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DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



pounds in milk and one pound in butterfat on the corn silage. It also 

 shows that the cows, when fed cane silage, made an increase in body 

 weight of twenty-four pounds. The increase made in milk, butterfat, and 

 live weight is the total increase made by the four cows in twenty days. 

 The increase made in milk and fat production in favor of the corn silage 

 ' is so small as to mean little. In fact, the increase shown here is not much 

 more than a variation that would be caused by change from one feed to 

 another, or a change that would be caused by a change of weather or other 

 such variable conditions. The increase of twenty-four pounds in live weight 

 for the lot is a daily gain of a little more than one-fourth of a pound to 

 the cow for the period, which fact suggests that the cane silage is more 

 fattening than the corn silage. 



Lot II made a similar showing. As has been observed, the order of 

 feeding was just the reverse of that in lot I. It will be noticed that here 

 the cows did not make a direct increase in milk when changed from the 

 cane silage to the corn silage, but that there was a direct increase in gains 

 when the change was made. A comparison of the average production of 

 the first and third periods with that of the second period shows that the 

 corn silage produced more milk and butterfat than the cane silage, while 

 the cane silage caused gains in live weight. The four cows made seventy- 

 six pounds more milk and a trifle more fat on the corn silage than on the 

 cane. Each cow produced daily three-fourths of a pound more milk on the 

 corn silage than she did on the cane silage. Here, again, the increase in 

 live weight when the cows were changed from corn to cane silage, suggests 

 that the cane silage is more fattening than the corn silage. 



Second Trial, 1912-1913 



During the winter of 1912-1913, a feeding experiment was conducted 

 with fifteen dairy cows, in which comparison was made of the respective 

 merits of three crops for silage. The general plan of the experiment was 

 similar to the plan carried out the first year. The fifteen cows were divided 

 into three lots. Lot I, of six cows, was used to compare kafir silage with 

 corn silage. Lot II contained five cows, by means of which cane was 

 compared with kafir silage. In Lot III four cows were used to determine 

 the comparative value of corn silage and cane silage. The cattle in each 

 lot were fed for three periods of thirty days each, with a ten-day period 

 intervening between the first and second periods and also between the 

 second and third periods, at which time the changes in feed were made. 

 The experiment included only the thirty days in each period. The grain 

 and hay rations were kept constant, as described in the other experiment. 

 The only change made was in the kind of silage, the amount of silage -being 

 kept constant. The cows were weighed each day and the gain and the loss 

 in live weight were noted. 



The following table gives the results of the second trial: 



