NITROGEN AND OTHER LOSSES IN ENSILING CORN. 5 



The maize was cut green. In some seasons the diy matter was 

 as high as 20 per cent and in cold, wet seasons as low as 13 per 

 cent. They find practically no loss in crude fiber, but a very great 

 loss in nitrogen- free extract, from which the sugar is shown by direct 

 test to disappear almost entirely. The pentosans and protein suffer 

 considerably. They state that the bags in the top half of the silo lost 

 an average .of 32 per cent of their original content of ether extract 

 and 17 per cent of their soluble ash constituents, while the bags in 

 the lower half gained over the original amounts 6 per cent in ether 

 extract and 2 per cent in soluble ash constituents. They make note 

 of a downward wash of soluble acids and ash. In a table stating 

 an average of all losses and gains in original constituents present in 

 the green material during the ensiling of maize during the seasons 

 of 1904 and 1905, they give the losses as follows : Dry matter 36 per 

 cent; ether extract, 16 per cent; nitrogen-free extract, 55 per cent; 

 fiber, 8 per cent; total nitrogen, 26 per cent; protein nitrogen, 55 

 per cent; ash, 14 per cent; furfurol, 32 per cent; and gains, non- 

 protein nitrogen, 83 per cent. 



Feruglio and Mayer (19) claim to find a loss of only 5 per cent in 

 the food material during the ensiling of maize. The}' state that 

 this loss falls somewhat on the pure protein and albuminoids, but 

 most strongly on the sugars and pentosans. On the other hand, 

 they find an increase in ether extract and total acidity. 



THE EXPERIMENTAL WORK. 



The silo used was a cylindrical concrete silo 42 feet high by 14 feet 

 in diameter inside, holding approximately 150 tons, and located at 

 the Dairy Division Experiment Farm, Beltsville, Md. The floor of 

 the silo was 4 feet below the lowest door, and the silo up to this door 

 was water-tight. The work was carried on for two seasons, 1914-15 

 and 1915-16. During both seasons the silo used Avas completely filled 

 with corn. The depth of the silage after settling was approximately 

 38 feet. 



MANNER OF PLACING AND REMOVING SAMPLES. 



Samples of silage in cheesecloth sacks were buried at various depths 

 and positions in the silo. The silo was divided into 8 levels the first 

 season and 6 levels the second season. The first level was near the 

 bottom of the silo and the last one near the top. The distance be- 

 tween levels was approximately the same. When a level was reached 

 in the regular course of filling the silo a sack of the carefully sampled 

 cut corn was weighed and buried at about the center. At the same 

 time another sample was taken for cliemical analysis. The sacks 

 were numbered according to the level at which they were buried. 



