122 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



After each cow owner has demonstrated to his own satisfaction and 

 in his own way that liberal feeding is profitable, and scant feeding ex- 

 pensive, he should begin to consider what feed pays him best. As the 

 corn crop is preeminent in this locality the dairyman should devote a 

 good share of his thought to considering the most economical method 

 of converting it into milk. 



It has been shown by experiments (Feeds and Feeding, p. 251) "That 

 corn fodder yields about twice th e dry matter that can be secured from 

 a crop of roots on the same land." The cost of one acre of corn placed in 

 the silo is estimated at $25.12, while to grow and house an acre of beets 

 costs $56.^0, and again that a cubic foot of com silage contains nearly 

 twice as much dry matter as the same volume o f hay stored in a mow. 

 Also that the cost of putting one ton of green corn in the silo is 58.6 cents. 



These observations indicate that roots and hay supply only about one- 

 half as much food per acre as corn, and demonstrate the superior feed- 

 ing value of corn. There has always been a difference of opinion how- 

 ever as to the best way of feeding the corn crop to dairy cows. Some 

 advocate cutting, shocking and curing the corn in the field, while others 

 preserve it in silos. 



The construction and continuous use of silos by so many prosperous 

 dairymen, it seems to me. is convincing evidence of the economical value 

 of ensilage as a milk producing food. This fact in itself should at least 

 lead cow owners to seriously consider the advisability of trying this feed 

 on their own farms. In addition to the fact that many prosperous dairy- 

 men continue to use their silos, a great many experiments have been made 

 with ensilage at our Agricultural Colleges. These show '(Feeds and Feed- 

 ing, p. 249) that the losses of material are about the same when corn 

 fodder is cured in the field in shocks as when it is preserved in a good 

 silo, "that the digestibility of corn silage and of dry fodderis practically 

 the same, ' and that in actual feeding contests with dairy cows, ensilage 

 "gives better results than a corresponding amount of dry fodder." In 

 one experiment the silage ration produced 11 per cent more milk than was 

 produced from the dry fodder ration, and in another the difference in favor 



