SILAGE-FED BEEF CATTLE. 37 



gather It up. So there is no increased value in the grain 

 by putting it in the silo, notwithstanding the fact that the 

 steer will digest a larger per cent, of it. The only place 

 that the benefit or gain comes in is through getting the 

 full value of the stalks. You do get every pound of that, 

 because the steer will eat it up completely. Our experi- 

 ence covering a period of eight years is that the figure 

 of 40 per cent, value in the stalks is not too high; in 

 fact, I think it is low. Practically, I believe, the feeding 

 value of corn by putting it in a silo is doubled. We have 

 been able to carry twice as many cattle as we could 

 before. 



With three-fourths of the feeders in the principal cattle- 

 feeding sections of Ohio, shock corn only is fed and the 

 corn stands out in the field all winter and is hauled to 

 the feed lot as needed. Many shocks twist down and par- 

 tially or wholly rot, all are soaked with the rains and 

 beaten by the winds, get hard and woody, and are thus 

 more or less damaged. It is a matter of common know- 

 ledge among feeders that after the first of March the 

 fodder in shock corn is of little value. Under favorable 

 conditions, fattening cattle will eat only the best portions 

 of the fodder, and the great bulk of it is wasted and thrown 

 out to keep them up out of the mud. With all these things 

 taken into consideration the gain in feed value to the 

 average cattle feeder who uses shock corn, by reason of 

 siloing the corn is, in our judgment, not less than fifty 

 per cent." 



Silage-fed Beef Cattle in the South. 



After exhaustive experiments conducted at the Vir- 

 ginia Station, Prof. Andrew M. Soule concludes that the 

 results obtained illustrate the value of silage as a main- 

 tenance food for winter feeding, whether the animals are 

 to be slaughtered immediately or carried over and grazed 

 during the summer; also, that silage can be used most 

 advantageously by stockmen in the South and that its 

 utilization would confer many advantages which are not 

 now enjoyed and would add very much to the profits se- 

 cured from the winter feeding of beef animals, no matter 

 what disposition is to be made of them. He adds that the 

 character of the silage has much to do with Its efficiency 

 as a food stuff, and the skill and intelligence displayed 



