.. 

 May 19- 

 June 2.. 

 June 28_ 

 July 14_ 

 Aug. 13- 

 Aug. 30_ 

 Oct. 3-. 



0.08 

 .11 

 .11 

 .13 

 .16 

 .18 

 .17 

 .15 



1 This table is an average of the grass from 6 plots — 1 in 1929, 2 in 1931, and 3 in 1932. The plots were 

 located in good well-established pastures in which the predominating plants were Kentucky bluegrass, 

 orchard grass, and white clover. 



PRESERVING IMMATURE PASTURAGE 



Since immature pasturage is richer in protein, vitamins, and minerals 

 and more digestible than the best mature hay, there has been much 

 interest in developing methods to preserve it for use in winter and 

 other periods of shortage and, even in small quantities, to serve as a 

 supplement to poor-quality hays and other roughages. By an 

 English method, as yet little used in the United States, the grass 

 is dried by artificial heat and either stored as hay or pressed into 

 small cakes which facilitate handling and shipment. In either 

 case, the grass usually maintains its green color and agreeable odor. 

 When used in the rations of cattle and sheep, such dried grass has 

 proved to be a satisfactory substitute for oil-mill byproducts. 



Immature pasturage may be preserved also by making it into silage. 

 On account of its low content of readily fermentable carbohydrates, 

 some precaution may be necessary to secure a desirable form of fer- 

 mentation; otherwise, an ill-smelling silage may result. If the grass 

 has a high content of water, some wilting or partial curing of the green 

 material before it is placed in the silo will prevent leakage of juices 

 and may increase the palatability of the silage. Or instead of wilting, 

 molasses or phosphoric acid may be used to bring about a desirable 

 fermentation. A product of good quality has been made by ensiling 

 whole Italian ryegrass as early as the last of April. At that time even 

 with clear and windy weather it was not possible to cure the grass 

 satisfactorily for hay. A palatable silage was obtained in this experi- 

 ment by adding 1 part of molasses diluted in 2 parts of water at the 

 rate of 40 pounds of molasses per ton of green grass. 



CHANGES IN FEED VALUE AS PLANTS MATURE 



In the spring, when the new grass is beginning to grow, the water 

 content may be as much as 85 percent. Therefore, a 1,000-pound 

 animal would have to eat 100 pounds of such fresh green forage to 

 obtain 15 pounds of dry matter, and of this 15 pounds, 11 pounds 



