290 PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



through a hose into the silo while it is being filled, or by direct- 

 ing the water into the top of the distributor, where it is 

 knocked into a fine spray and mixed with the silage. 



Frosted or soft corn is practically as valuable for silage 

 as sound corn. At the Iowa Station ^ it was found that the 

 husked ears from soft corn made satisfactory silage when 

 ensiled without the stalk and leaves. Thus the silo offers 

 a solution to the soft corn problem. 



According to Eckles at the Missouri Experiment Station, - 

 the average jdeld of silage per acre when corn varies in 

 yield from 30 to 100 bushels is as follows : 



Yield of Corn Yield of Sil.\ge 



Bushels Tons 



30 6 



40 8 



50 10 



60 12 



80 16 



100 20 



The tonnage of silage per given j'ield of corn varies, of 

 course, with the locahty and the season. 



The average chemical composition of corn silage is as 

 follows: water, 73.6 per cent; ash, 2.1 per cent; crude 

 protein, 2.7 per cent; crude fiber, 7.8 per cent; nitrogen- 

 free extract, 12.9 per cent; and fat, 0.9 per cent. Its net 

 energy value is 16.6 therms per 100 pounds. In composi- 

 tion and energy value corn silage resembles green clover 

 except that the latter is considerably higher in crude protein. 



It is often said that a part of the feeding value of corn 

 fodder is lost through fermentations which take place in 

 the silo. This is true in part. A part of the protein is 



1 Unpublished results. 2 BuI. 103. 



