MANUAL O^ CATTLE-FEEDIJSra. 291 



tion experiineuts witli the different qualities of fodder 

 obtainable by different manuring of tlie banie soil, in order 

 to determine tile actual practical value of liigli mamiring 

 for fodder crops. As yet tliis lias not been done. 



Method of Curing, — Tbe method of curing almost 

 Tiniversally adopted in this country is drying. Evidently, 

 this alone cannot change the composition of the dry mat- 

 ter of the fodder, and we have seen that the digestibility 

 is in no essential degree affected when the drying is care- 

 fully conducted. 



On the other hand, it has been already stated that in 

 the preparation and handling of hay, as commonly con- 

 ducted, more or less loss of substance is unavoidable, and 

 that this loss consists of the most nutritious parts of the 

 plants. As a result, both the composition and digestibility 

 of the hay suffer (compare p. 306). 



Obviously, it is desirable to reduce this loss to the mini- 

 mum. Hence all methods and appliance:^ which diminish 

 the amount of handling which the hay must receive, espe- 

 cially when it is nearly dry, tend to improve the quality 

 of the product. So, too, it is desirable to dry the grass as 

 little as is consistent with the object of curing, viz., to 

 ensure the keeping of the fodder, since the dryer and more 

 brittle it becomes, the greater is the loss by handling. 



In the process of " ensilage," long practiced in Europe 

 and lately introduced into this country, these losses are 

 largely avoided, the fodder being placed in the silo while 

 still green. On the other hand, the process of fermenta- 

 tion which the fodder undergoes causes losses in other 

 ways. In this country ensilage has been chiefly recom- 

 mended for maize, and we shall consider it more fully in 

 that connection. 



Damage "by Rain, — In our hot and dry smnmers, in 



