FORAGE PROBLEM 121 



months old is better than newer feed. Some feeders pre- 

 fer silage that is six months to a year old. Silage is 

 strong in carbohydrates, the principal food requirement 

 for all animals, but needs protein to balance it. Alfalfa 

 hay is perhaps the cheapest and best for this purpose. 

 Throughout the dairy sections it should form a part of 

 the ration where silage is used. This makes it possible 

 for the feeder to gain a greater economy in his opera- 

 tions, and at the same time give the animal a wholesome, 

 balanced ration. 



Corn silage may be fed out of doors, in bunks, in the 

 stall, or in any place where animals can eat it without 

 waste. In severe weather it is best to feed silage inside, 

 as some will freeze, and this will be hard for the stock to 

 masticate, although the feeder need not be alarmed over 

 feeding freezing ensilage. It will not injure the animals, 

 but frozen food is not easy for them to consume. 



In feeding milch cows, it is a good plan to give the hay 

 in a rack outside, where the animals will not waste it, and 

 feed the ensilage in the barn after milking. It may be 

 given twice a day in rations from ten to fifteen pounds 

 at a feeding, or twenty to forty pounds per day. Some 

 large animals will take as high as fifty pounds of silage 

 per day and make good use of it. Feed the ensilage so 

 that the animals will eat it up clean, as it spoils when 

 exposed to the air for several days. 



In some of the most carefully managed experiments 

 ever made, silage has surpassed the usual grain feeding 

 in bringing on beef cattle. The ease and rapidity with 

 which gains are made, the greater efficiency of the feed 

 when given to young animals, the larger number that can 

 be handled, and the splendid quality of the finished prod- 

 uct, are points which strongly appeal to feeders in favor 

 of silage for making beef. 



Even when it comes to the finishing process in the last 

 month of feeding, it is found that silage is suitable for 



