IS ENSILAGE A SUCCESS? 143 



suits being verified, reduces tlie problem almost wholly to one 

 of convenience and economy in the method of curing, stor- 

 ing and feedinii; out the forage crops. With the exception 

 of the lalwr in feeding, the advantages are on the side of en- 

 silage when managed judiciously, under favorable circum- 

 stances. With well-cured corn stalks, about one and a third 

 tons must be handled to give animals a ton of solid food ; 

 with corn ensilage, at least four tons are needed to accom- 

 plish the same result. The larger proportion of water in 

 ensilage is not a direct loss, however, for animals fed largely 

 upon it drink very little, and the effect is doubtless better 

 when the water is thus combined with the food, than when 

 taken separately. 



Feeding trials with ensilage of the same kind, but differ- 

 ing considerably in condition or quality, give results much 

 alike. Where ensilage is decidedly sour, the quantity eaten 

 is generally somewhat greater than of the kind which some 

 call sweet, to produce like results. At the State Farm at 

 Tewksbury, cows remained healthy, thrifty and productive, 

 averaging over 3,100 quarts of milk per year, after four sea- 

 sons of ensilage feeding, sometimes quite sour. The stom- 

 achs of a number slaughtered were found to be in a normal 

 condition. Hon. Rufus Prince of Maine states that when 

 he substituted ensilage for dry fodder and hay, in two daily 

 feeds out of five, his cows increased 12 to 15 per cent, in 

 milk and 15 to 18, per cent, in butter yield. 



There are two ways in which the feeding value of ensilage 

 of any kind can be compared with any dry forage. One is 

 upon a purely chemical basis, considering the total dry mat- 

 ter in each and its component parts or nutritive elements. 

 The other notes the results of practical feeding, and deter- 

 mines how far a ton of ensilage will go towards supporting 

 an animal and how much other forage it will take the place 

 of and yet give equally good results. At the present time 

 many of the conclusions reached by these two methods of 

 comparison differ radically, and one cannot see how they will 

 ever be reconciled. 



The chemist insists that it requires at least four and a half 

 tons of average corn ensilage to furnish the dry substance 

 and nutritive elements of one ton of hay of average quality. 



