352 FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



at once after the frost has left it. Any who may desire fur- 

 ther information with reference to silos and silage, are re- 

 ferred to the book "Soiling Crops and the Silo/' by the au- 

 thor. 



Curing foods dry. It is only fodders that require to 

 be cured in the dry form. The curing of these in detail 

 cannot be discussed at this time. The curing of each is dis- 

 cussed at some length in other works written by the author 

 as, "Clovers and How to Grow Them," "Grasses and How 

 to Grow Them," "Cultivated Crops and How to Grow 

 Them," and "Corn, the Sorghums and Sugar Cane." Only 

 some points of superlative importance and general in char- 

 acter can be here given. 



In curing fodders, whatsoever their character, the aim 

 should be to retain as far as possible the natural color of the 

 fodder when harvested, to cure with the least possible ex- 

 posure to rain, and to avoid an excessive loss of moisture. 

 Of course, the curing of the fodders must be carried far 

 enough to prevent them from moulding when stored The 

 natural color of the plants will be lost in proportion as they 

 are exposed to sunshine and to dew and rain. A certain 

 amount of exposure to sunshine is unavoidable and is ab- 

 solutely necessary to the curing of fodders, but the aim 

 should be not to expose them to sunshine longer than will 

 admit of completing their cure in the cock or shock. Un- 

 necessary exposure to sunshine results in loss of aroma in 

 all plants and leaves of legumes. The loss of aroma 

 means loss in palatability and serious loss in nutrition. Clo- 

 vers, for instance, properly cured, retain in a marked degree 

 the natural color of stem, leaf and blossom. When the 

 curing of fodders is completed in the cock or shock, only 

 the outer portions are thus injured by sunshine. 



Dews and rain not only tend to darken the color in pro- 

 portion as they are heavy, but also in proportion as the ex- 

 posure is prolonged and severe. They also dissolve and 

 wash out of the plants much of the nutrition. The loss in 

 aroma, as in the case of exposure to sunlight, also increases 



