Thirty-fourth Annual Convention. 



205 



Samples of silage and non-silage milk were sent to five milk 

 experts in Chicago and other cities, accompanied by a letter ask- 

 ing the same three questions. One of these experts had no 

 choice, one decided in favor of the non-silage, and three preferred 

 the silage milk. 



It will be noticed from the tables that most people could 

 detect a difference in the flavor of the two samples of milk, but 

 it was expressly stated in every case that there v\^as nothing ob- 

 jectionable about the flavor of either sample. 



To determine further whether the public generally objects 

 to silage milk, twelve half pint bottles of such milk were delivered 

 at the best hotel in the Twin Cities each day for a month, making 

 360 samples in all. These were served to guests who drank milk 

 and no complaint or criticism of any kind was made. 



For the past nine years the Department of Dairy Husbandry 

 at the University has delivered from 100 to 150 quarts of milk a 

 day to people in the two cities. During this time the cows have 

 been fed an average of about forty pounds of silage per day, 

 except when on pasture, and no complaints of a bad flavor in the 

 milk have been received. 



Mr. H. B. Curler of DeKalb, who is one of the most pro- 

 gressive dairymen of the state, has been producing certified milk 

 for the past ten years and selling it in Chicago at 12 cents a quart. 

 All of this time Mr. Curler has been feeding silage to his cows, 

 excepting during the season of the year when pasture was abund- 

 ant, and with the best of results. 



This is strong evidence that if the silage is of good quality 

 and used in reasonable amounts in connection with other feed, 

 it is one of the best feeds obtainable for dairy cows when pasture 

 is not available. It must be remembered that in all of this work 

 nothing but good silage was fed and no spoiled silage was allowed 

 to accumulate in or around the silo. When silage imparts a bad 

 or disagreeable flavor to the milk produced from it, almost 

 invariably the cause is that the silage has not been fed properly, 

 or that spoiled silage has been used. 



It should not be understood from this discussion that the 

 time of day a food is fed which may impart a bad flavor to the 

 milk is of no consequence. All feeds of this nature should be 

 fed after milking and not before, to avoid the possibilitv of pro- 

 ducing an unpleasant flavor in the milk. 



