CHAPTER XXIII. 

 SOILING VS. ENSILAGE. 



Comparative Value. 



It has been advocated by some enthusiastic ensilage 

 men that, instead of soiling cattle in summer, en- 

 silage should be fed the year round. 



This opinion must certainly come from enthusiasm, 

 for in reality there are small grounds on which to 

 sustain such an argument. I have already said soil- 

 ing is as far ahead of ensilaging as ensilage is ahead 

 of cured fodder. First, there is a loss of feeding 

 value in silage amounting to about twenty-five per 

 cent. Second, soiling is more economical in point 

 of extra labor (that many seem to think is so great). 

 Soiling crops go direct from the field to the cattle. 



Ensilage has to be cut and deposited in the silo, 

 then taken out again. All this labor is omitted in 

 case of soiling crops. Again, oats and peas, barley, 

 rye, the clovers, are more nearly a perfect feed in 

 the green state than corn, even before it has lost 

 twenty-five per cent, of its feeding value in the silo. 



Again, the change from silage to fresh-cut oats 

 and peas, for instance, is a very welcome change, 

 and has never, in my experience, failed to increase 

 the flow of milk. True, there is a little saving in 



