294 PRINCIPLES OF FEEDING FARM ANIMALS 



as certain molds which grow on silage are deadly poison to 

 horses and mules. Thus, Rusk and Grindley, at the Illinois 

 Experiment Station/ killed an entire lot of five horses in 6 

 •to 22 days by feeding moldy silage. Corn which is to be 

 used for silage for horses should be fairly mature, as imma- 

 ture corn causes a sour silage which is apt to produce 

 colic. It is also unsafe to feed horses frozen silage on 

 account of danger of coHc. Horses should be gradually 

 accustomed to silage, and they should not be fed too heav- 

 ily on it. 



The greatest value of silage as a horse feed is to carry 

 work horses during the slack season through the ^\^nter and 

 to act as a supplement to pasture during drought. For 

 mntering horses, hay is the only other feed which need be 

 used in the ration, unless a little hnseed meal or cottonseed 

 meal is given for the additional protein w^hich it contains. 

 They should be started on about 5 pounds of silage daily 

 per 1000 pounds Hve weight, the grain and hay being grad- 

 ually decreased, and the silage increased until, at the end 

 of a month, the ration is made up of 20 pounds of silage 

 and 10 pounds of hay per 1000 pounds live weight. Corn, 

 cottonseed meal, hay, and silage is a profitable ration for 

 fattening draft horses for the market. Not much silage 

 should be used in the ration of work horses, as it is too suc- 

 culent and too bulky. 



For Hogs. — Silage should not be used in the rations of 

 hogs, as it is too ])ulky. 



Clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, and soybeans may be put in 

 the silo. They make a fairly palatable silage which is high 

 in protein. They should be cut at the same time as for 



1 Uupubli^hed result^. 



