SILAGE FOR BEEF CATTLE. 173 



ing 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. 



Silage may be fed with advantage to beef cattle, in 

 moderate quantities, up to about forty pounds a day. 

 The health of the animals and the quality of the beef 

 produced on moderate silage feeding, leave nothing to 

 be wished for. If the silage is made from immature 

 corn care must be taken not to feed too large quan- 

 tities at the start, and to feed carefully, so as not to make 

 the animals scour. 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. 

 While believing in a large use of silage in the preliminary 

 stages, and its continuance during most of the fattening 

 period, I would recommend that gradually more dry feed 

 be substituted as the period advances, in order that the 

 flesh may become more solid. Used in this way, I believe 

 silage will become an important aid in steer feeding in 

 many sections of the country. Results from Canada, Wis- 

 consin, and Texas experiment stations show the broad 

 adoption of this food for stock feeding purposes. 



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 



