10 
BULLETIN 1097, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
and odors present were described as " slight feed," " feed," " silage," 
and "strong feed." 
During the latter part of this experiment it became necessary to 
use silage which had been in the silo for four or five } r ears. This 
silage had a milder flavor than the 8-month-old silage fed in 10- 
pound lots during the previous experiment, and gave the milk a 
milder silage flavor. This suggests that the degree of odor present 
in the silage helps to determine the degree of feed flavor and odor 
imparted to milk. 
EFFECT OF AEKATION. 
After the samples of milk from the silage-fed cows were taken, the 
remaining milk, while still warm, was aerated by passing it over 
a surface cooler. Although diminished by aeration, the feed odor 
was still present in sufficient degree to be noted in over 70 per cent of 
the flavor examinations and in 80 per cent of the odor examinations. 
Table 4 also shows the conditions noted in the check samples from 
cows not fed silage. The terms used by the judges in describing the 
flavor and odor in these samples were " natural," " normal," " good," 
and " excellent." In no cases were the judges able to detect any 
feed flavor or odor in the milk drawn from the cows not receiving 
silage. This agrees with previous work covering this phase. 
It is apparent that feeding 20 pounds of corn silage one hour before 
milking does affect the flavor and odor of milk to an appreciable 
extent. It is also apparent that aeration diminishes the degree of 
the feed odor imparted by the silage. The experiment further sug- 
gests that when 20 pounds of 5-year-old silage are fed, sufficient will 
pass through the body to affect the taste and smell of the milk pro- 
duced. While the feed flavor and odor in this milk were sufficiently 
prominent to be apparent to some consumers, it was the opinion of 
the judges that after aeration it would be accepted in a great many 
cases without complaint on the part of the consumer. 
5. FEEDING 30 POUNDS OF CORN SILAGE BEFORE MILKING. 
The quantity of silage was next increased to 30 pounds per cow. 
Table 5. — Effect of feeding 30 pound* of corn silage once a day one hour before 
imjking. 
Result of sampling. 
Milk from cows fed 
silage. 
Milk from 
cows not 
fed silage. 
Before 
aeration. 
After 
aeration. 
Number of examinations 
46 
46 
46 
Off flavor 
46 i 46 

, 
N o off flavor 
45 
Off odor 
46 , 46 
o 
1 
No off odor 
45 
