400 



CORN 



Value of Silage versus Fodder Corn. Vorhees and Lane of the 



New Jersey Station,* conducted an experiment to find the compara- 

 tive values of silage versus fodder corn. 



For the use of the experiment a is-acre field planted to corn, with 

 rows 3 feet 6 inches and stalks 8 inches apart in the row, was taken. 

 The crop was cared for during the first week of September, when the 

 ears were nicely glazed over. Twelve acres of the field were put in 

 the silo and three acres were harvested as fodder corn and shocked in 

 the usual manner. Two lots of cows consisting of 4 in each were 

 used in the experiment, one being fed corn fodder and the other silage, 

 the feeds being changed at the end of the first period so as to have a 

 check upon the experiment. The rations fed were so mixed that the 

 silage or fodder corn furnished at least one-half the total dry matter 

 and two-thirds the digestible carbohydrates. The cattle seemed to 

 relish the silage better than the corn fodder, as a portion of the corn 

 fodder was left uneaten. There seemed to be a gain with both lots 

 of cows. 



The following data gives the production of milk and fat : 



By noting the above table we see that the silage ration produced 

 12.6 per cent more milk and about 10.3 per cent more of the fat than 

 the fodder corn. 



Large yields and economy in production and storage are among 

 the highest values of silage. Beets also supply succulence. Careful 

 tests at the stations of Ohio, Maine, Pennsylvania and Ontario have 

 been made with rutabagas, mangels, turnips, and sugar beets. They 

 were found to furnish but 35 to 60 per cent as much dry matter per 

 acre as silage. The Pennsylvania Station found that $56.07 had to 

 be expended to grow an acre of roots, while $21.12 would pay for the 

 same area in corn and put it in the silo. The United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture estimates the cost of the care of an acre of corn 

 at $11.07, counting all details. 



♦Bulletin 122, New Jersey. 



