66 MAINE STATE COLLEGE 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH COWS. 



THE RELATIVE FEEDING VALUE OF SOUTHERN CORN SILAGE AND 

 MAINE FIELD CORN SILAGE. 



The discussion on previous pages of the comparative composition 

 and digestibility of Southern corn and Maine field corn, makes plain 

 three facts : 



1st. The Maine Corn contains less water or more dr}' matter 

 than the other. 



2nd. The dry matter of the Maine Field Corn is the more digest- 

 ible of the two kinds. 



3rd. This difference is due to the formation in the Maine Field 

 Corn, while maturing, of compounds that are wholly digestible and 

 of the highest nutritive value. 



These facts as plainly declare as facts can that the one variety of 

 corn is worth much more than the other in feeding value, if equal 

 weights are compared. Can- this be shown in practice? Will the 

 animal ratify the conclusion that the digestible dry matter, when 

 judging foods of the same class, is a safe standard of comparison? 



What is the influence of maturity on the value of the digestible 

 dry matter as shown by experience? 



These questions as related to silage corn were submitted to the 

 test of a feeding experiment for milk production in the winter of 

 1892-3. The plan of the experiment was a simple one. It was 

 divided into three periods, of about one month each, the only essen- 

 tial changes in the rations of the several periods being a substitution 

 of one kind of silage for the other. It was intended to supply the 

 same quantity of digestible material from each of the two kinds of 

 silage. This was not done, however, because it was not possible to 

 ascertain the actual composition and digestibility of these materials 

 until during the time they were being fed, and more digestible 

 dr} 7 substance was consumed in the Maine Field Corn Silage than 

 in the other. The data noted in this experiment include : 



(1) The weights of food consumed. 



(2) The composition and digestibility of the foods. 



(3) The weights of water drank. 



(4) Variation of the live weights of the cows. (The cows were 

 weighed on three successive days of each week.) 



