ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 85 



propriety of feeding fodder spoiled in the pits, but while no indi- 

 cations showing injury from feeding it were then developed, it 

 is justly considered that it is more available as a plant food than 

 animal food; hence, it is thrown upon the manure pile. 



It is not necessary to enter into figures to prove the exact 

 value of ensilage, but the following conclusions from the experi- 

 ments of M. Grandeau, of France, will be interesting: 



The fodder preserved with straw at Cercay shows a remark- 

 able reduction in its percentage of water in straw. It also shows 

 saccharine elements three times greater than that of green maize, 

 while that preserved at Berlin free from straw retains but a fourth 

 of its original quantity. The Cercay fodder also tripled the amount 

 of azotized matter in the green maize, finding a large supply in 

 the associated straw, while in the Berlin specimen it was but 

 slightly increased. Again, the Berlin fodder decreased its pro- 

 portion non-azotized matter, while that of Cercay borrowed 

 largely from the straw. Both kinds of preserved fodder enlarged 

 their proportions of fatty matter; that of Berlin less than 50 per 

 cent., andthat of Cercay six-fold. Of crude cellulose, the Ber- 

 lin shows a slight decrease, while the Cercay about doubled its 

 percentage. The proportion of ash increased two-fold in the 

 Berlin, and nearly seven-fold in the Cercay. Both kinds showed 

 a perceptible development of acid-acetic and lactic. In the 

 Cercay fodder, the maize was mixed with half of its quantity 

 of straw. As the result of his investigations, M. Grandeau 

 came to the conclusion that the combination of straw with maize 

 added very considerably to the nutritive value of the fermented 

 fodder. 



In a subsequent statement M. Grandeau explains that the 

 specimen called green maize in his analysis was partly desiccated 

 by contact with air and sun heat. This would more particularly 

 affect its percentage of water. From a specimen freshly cut he 

 obtained, by analysis, the following percentages: Water, 86.20; 

 sugar, 0.43; azotized matter, 0.90; non-azotized matter, 7.67; 

 fatty matter, 0.18; crude cellulose, 3.67; ashes, 0.95. 



M. Grandeau's conclusion in favor of the mingling of straw 



