The Ensilage of Fodder. 231 



allow a crop of immature, watery corn to stand one or two weeks 

 longer than usual, thereby gaining from 6 to 15 per ct. in dry matter 

 should no frost come. When frosted, corn forage should be quickly 

 ensiled, for the storm which usually follows the first fall frosts will 

 wash out much nutriment from the frosted forage, and the winds 

 will soon whip off the dried, brittle leaves. 



358. Cured fodder-corn silage. — Neale of the Delaware Station^ 

 placed field-cured fodder corn, cut fine, in a silo and poured over 

 it from one-third to two-thirds its weight of water. A rise in tem- 

 perature followed, and an aromatic odor was developed as with silage 

 from green forage. Stock ate this moistened dry-fodder silage with- 

 out waste in preference to dried shredded fodder. Such treatment 

 of dried corn forage seems practical only in special cases. 



359. Steaming silage. — At the Oregon Station- Withycombe and 

 Bradley found in digestion trials with cows that steaming corn silage 

 immediately after placing it in the silo reduced the digestibility of 

 the dry matter 16 per ct., the crude protein 91 per ct., the ash 79 

 per ct., and the fiber, nitrogen-free extract, and fat to a slight extent. 

 Hence, tho the steamed silage was admirably preserved and contained 

 only half as much acid as ordinary silage, its feeding value M^as 

 greatly reduced. (60) 



360. Crops for the silo. — Indian corn is the one great silage plant. 

 By seeding a little thicker than for grain the proper proportion of 

 ears and stalks develops to form a rich silage. Corn should be cut 

 for silage while most of the leaves are yet green and succulent, but 

 not until the kernels are dented and hardened. Immature corn makes 

 sour silage of low feeding value. (214) 



Sorghum is possibly next to corn for the silo, yet because of the 

 high content of sugar it usually makes a sour silage. Soule, as the 

 result of 5 years' experience at the Tennessee Station,^ reports that 

 well matured sorghum, properly ensiled, makes sweet silage. The 

 bagasse, or waste of the sorghum syrup factories, which has con- 

 siderable feeding value, should not be wasted but may be satisfac- 

 torily ensiled. (222) In England meadow grasses have been con- 

 verted into stack silage, in which case the decaying outside protects 

 the interior of the mass — a practice which, however, is not gaining 

 favor. Potts of Australia* reports that 3 tons of grass silage is esti- 

 mated to be worth 1 ton of oat hay. A stack containing 200 tons of 

 grass silage, opened after 10 years, furnished good feed. Georgeson 



1 Ept. 1903. = Bui. Vol. XVir. No. 1. 



= Bui. 102. * N. S. Wales Gaz., Vol. 15, p. S2. 



