8 4 



dairyman ensilage is of great value, since it will keep the cows 

 up to a full flow of milk continuously. To the shepherd it w ill 

 allow the use of succulent food, so needful to sheep in winter. 

 It will assist the breeder of young stock in keeping them in full 

 growth and vigor in winter. It will be equally valuable to the 

 breeder and feeder of fine stock, who notably spend large sums 

 in artificial feeding stuffs. 



WHAT A FRENCH EXPERIMEMTER HAS SHOWN. 



M. Pasquay has deduced some valuable facts in relation to 

 the feeding value of ensilage. It was found that maize fodder 

 (green) has a feeding value equal to 22 per cent, of that of hay; 

 rye fodder, 38 per cent.; grass (green), 34 per cent.; bright 

 wheat straw, 48 per cent. In a good forage ration for a milch 

 cow the ratio of nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous matter should 

 be as 1 to 5, or even as 1 to 4.5; for young animals, weighing 

 between 250 and 300 pounds, as 1 to 3.3; for animals of 450 

 pounds, as 1 to 4; for oxen in absolute repose, as 1 to 8. Maize 

 forage cut green does not meet this requirement, as it shows a 

 proportion of 1 to 9.24. The maize preserved with a mixture 

 of straw, as at Carcay, approximates the standard, showing pro- 

 portions of 1 to 4.81. Its increased per cent, of fatty matter 

 represents also a great advantage, being six times greater than 

 in the green maize. 



M. GofTart found that his preserved fodder was sufficient 

 without any other food to keep his animals in fine condition. M. 

 Houette, of the department of Yonne, found by experience that 

 the maize should be cut for preservation in silos as near as pos- 

 ble to its maturity, when it is more nutritive, the ears more devel- 

 oped, the stalks more firm, and the watery element less predom- 

 inant. Being finely chopped before pitting, its fermentation in 

 the silo will soften it and render it as palatable to animals as the 

 freshly-cut maize. He has been able to keep stock upon it to 

 the last of May, and once as late as July, the fodder being in a 

 condition but imperceptibly changed from that of its primary 

 fermentation in the silo. Some question has been raised as to the 



