202 HOW TO FEED SILAGE. 



and this has been the principal ration of all the live stock at 

 Spring-dale Farm, our Shropshire sheep having been maintained on 

 a ration of ensilage night and morning, coupled with a small ra- 

 tion of clover hay in the middle of the day. This we found to fully 

 meet the requirements of our flock until after lambing, from which 

 time forward we of course added liberal rations of wheat bran, 

 oats, and old-process linseed meal to the ewes, with a view of 

 increasing their flow of milk and bringing forward the lambs in the 

 most vigorous possible condition. Our flock-master was somewhat 

 anxious until after the lambs dropped, but now that he saved 196 

 lambs from 122 ewes, his face is wreathed in smiles, and he gives 

 the ensilage system the strongest endorsement." 



O. C. Gregg, superintendent of Farmers' Institutes for Minne- 

 sota, has been conducting some experiments on feeding silage to 

 sheep. He gives the result in one of our American exchanges as 

 follows: 



"The e\ves are beautiful to look at, square on the back, bright 

 of eye, active in appearance, and when the time comes for the 

 feeding of silage they are anxious for their feed, and in case there 

 is any lapse in time, they soon make their w^ants known by bleat- 

 ing about the troughs. The flock has been fed silage and good hay 

 in the morning, with oat hay in reasonable abundance in the after- 

 noon and evening. We have about ninety head of breeding ewes, 

 including the lambs referred to, and they have been fed two grain 

 sacks full of silage each day. This is not by any means heavy 

 feeding, and it might be increased in quantity. This is a matter 

 which we must learn from experience. We have fed the silage 

 with care, not knowing what the results would be if fed heavily." 



Silage for Swine- 



The testimony concerning the value of silage as a food for 

 swine is conflicting, both favorable and unfavorable reports being- 

 at hand. Many farmers have tried feeding it to their hogs, but 

 without success. On the other hand, a number of hog-raisers have 

 had good success with silage, and feed it regularly to their swine. 

 It is possible that the difference in the quality of the silage and of 

 the methods of feeding practiced explain the diversity of opinions 

 formed concerning silage as hog food. Col. F. D. Curtiss, the great 



