796 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXIV, No. 9 
PREPARATION OF THE SILAGE 
Quart milk bottles were used for making the sv/eet clover silage, since 
these had been used on other types of silage experiments and found to be 
very well suited for such work. 
The technic of silage making was as follows: A quart milk bottle was 
packed with the freshly-cut sweet clover and, if lacking in moisture, 
sufficient water was added to raise the moisture content to 75 or 80 per 
cent. A large rubber stopper containing a glass tube was placed in the 
bottle very tightly. This tube was bent at an angle so that its outer end 
was inserted into a beaker containing mercury. This arrangement 
allowed the fermentation gases, chiefly carbon dioxid, to escape from the 
bottle, but did not allow access of air to the silage. At the end of a few 
weeks, when the major fermentation had been completed, the bottles 
were opened and the silage examined. The acidity of the silage was 
determined, also the protein, ether extract, fiber, ash, and nitrogen-free 
extract. 
methods used 
In determining the composition of the sweet clovers at various stages 
of growth, the methods described by the Association of Official Agri¬ 
cultural Chemists were used.^ The results on the composition are given 
for the various stages in Table I. 
* Association OP OppiaAi. Agriculturai. Chemists, oppicial and tentative methods op analysis, 
AS compiled by the committee on revision op methods. Revised to Nov. i. 1919. xii, 417 p., 18 fig. 
Washington, D. C. 1920. Bibliographies at end of chapters. 
