172 SILAGE CROPS IN THE SOUTH. 



already been taken will produce from 5 to 15 tons an acre for 

 the silo. 



Sugar cane tops and green leaves made excellent silage at 

 the Baton Rouge Station according to Bulletin No. 143. Analysis 

 showed that a ton of cane top silage carries the equivalent of 

 more feed units (protein, fat and carbohydrate) than 5y 2 bushels 

 of corn. Out of an 18 ton yield from an acre, hauled to the mill, 

 about six tons would be tops and leaves. Four tons of this would 

 be suitable for silage, with feed units equal to 22 bushels of corn. 

 The gain in making silage of this is very evident. Furthermore, 

 this four tons of tops and leaves, if burned, would destroy $3.75 

 worth of nitrogen, whereas if siloed and fed to live stock a large 

 part of it would go back to the soil. 



Prof. Staples, of the Experiment Station at Baton Rouge, 

 writes regarding Louisiana conditions as follows: "The best and 

 most profitable crops that we can grow in this state for silage 

 are corn, soy beans, peas and sorghum. The corn and soy beans 

 make the best combination, as the corn is rather dry at some 

 seasons and the soy beans being rather too moist supply the 

 necessary amount of moisture to make the corn and beans to- 

 gether a most excellent combination of feed-stuffs for filling the 

 silo. 



"The peas are also very good for combination with the corn, 

 but are somewhat troublesome to handle on account of the vines 

 entangling around the corn stalk and making it very hard to 

 handle, both by the binder when cutting and by the man hauling 

 and feeding the silage cutter. Sorghum is very good feed when 

 used as silage, but does not contain as large a per cent of feeding 

 nutrients as the above mentioned crops." 



