4 BULLETIN" 745, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the stock had difficulty in eating the ensilage (which they relished) 

 because the cutter had not chopped the material fine enough. 



The silo was opened again in January, 1918, and about 30 tons of 

 the ensilage fed to poor cows, many of them suckling calves. About 

 15 pounds of a mixture of ensilage and cottonseed meal, in the ratio 

 of 10 pounds to 1, was fed to each cow daily. The ensilage was in a 

 good state of preservation, and the leaves had softened a good deal ; 

 but the fiber appeared to be about as tough as when the material 

 was put into the silo in 1915. The feeding gave good results. The 

 silo was closed again to save the remainder of the ensilage for 

 emergency. 



After the feeding of 1915-16, investigations were made to deter- 

 mine the food value of the stems and leaves of the soapweed plants. 

 The following results of chemical analyses show that the material 

 as a whole has a comparatively high, food value. 



Chemical analyses of soapweed {Yucca elata), compared with chemical analyses 

 of important native range grasses of the same locality, on moisture-free basis. 





Soapweed. 1 



Black 

 grama 

 grass. 2 



Red 



three-awn 



grass. 2 





Stems. 



Leaves. 



Ash 



Per cent. 



8.4 



2.0 



4.25 



35.1 



50.25 



Per cent. 



6.7 



3.6 



8.2 



38.4 



43.1 



Per cent. 



7.4 



1.4 



4.6 



33.2 



53.4 



Per cent. 

 8.2 





1.1 





4.8 





35 6 





50.3 







Total 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



100 







Chemical analyses of soapweed (Yucca elata), compared with chemical analyses 

 of alfalfa, corn ensilage, and fresh green timothy, on moisture basis. 



Soapweed stems 3 



Soapweed leaves 3 



Fresh green alfalfa * 



Immature corn ensilage ' 

 Fresh green timothy *. . . 



Water. 



Per cent. 

 54.7 

 42.3 

 74.7 

 73.7 

 62.5 



Ash. 



Per cent. 



2.4 

 1.7 

 2.2 



Ether 

 extract. 



Per cent. 

 1.1 

 3.1 

 1.0 

 .8 

 1.2 



Protein. 



Per cent. 

 1.3 

 4.5 

 4.5 

 2.1 

 3.1 



Crude 

 fiber. 



Per cent. 



15.2 



22.3 



7.0 



6.3 



11.7 



Nitro- 

 gen-free 

 extract. 



Per cent. 

 24.1 

 24.2 

 10.4 

 15.4 

 19.3 



Number 



ofanaly- 



2 



2 



143 

 121 



1 Average of four analyses made by the Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, from 

 samples submitted Sept. 10, 1917, Apr. 18, May 14. and May 31, 1918. 



2 Average of 24 analyses made by the Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, from sam- 

 ples submitted each month beginning April, 1916, and ending March, 1918. 



3 Average of two analyses bv Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, from samples sub- 

 mitted May 14 and May 31, 1918. 



4 Analyses of alfalfa, corn ensilage, and timothy taken from "Feeds and Feeding" by Henry and Mor- 

 rison. 



The two native grasses, black grama grass (Boutelcma eriopoda) 

 and red three-awn grass (Aristida longiseta) are the most important 

 grasses on the Jornada Kange Reserve, and yet the comparison is 



