218 Tlie Feeding of Animals 



statement that one method is about as economical as 

 the other, which is correct if we consider only the out- 

 come of certain comparisons. A general survey of the 

 data accumulated shows that on the whole the waste 

 has been the larger in field - curing. Observations 

 made in six states reveal a loss by the old method 

 as low as 18 per cent in only one case, and from 21 

 per cent to 34 per cent in all others. Possibly under 

 favorable conditions of weather, field -cured corn fodder 

 may lose as little dry matter as silage, though this is 

 doubtful, but in bad weather the waste from the ex- 

 posed fodder is extensive. The greatest advantage in 

 silo preservation is that conditions can usually be con- 

 trolled with more satisfactory average results than are 

 possible in field -curing. Other advantages pertain to 

 the silo which are of a business nature and which need 

 not be discussed here, further than to affirm that the 

 cost of a unit of food value is in general diminished 

 by the use of the silo. 



Crops for ensilage. — The number of crops that may 

 be successfully ensiled is not large. Maize is the most 

 valuable one for this purpose, and clover is stored in 

 this manner with a fair degree of success. So are 

 peas, especially when mixed with corn. The true 

 grasses and cereal grains outside of corn are not de- 

 sirable silo crops, first because the silage from them 

 is generally poor in quality, and second because usually 

 they may be successfully and more cheaply stored in 

 an air -dry condition. Any crop with a hollow stalk, 

 giving an enclosed air space, — oats, for instance, — is not 

 adapted to silo conditions, and there is no justification 



