^10 



Silage for Dairy Cows. 



[Sept., 



Silage Eation. 



Lot A. 3rd— 30th Jan. (incl.) Lot B. 6th Dec. to 2nd Jan. (incl.) 



Wringle 1,269-5 Duchess 2nd ... 616-5 



Foley 894-5 Smiitt 2nd ... 803-0 



Spot 488-5 Curly 1,275-5 



Frost 3rd ... 474-5 Ada 1,029-0 



Darlington ... 1.01 1*5 ' Daisy 398*5 



Beauty 612-0 



Total Milk ... 4,750-5 lb. TotalMilk 



Total Milk from Silage 8,873-0 lb. 



There is a gain of 143 lb. of milk over a period of 28 days 

 in favour of the silage ration, a small increase it is true, but 

 probably a real one. Lot A undoubtedly did considerably better 

 on the silage than on the mangold ration. Inspection of Table 1 

 shows that when the silage ration started on 3rd January all 

 the cows save Spot and Frost increased their milk yield. Spot 

 and Frost had both been calved for over four months and a 

 big falling off in the milk yield was inevitable. Wringle and 

 Foley had been calved 78 days and 86 days, respectively, when 

 the mangold ration ceased and the silage ration began, and in 

 the subsequent 28 days the milk yield of both cows increased 

 considerably instead of declining gradually as would normally 

 be expected. 



Lot B receiving silage from 6th December to 2nd January 

 was changed over to mangolds on 3rd January. During the 

 subsequent 28 days the milk yield of three of the cows declined 

 slightly, as would normally be expected. One other remained 

 f^tationary, whilst the fifth showed a considerable increase as the 

 result of a change to mangolds. The evidence, therefore, seems 

 to indicate stimulating influence by silage on the secretion of 

 milk. 



No difficulty whatever was experienced in feeding the silage 

 to the cows, and it soon became evident that they preferred it 

 to mangolds. When the cows came back to their stalls after 

 being turned out, those fed on the mangold ration habitually 

 made for the stalls of the cows receiving the silage ration and 

 licked out the mangers. Moreover, every morning when the 

 cows were turned out they made straight for the sump at the 

 foot of the silo, and there was vigorous competition for the silage 

 juice despite the fact that it had rather an objectionable smell — 

 somewhat resembling that of a tannery. 



The change from mangolds to silage and vice versa had no 

 iidverse effect on the milk yield, and a close inspection of the 



