20 



BULLETIN 1045, U. S. DEPARTMEXT OF AGRICTLTUEE. 



COMPOSITION AND DIGESTIBILITY. 



The composition of sunflower silage, as shown by chemical analyses, 

 compares very favorably with that of corn and the sorghums. TThile 

 somewhat lower in carbohydrates or nitrogen-free extract than the 

 corn and sorghums, it is. on the other hand, higher in fat and protein. 

 The analyses made at different places are presented in Table 2. 



Table 2. — Comparison of the composition of sunflower, corn, and sorghum silage. 



Kind of silage. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 sam- 

 ples. 



Sunflower 4 7S. 6 



Do • 3 



Do 1 67.8 



Do 1 76.2 



Do 3 82.3 



Do II 69. 



Do 1 ; 77. 



Constituents (per cent). 



Water. 



Ash. 



1.6 

 2.4 



2.3 

 3.0 



2.5 



2.2 



Crude 

 pro- 

 tein. 



2.1 

 2.4 



1.9 

 1.9 



3.1 

 1.7 



Crude 



fiber. 



6.8 

 5.8 



9.1 

 6.4 



Nitro- 

 gen- 

 free 

 extract. 



10.4 

 9.8 



11.0 

 7.3 



14.6 

 10.0 



Ether 

 extract. 



Authority. 



0.5 Mont. Bui. 131,p.l4.a 



1.1 I Jour. Agr. Res., v. 18, p. 



327. 

 1. 3 I il. J. Blish, for silage from 

 Ardmore,' S. Dak. 



1.2 W. Va.Circ.32, p.3. 



.7 U. S. Dept. Agr., Bu. 



Chemistry. 

 .9 U. S. Dept.- Agr., Anim. 



Hus. Div.h 

 1.8 Wash. Bui. 158, p. 11. 



Average (weirhted) . 



14 



77. S 



2. 4 



2. 2 



6.3 1 



10.4 



.9 



1 Farmers' Bulletin 

 V "Feeding Farm 

 J mals.-' 





Com 



Com stover 



Rnrphiim . . 



730 j 



70.9 1 

 80.7 



77.6 : 



1.4 

 1.8 

 1.7 



2.4 

 1.8 

 1.5 



6.9 1 

 5.6 ; 

 7.1 i 



17.5 

 9.5 

 11.0 



.9 

 .6 

 1.1 



1240 

 Ani- 







a The silage used in these analyses was made from simfiowers harvested when only 5 per cent of the 

 plants were in bloom and therefoi'e without mature seeds. 



6 This analysis was made by Dr. M. J. Blish, of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. The 

 sunflowers were grown in 1920 by the Animal Husbandry Di\-ision on their sheep ranch near Dubois, 

 Idaho. 



The percentage of digestible nutrients in sunflower silage has been 

 determined by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and the 

 results are given fully in Bulletin 134 of that station {10) . The silage 

 used in these experiments was made from sunflowers cut when only 

 5 per cent of the plants were in bloom. This explains the low per- 

 centage of fat (ether extract) shown by the Montana analyses in 

 Table 2. The coefficients of digestibility as determined for this silage 

 were as follows : Crude protein, 59.88 ; crude fiber, 42.33 ; nitrogen- 

 free extract, 69.75 ; and ether extract. 70.63 per cent. 



Table 3 shows that the silage made from sunflowers is not equal 

 in digestible nutrients to that made from corn. The amount of diges- 

 tible crude fiber and nitrogen-free extract combined is higher in 

 corn silage than it is in sunflower silage, but this difference is ]5artly 

 balanced by the higher percentage of digestible fat in the sunflower 

 silage. 



