120 



Mr . George : " Of course, it has got to be assimilated by 

 some other part of the food." 



The secretary: "There have been some thorough experi- 

 ments made upon this point, where they have tried to utilize 

 ensilage and dry fodder at the same time. I accidentally hap- 

 pened to turn my hand here to a report of some experiments 

 to prepare the dry fodder in a more digestible manner, made by 

 Mr. Nutall, quite a prominent dairyman of England, upon the 

 farm of Lord Vernon. These experiments were made by feed- 

 ing thirty cows for five months, and he says: ' These had been 

 fed upon hay and a very large excess of dry food, which never 

 was applied to the proper sustenance of the system or the 

 secretion of milk. When this experiment was commenced 5 

 pounds of hay and 5 pounds of oat straw per cow was cut up 

 and put into a bin, and 2^ gallons of boiling water were thrown 

 upon this food. The result was most satisfactory. Thus we 

 may save the stomach of the cow a certain amount of work, 

 and if we cannot restore the natural juices to the hay, which 

 have been washed out or dried out, vve can at least prepare it 

 for the cow in a more digestible state.' " 



While this gentleman obtained good results from mixing the 

 feed, at the same time with the food all prepared in a green 

 state, he would have derived still further benefit from it. The 

 great object in the ensilage question is, of course, the preserva- 

 tion of succulent food for winter feeding, either for dairy cows or 

 for beef. They both amount to the same ; the stalk that will make 

 milk in the dairy cow will increase flesh in the steer. 



The President: "Will Minnesota bran make fat or meat in a 

 steer? " 



The Secretary: "Yes. Properly mixed with other stuff, it 

 will produce both or either." 



Mr. A. B. Hostetter: "I can understand why some of these 

 gentlemen who have been in a dry country this year seem anxious 

 to put water into their feed, but it seems to me it is a useless 

 expense to handle water in the ensilage. Water is about a§ 



