SOUR FODDER 257 
it seems on the whole more likely that the flavors must be attrib- 
uted to bacterial action. 
As a summary, then, it appears that silage involves three 
distinct processes, each of which is capable of producing a pro- 
found modification of the material in the silo. Probably all three 
may be concerned, in different degrees, at different times. The 
various lots of silage do not always ferment alike, even under 
seemingly identical conditions; and very possibly these three 
different processes are concerned, in varying degrees, in the 
different lots of silage. The subject is complicated and probably 
so variable that we cannot at present say, with any degree of 
accuracy, just what is the usual course of events in this fermenta- 
tion. A large amount of study remains to be done on this subject, 
and doubtless, when the matter is properly studied, so that it 
is better understood, great improvements can be made in the 
process. 
It is perhaps fitting to say that silage forms a good food for 
cattle, although some dairy companies refuse to accept milk from 
silage-fed cows. The reason that this kind of fodder has an 
effect on the milk is probably due to the dirt and filth that get 
into the milk from the silage food after milking, rather than to 
the silage that the animals have actually eaten. If the milk 
were kept clean and all the dairy processes carried out in a proper 
manner, it is doubtful whether any trace of silage feeding would 
show in the milk. But considering the carelessness in the ordi- 
nary dairy and the dirt that commonly gets into milk, it may 
follow that the effect of silage in the stable will show in the milk. 
SOUR FODDER 
This is a food for cattle made out of the waste from beet sugar 
manufactories, and other waste material. Slices of beet roots, 
after the sugar is extracted, steamed potatoes, corn stalks, and 
various other vegetable substances, may serve as its basis. This 
material is packed in trenches in the ground, pressed by heavy 
