DAIRY CATTLE 



453 



Hay proved more expensive than 

 either corn fodder or silage in Massa- 

 chusetts and was less effective. Silage 

 produced the best results, when fed in 

 rations of 35 to 50 pounds, in addition 

 to small quantities of hay. A too ex- 

 clusive ration of silage affected the gen- 

 eral condition of the cows unfavorably. 

 The Minnesota experiment station rec- 

 ommends dent corn for silage for milch 

 cows, but dent, sweet, southern and flint 

 corn were found nearly equal. In New 

 Hampshire, a change from a corn fodder 

 to a silage ration increased the quantity 

 of the milk and the amount of fat in 

 it. Silage produced a softer butter than 

 hay, but of better flavor. In one test 

 however, in Missouri, corn fodder proved 

 superior to silage. 



In New Jersey, cows showed no par- 

 ticular preference between green and 

 dry corn fodder and silage. The latter, 

 however, was much more effective than 

 fodder or roots, both in milk yield and 

 in maintaining the weight of the cows. 

 In one experiment, the cost of harvest- 

 ing, storing and feeding dry corn fod- 

 der was less than in the case of silage. 

 In Pennsylvania, it appeared that dent 

 corn cut when the kernels were mostly 

 dented and while the husks and leaves 

 were mostly green, made more milk fat 

 than an equal amount cut earlier or 

 later. Moreover, the yield to the acre 

 is a little less when the corn is cut early. 

 In Ohio, corn fodder and silage proved 

 equal in milk production and it is rec- 

 ommended that silage should be made 

 before the corn is thoroughly mature. 



Experiments in Wisconsin, extending 

 over several years, show that silage is 

 more effective in milk production than 

 dry corn fodder. Cows sometimes eat 

 more silage than fodder, but the milk 

 flow is usually greater on silage and the 

 milk is sometimes richer and sometimes 

 poorer. Both silage and fodder are 

 equally digestible, but siloing is consid- 

 ered the most economical way of han- 

 dling the corn crop for milch cows. If 

 corn fodder is allowed to stand in the 

 field, it is less nutritious than if cut 

 when the corn is mature. 



Silage is an exceedingly important 

 material in dairying, and is used very 

 extensively. It was first prepared in 

 the United States in 1875, by Manly 

 Miles of Michigan, and is now used 

 throughout the dairy states of the corn 

 belt. The advantages claimed for silage 

 are that it makes possible a succulent 

 ration during the winter or throughout 



the year, and enables the dairyman to 

 preserve a larger percentage of the crop 

 than can otherwise be saved. More ma- 

 terial can be kept in the same space in 

 the form of silage than by any other 

 method. It is an economical process 

 and increases the carrying capacity of 

 the farm. Silage can be made in rainy 

 weather when hay would take much 

 harm and various crops which are un- 

 suited for use as dry forage may be 

 ensiled. 



Other crops for silage — The chief 

 crops used for silage are corn, red clover, 

 crimson clover, sorghum, alfalfa, cow- 

 peas and sugar beets, the latter chiefly 

 in the form of pulp. Millet, soy beans 

 and other crops are occasionally used for 

 silage, but of all these, corn is by far the 

 most important. On the northern bor- 

 ders of the corn belt, flint corn and some 

 of the earliest dents are used, while in 

 more southern latitudes the dent corn 

 prevails. Silage is fully equal to roots 

 in feeding value, and is much cheaper. 

 It is pre-eminently adapted for milch 

 cows, maintains and promotes the milk 

 flow and does not taint the milk if fed 

 just after milking. 



Perhaps the most satisfactory ration 

 of silage is from 30 to 35 pounds per 

 day, with grain and hay. For the con- 

 struction of the silo and further points 

 on the use of silage, see "Soiling Crops 

 and the Silo," by Thomas Shaw, and 

 ''Farmer's Cyclopedia of Agriculture," 

 pp. 374 to 384. 



Cowpea — The cowpea has been com- 

 pared in New Jersey with common ni- 

 trogenous grain feeds such as dried 

 brewers' grains and cottonseed meal. 

 Cowpea silage was used in rations of 

 36 pounds a day, together with 10 

 pounds of crimson clover hay. This 

 ration costs 16Y 2 cents, but produced as 

 much milk as a ration in which two- 

 thirds of the protein was purchased in 

 the form of dried brewers' grains and 

 cottonseed meal, and which cost 17.1 

 cents. The cowpea crop was thus util- 

 ized in an economic manner and gave 

 a greater profit than could have been 

 realized by selling it at the ordinary 

 market price. In the southern states, 

 cowpeas are extensively used as pasture 

 or silage for cows. In Mississippi, cow- 

 pea hay proved equal or a little better 

 than Johnson grass. The results from 

 cowpeas, however, are still more favor- 

 able where the other parts of the ration 

 contain less protein. In Nebraska, a 

 large and profitable yield of milk and 



