The Colorado Experiment Station. 
24 • 
5. The average acidity for the three different kinds of silage 
was as follows: Corn 2.03 per cent, cane 1.46 per cent, and kaffir 
1.43 per cent. 
6. The kaffir silage was perhaps the poorest on account of be¬ 
ing immature, as a heavy frost forced an early harvest. 
7. The cane silage seemed the most palatable. 
8. The silage was stored in wooden-stave and in cement silos. 
It kept equally as well in cement as in wood. 
9. The time of cutting cane and kaffir for silage is all im¬ 
portant. The crops should be practically mature; that is, the seed 
should be mature. 
Kaffir is claimed by some to be the heaviest yielder, but we 
find that this varies greatly with conditions, seed, and variety used. 
Another factor which should encourage the making of silage from 
sorghums is that silage made from stunted or frosted sorghum does 
not have the poisoning effect on stock which the green fodder is 
known to have. The prussic acid seems to be dstroyed during sil¬ 
age-making. 
Alfalfa .—A great many inquiries come asking whether it is 
advisable to put alfalfa into the silo. As a rule, it is a practice 
which is being generally discouraged, except under unfavorable 
weather conditions when it is impossible to cure it into hay without 
great loss of leaves and soluble nutrients. It is true that greater 
losses occur in the silo with proteid than carbonaceous feeds. A poor 
quality of silage is also reported, but this is likely due to improper 
packing and cutting the crop too young. Many practical dairymen 
report silage of excellent quality from alfalfa when cut quite mature 
and put into the silo immediately after cutting. Filling the silo with 
first crop of alfalfa for summer use is really a thing to be encour¬ 
aged, as it is a more economical practice than soilage. What has 
been said of alfalfa would apply equally as well to clovers. 
Peas .—The common field pea, when grown with either barley 
or oats, is being used very extensively for silage purposes in sec¬ 
tions of Colorado where corn and sorghums cannot be grown suc¬ 
cessfully. Samples taken from silos filled with this mixture, 
showed a silage of very fine quality, and reports of results obtained 
are very favorable, coming thus far mostly from lamb and sheep 
feeders. The cowpea and soybean, when planted with corn, are giv¬ 
ing very good results in Eastern and Middle Western states. Pea 
cannery refuse has been successfully siloed. 
Small Grains .—Summer silage of winter rye, cut when well 
headed, is giving satisfaction. Early crops of this kind could be 
used to advantage. Great care should be taken to cut it very fine 
