FEEDING 219 



29,800 pounds of green fodder were obtained 24,440 

 pounds of silage, which, fed with 1648 pounds of hay 

 and 2884 pounds of grain, produced 7496 pounds of 

 milk, containing 340.4 pounds of fat. From 29,800 

 pounds of green fodder were obtained 7330 pounds of 

 field-cured fodder corn, which, fed with 1567 pounds 

 of hay and 2743 pounds of grain, produced 71 19 

 pounds of milk, containing 318.2 pounds of fat. 



At the Vermont station the silage ration produced 

 837 pounds, or 11 per cent, more milk than was ob- 

 tained from the dry fodder ration. At the Wisconsin 

 station the silage ration yielded 377 pounds more milk 

 and 22 pounds more fat, a difference in favor of silage 

 of 5 per cent in milk and 6 per cent in fat. 



Losses in the Siloing and Field Curing — Whether 

 the changes which occur in the silo be due to the ac- 

 tivity of certain ferments, as has been held for a long 

 time, or whether the results of recent investigations, 

 indicating that these changes are mainly due to res- 

 piratory processes which continue as long as the plant 

 cells live, be accepted, the more important fact to the 

 feeder remains unaltered, that these changes are ac- 

 companied by a material loss of organic matter, and 

 that such loss is largely proportionate to the amount of 

 oxygen or air admitted to the mass. That the more 

 perfectly the mass be compacted, and the more nearly 

 air-tight the silo, the less the loss. The necessary, or 

 at least unavoidable, loss under practical conditions , 

 seems to be approximately fifteen per cent of dry mat- 

 ter — that is, the feeder takes out of the silo between 

 one-seventh and one-sixth less dry matter than he puts 

 in. It is moreover true that the loss falls most heavily 

 on the sugars, which are more or less completely con- 

 verted into acids. To some extent changes occur in 

 the nitrogenous compound which affect adversely their 

 . feeding value. 



