SILOS AND SILAGE 159 



Clover and other legumes are not often used as silage crops 

 for the reasons stated above, and when so used the silage is generally 

 made under conditions similar to those just given for alfalfa, when 

 they cannot very well be cured into hay. As the legumes have a 

 large proportion of leaves and tender stems, they dry out rapidly 

 and must be run through a cutter and siloed as soon as possible 

 after being mowed. Clover, like alfalfa, is cut for the silo when 

 about one-third of the plants are in full bloom, or before the first 

 single heads are beginning to wilt. According to trials conducted at 

 several experiment stations, the largest yields of dry matter and of 

 all feed components except fiber are obtained from clover when it 

 is cut at this stage (p. 57). If the cutting has been delayed beyond 

 this stage, the safer plan is to add water to the clover as it is ele- 

 vated into the silo, or to add water in the silo after each load or' 

 half-day run. 



The losses of feed materials in the siloing process in the case of 

 clover, alfalfa, etc., are but slightly larger than for corn, so far as 

 can be judged from the limited data at hand regarding this point. 

 When put up in the manner stated and well packed in an air-tight 

 silo, the necessary loss of dry matter in clover or alfalfa will not 

 be likely to exceed 10 per cent. This is a much lower loss than that 

 sustained in making hay from alfalfa (and probably from clover 

 and other leafy legumes as well), on account of the unavoidable 

 and often considerable abrasion of leaves and tender parts in the 

 process of haymaking; as previously shown, this has been esti- 

 mated at 15 to 20 per cent as a minimum, and as high, as 60 per 

 cent of the hay crop in extreme cases (p. 59). Aside from the losses 

 sustained through abrasion, rain storms, when these occur, may 

 reduce the value of the hay one-half. The losses from either of 

 these sources are avoided in preserving the crop in the silo, and in 

 their place a small loss of 10 per cent or less will occur under 

 ordinary favorable conditions through the respiration of the plant 

 cells and the fermentations in the silo. 



The reason why legumes are not siloed more generally must be 

 sought in the fact that it is more difficult to secure a good quality 

 of silage from these crops than from Indian corn, unless the neces- 

 sary conditions for success in making legume silage are clearly under- 

 stood ; furthermore, the flavor of the silage is not, as a rule, as agree- 

 able as that of corn silage, and farm animals do not relish it quite so 

 much. When once accustomed to legume silage, however, they do 

 well on it ; dairy cows will eat 20 to 25 pounds of clover or alfalfa 



