8 
BULLETIN 1097, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
when from 30 to 50 pounds of silage were fed daily to cows in two 
feedings, one hour before each milking, in an unventilated barn, a 
feed flavor and odor were imparted to the milk of the cows re- 
ceiving silage. 
The flavors and odors in the milk and cream from the alternate 
cows not receiving silage were usually described as " good," " excel- 
lent," "mild," "natural," and "normal." The milk from the cows 
not fed silage furnished a check on the effects of the odors present in 
the barn air. Table 2 shows conclusively that when cows were kept 
in an unventilated barn in which the corn-silage odor was present to 
a greater degree than under reasonably good farm feeding conditions 
the examiners, looking painstakingly for such, did not find a feed 
flavor and odor except in a comparatively few cases. These were 
silage taints probably due to carrying over such taint within the body 
from previous feeding, as demonstrated in subsequent experiments. 
These results show that the more or less common opinion that silage 
flavors are air-borne to milk is not true to the degree commonly sup- 
posed. They also show that milk from cows fed silage under the 
conditions of this experiment does take on, through the body, the 
silage flavor and odor. 
3. FEEDING 10 POUNDS OF CORN SILAGE BEFORE MILKING. 
Having determined that the odor of corn silage is usually body- 
borne to milk, the next step was to ascertain the number of pounds 
of corn silage which could be fed to cows one hour previous to milk- 
ing before such milk would take on sufficient silage flavor and odor 
through the body to be recognized by those looking carefully for 
the same. Table 3 shows the result from samples drawn from the 
mixed milk of cows each receiving 10 pounds of silage. The barn 
was well ventilated in this and all experiments which follow. 
Table 3. — Effect of feeding 10 pounds of com silage per cow once a day one hour 
oefore milking. 
Result of sampling. 
Milk from cows fed 
silage. 
Milk from 
cows not 
fed silage. 
Before 
aeration. 
After 
aeration. 
51 
51 
51 
Off flavor 
44 
7 
38 
13 
2 
49 
Oft" odor 
41 
10 
35 
16 
2 
No off odor 
49 
The flavors and odors of milk from the cows fed silage were de- 
scribed as "slight feed," "sweetish feed," or "silage." These re- 
sults show that the feeding of 10 pounds of corn silage to coats one 
hour before milking gave the milk a sufficient feed flavor to be recog- 
