PRESERVATION FOR STOCK FOOD 747 



Varieties.— Henry (1) gives the following as the average com- chap. 

 position of green maize forage in the United States :— xv - 



Digestive Nutrients 

 „ , , in 100 lbs. Nutritive Ratio. 



Dent breeds .... ty5 lbs. i : i 4 - 5 



f} mt " ... T_VO ,, I : n- 3 g 



^veet ., .... I4 -_, ti x . ir2J 



There is, therefore, a marked difference in favour of flint 

 and sweet maize as regards nutritive ratio, and of sweet maize 

 as regards digestive nutrients. But there is another aspect of 

 the case from the farmer's point of view. The yield per acre 

 is usually so much larger in the case of the dent breeds that it 

 may be more profitable to grow them and to make up the 

 deficiency in protein — which must be supplied in an)- case — with 

 a rather larger proportion of protein-rich foodstuffs. Still 

 another aspect is that, as the quality of the stalks and leaves 

 declines rapidly after maturity, their feeding value will be 

 found to depend more on the length and manner of storing 

 than on the variety of maize grown. The application of 

 manures also affects the quality. 



714. Maize Silage. — Of the three forms in which maize 

 fodder is preserved (i.e. silage, fodder, or stover), the silage 

 is the most palatable and gives the least waste in feeding. The 

 protein content of the silage is slightly higher than that of the 

 fodder ; the fat is 1 per cent higher and the ash 2 per cent 

 higher ; on the other hand, the nitrogen-free extract (carbo- 

 hydrates) is 7 per cent lower, and the indigestible matter 

 ("crude fibre") 4 per cent higher in the silage than in the 

 fodder. To compensate for the latter the palatability of the 

 silage is greater than in the case of the fodder, and there is far 

 less waste in feeding it, because the silage — if properly prepared 

 and properly fed — is eaten up clean, while the rough ends of 

 the fodder are usually wasted. The succulence of the silage is 

 of value in the dry period of early spring, and a rather higher 

 rate of feeding can be maintained with it than with dry fodder, 

 which helps to increase the yield of butter-fat. 



" Experiments show the digestibility of silage and maize 

 fodder to be about equal, when all other conditions except 

 method of preserving, remain the same. A large number of 

 feeding experiments, mostly with milch cows, show, in general, 



