SILAGE RATIONS FOR MILCH COWS. 195 



The specimen rations given in the preceding can, therefore, only 

 be used to show the average amount of common feeds which a 

 good dairy cow can take in and give proper returns for. 



The popularity of the silo with owners of dairy cattle has 

 increased very greatly, says Prof. Plumb. Few owners of stock 

 of this class, who have properly-built silos, and well preserved 

 silage, would discard silage as an adjunct to feeding. Silage 

 certainly promotes milk flow. One great argument in favor of its 

 use lies in the cheapness of production per ton, and the ability 

 to store and secure a palatable, nutritious food in weather con- 

 ditions that would seriously injure hay or dry fodder. 



There is one important point that dairy farmers should bear 

 in mind, viz., when the silo is first opened only a small feed 

 should be given at first. In changing from grass or dry feed to 

 silage, if a regular full ration is given, the silage will perhaps 

 slightly affect the taste of the milk for a few milkings, and if 

 the change is from dry feed it may cause too great activity of 

 the bowels. 



Silage for Beef Cattle. 



Prof. Henry says in regard to the value of silage for fattening 

 steers: "As with roots, silage makes the carcass watery and 

 soft to the touch. Some have considered this a disadvantage, but 

 is it not a desirable condition in the fattening steer? Corn and 

 roughage produce a hard dry carcass, and corn burns out the 

 digestive tract in the shortest possible time. With silage and 

 roots, digestion certainly must be more nearly normal, and its 

 profitable action longer continued. The tissues of the body are 

 juicy, and the whole system must be in just that condition which 

 permits rapid fattening." 



Young stock may be fed half as much silage as full grown 

 ones, with the same restrictions and precautions as given for 

 steers. Experience obtained at the Kansas Station suggests that 

 corn silage is not a fit food for breeding bulls, unless fed a few 

 pounds only as a relish; fed heavily on silage, bulls are said to 

 lose virility and become slow and uncertain breeders. 



Fuller information on this subject is given in Chapter V of 

 this book, entitled, "The Use of Silage in Beef Production." 



