CLOVER SILAGE. 141 



nitrogenous food than corn or the grasses, clover sup- 

 plies a good deal of the protein compounds required by 

 farm animals for the maintenance of their bodies and for 

 the production of milk, wool or meat. By feeding clover, 

 a smaller purchase of high-priced concentrated feed stuffs, 

 like flour-mill or oil-mill refuse products, is therefore ren- 

 dered necessary than when corn is fed; on account of its 

 high fertilizing value it furthermore enables the farmer 

 feeding it to maintain the fertility of his land. 



When properly made, clover silage is an ideal feed 

 for nearly all kinds of stock. Aside from its higher pro- 

 tein contents it has an advantage over corn silage in 

 point of lower cost of production. A Wisconsin dairy 

 farmer who has siloed large quantities of clover estimates 

 the cost of one ton of clover silage at 70 cents to $1, 

 against $1 to $1.25 per ton of corn silage. His average 

 yield per acre of green clover is about twelve tons. 



Clover silage is superior to clover hay on account of 

 its succulence and greater palatability, as well as its 

 higher feeding value. The last-mentioned point is mainly 

 due to the fact that all the parts of the clover plant are 

 preserved in the silo, with a small unavoidable loss in 

 fermentation, while in hay-making, leaves and tender 

 parts, which contain about two-thirds of the protein com- 

 pounds, are often largely lost by abrasion. 



Clover may easily and cheaply be placed in a modern 

 silo and preserved in a perfect condition. The failures 

 reported in the early stages of silo filling were largely 

 due to the faulty construction of the silo. Clover does not 

 pack as well as the heavy green corn, and therefore, re- 

 quires to be cut and weighted, or calls for greater depth 

 in the silo, in order that the air may be sufficiently ex- 

 cluded. 



When to Cut Clover for the Silo. The yield of food 

 materials obtained from clover at different stages of 

 growth has been studied by a number of scientists. The 

 following table giving the results of an investigation con- 

 ducted by Professor Atwater will show the total quan- 



