512 Report on the Experiments on Ensilage conducted at 
Taking together the results of the third and fourth experiments, 
it is clear that oats cut green and made into silage will produce 
a very valuable feeding material, and one which in the present 
instance has proved superior to either roots and straw-chafF 
mixed, or to hay. Further, the interesting fact has been brought 
forward that such silage will, if well made, keep perfectly good 
for at least two years, so that its immediate consumption is not 
imperative. At the same time, as Sir John Lawes has pointed 
out, it has yet to be shown whether a more profitable result 
cannot be obtained by allowing the oat crop to ripen thoroughly 
and reaping it as grain and straw, than by cutting it in the 
green state for silage. 
As considerable attention has been drawn of late to the 
relation of live and dead weights, I append the following table 
of actual weights recorded in the case of the first eight bullocks, 
when the feeding experiment closed and the beasts were 
slaughtered. The remaining eight are not given, as they were 
employed in more than one experiment and had various foods 
at different times : — 
Bullock. 
Food. 
Live-woipht, taken at 
Woburn. 
ejaculated 
into Stones 
of 14 lbs. 
Official Dead-weight, 
8 lbs. per stone. 
Date. 
cvvts. qrs. 
lbs. 
Btns. 
lbs. 
stns. lbs. 
Date. 
1 
Sour Silage . . 
April 19 
12 
0 
7 
96 
7 
92 7 
April 21 
2 
)? 
)) 
!> 
17 
12 
1 
7 
98 
7 
97 5 
„ 20 
3 
>> 
19 
13 
3 
9 
110 
9 
110 6 
» 21 
4 
>j 
Boots and Hay 
19 
12 
1 
26 
99 
12 
95 4 
„ 21 
5 
J> 
27 
12 
2 
8 
100 
8 
106 1 
„ 29 
6 
)> 
27 
11 
1 
4 
90 
4 
96 0 
„ 28 
7 
;» 
27 
13 
3 
13 
110 
13 
110 0 
„ 29 
8 
» 
j> 
27 
13 
0 
7 
104 
7 
105 1 
„ 29 
The dead weights were taken in the market by an official 
appointed for the purpose, and represent the weights of saleable 
meat after the removal of the offal. A comparison of the two 
sets shows that the bullocks fed on roots and hay have come out 
considerably better in the matter of dead weight than the silage- 
fed ones, which is a point of considerable importance. 
Chemical Composition of the contents of Silos 1, 3, and 4. 
From a large number of analyses taken as the several cuts of 
silage were removed, the average composition of the contents of 
each silo was obtained : — 
