THE POTATO 305 



. 



absorbed and thus regained their softness and di- 

 gestibility. 



"Another investigator ensiled chopped raw 

 potatoes with two pounds of salt per 1,000 pounds 

 of potatoes, under pressure of 2,500 pounds per 

 square yard. The total cost of washing, chopping, 

 putting in the silo, and weighing fifty tons of pota- 

 toes was about $15. The potatoes were put in 

 the silo in the latter part of November. When 

 the silo was filled the material was five and a half 

 feet deep. Sixty-two days later the silo was 

 opened, and the mass had sunk to a little over 

 three feet. The temperature of the silo when 

 filled w r as 39 degrees F., and when opened it was 

 50 degrees. The ensiled potato pulp was white, 

 but became blackened on exposure to the air. 

 Cattle ate this pulp greedily, alone or mixed with 

 cottonseed cake. 



"Experiments made at the Minnesota station 

 have shown that while the digestibility of cooked 

 and raw potatoes by pigs was about the same, 

 pigs could be induced to eat larger quantities of 

 cooked potatoes. It was calculated that a ration 

 of fifteen pounds of potatoes and four pounds 

 of shorts would furnish an amount of protein 

 sufficient for maintenance, leaving a margin for 

 growth. 



"On the basis of cost, comparisons were 

 made of 'the value of potatoes and other feeding 

 stuffs. In the investigator's opinion, with foods 

 at the present prices, it is doubtful whether it 

 would be profitable to feed large amounts of 

 potatoes to dairy stock, because cows require 

 more protein than would be supplied by a fatten- 

 ing ration similar in character to that mentioned 

 above. 



