39 



good feed for late fall, after frosts have stopped the use of corn 

 as green forage. We have experienced much difficulty in securing 

 a satisfactory crop of barley ; and, while it is relished by cows and 

 good for forage, it is not always a profitable crop. 



Rcqje, although a rank grower, and relished by cows, belongs 

 to the cabbage, turnip and mustard family, which have been re- 

 garded with suspicion b}- milkmen, on account of the taste they 

 impart to dairy products. It is our belief that, used in modera- 

 tion, and fed after milking, it will not seriously aft'ect the quality 

 of milk, and it may become a valuable forage plant for fall feed- 

 ing. It may be fed to dry cows, hogs, young stock and horses, to 

 the saving of winter's stores, at all events. 



Summer Silos. 



There is much that might be said in favor of summer silos. 

 Undoubtedly the invested capital is somewhat greater where pro. 

 vision is made for ensiling a sufficient quantity of forage to supply 

 the dairy herd through the summer. Perhaps the summer silo will 

 even cost more for a given capacity than will a winter one, inas- 

 much as summer feeding takes cognizance both of the lessened 

 appetites of the cows and the greater rapidity of fermentation. 

 It becomes necessary, therefore, for summer feeding to materially 

 reduce the surface area from which silage is fed. One should so 

 limit the surface area for summer feeding that one and one-half 

 inches will be daily removed when the cow's appetite for silage is 

 lightest, and that the average feed will remove about two inches. 

 If this is not done, not only will there be a waste of fodder, owing 

 to excessive fermentation, but the quality of the whole feed dete- 

 riorates, even to a point of imparting undesirable flavors to the 

 milk. 



Summer silage has a great advantage over green soiling crops 

 in the cost of production. With a heavy-jnelding silage crop like 

 Indian corn, allowed to mature and reach its maximum growth 

 and handled in a wholesale way by improved appliances, not only 

 is the expense per feeding unit much less than in soiling crops, 

 but the acre product is brought up close to the limit, and the rental 

 for land is thereby raised. 



Summer silage appears to have another marked advantage over 

 green forage, in its uniform supply and quality. Properly cured 

 silage from ripe corn is very uniform in quality, and its use favors 

 a very regular and uniform milk flow. This is not a preconceived 

 notion of " book farmers," but has been substantiated by expe- 

 rience. On the other hand, green crops are not only fed at a con- 

 siderable expense for labor, but they fluctuate in supply and vary 



