406 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XIV, No. 10 
CLOVER AND WHEAT-STRAW SILAGE 
The appearance of clover and clover and wheat straw mixture was 
very similar. Both kinds of silage kept well, and practically no difference 
in color or odor could be noted. It appeared that dairy stock ate the 
clover and wheat-straw silage with more relish, but both kinds were 
entirely consumed at each feeding. The acid fermentation in both cases 
was similar to that in corn silage. Siloing a portion of wheat straw with 
clover offers an opportunity for securing the maximum food value from 
wheat straw that otherwise is generally burned in the stack (Table III). 
alfalfa silage 
In a sample of silage made from alfalfa alone taken three months after 
siloing no butyric acid was found. Moreover, lactic acid was absent. A 
sample taken nine months after siloing had a strong odor of butyric 
acid. It was examined qualitatively by the orientation tests suggested 
by Dyer, and the presence of butyric acid was confirmed. The silage 
was unfit for feeding purposes. This fact showed that alfalfa silage 
gradually deteriorates with age and confirms the conclusions of Reed 
and Fitch (it), who state that alfalfa can be made into silage if it is 
fed soon after siloing, but on standing it rapidly becomes unfit for feed¬ 
ing purposes. Experiments are now under way to determine the prac¬ 
ticability of adding crude glucose to alfalfa when siloed for the purpose 
of raising the percentage of fermentable carbohydrates, the object 
being to insure an acid fermentation that is similar to that in corn silage. 
Reed and Fitch state that— 
There is as much acid produced in alfalfa silage as in kafir or cane silage. This 
would indicate that the acid content of silage is not always an index to the quality 
of silage. 
In the author's opinion the criterion of good silage is the kind of acids 
present rather than the quantity. Good silage must have a sufficient 
quantity to insure its keeping, but beyond this point silage may vary 
in amount of acidity and yet be classed as normal silage. All good 
silage examined by the writer contained lactic, acetic, and propionic- 
acids, and in almost all cases lactic acid was in excess of the sum of 
acetic and propionic acids. It is assumed that no determinations were 
made by Reed and Fitch on the kinds of acids present in alfalfa silage, 
but that all the acidity was calculated in terms of lactic acid. Obvi¬ 
ously, by this method it would appear to them that quantity of acids 
was not a determining factor. 
The author found that in alfalfa and other silage of poor quality 
butyric acid was always present in amounts varying with the degree of 
spoiling that it had undergone. Moreover, in all samples of alfalfa 
silage lactic acid was found only in traces. It is hard to explain why 
lactic acid is absent in alfalfa silage, when it is usually the predominating 
