

Crops. 193 



cells. Hence, the more mature the corn when ensiled, the sooner 

 these changes and the losses incident to them, cease. This theory 

 is in harmony with the practical experience that rather mature 

 corn produces superior ensilage. Maximum yield of material 

 and the production of good silage are secured by selecting the 

 corn when in a glazed state. 



Chemical changes in the silo entail a loss of dry matter, the 

 amount of which is dependent upon the care with which air is 

 excluded. In the majority of cases investigated this loss has 

 been from 15 to 20 per cent of the dry matter of the fresh crop 

 and in some cases it has reached 40 per cent. King states that 

 the loss need not exceed 4 to 8 per cent for corn and 10 to 18 

 per cent for clover. In 64.7 tons of silage packed in a silo, tight- 

 ly lined with galvanized iron, he found an average loss of 6.38 

 per cent. The loss was estimated for eight separate layers in the 

 whole silo and found to be 32.53 per cent for the top layer, 23.38 

 per cent for the next, and from 2.1 to 10.25 per cent for the 

 others. The greater loss for the more exposed layers emphasizes 

 the importance of oxygen in effecting a loss of dry matter, and 

 the need of excluding air from the material by tightly packing it. 

 In properly cured silage the loss of dry matter falls chiefly upon 

 sugars, which are oxidized to organic acids and ultimately to 

 carbon-dioxide and water. A part of the protein compounds is 

 also altered, with the production of amino acids. In some cases 

 over one-half of the nitrogen of the silage is present in the latter 

 form. This is two to three times as much as the original fodder 

 contains. 



Since the sugars and proteins are compounds of high food 

 value, the importance of restricting such losses in the silo is evi- 

 dent. Jordan estimates that a saving of three-fourths or even 

 of one-half the average losses from 100 tons of corn as silage, 

 would increase the farmers' food resources by an amount equiv- 

 alent to from 5 to 7% tons of timothy hay. 



Root crops are generally gross feeders and quite dependent 

 for their food supplies upon readily available materials. 



