Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-03-24


A series of experiments was begun at the
College Farm Of the New Jersey Experiment
Station, on the 1st of September 1881, under
the direction Of Mr. George H. Cook, to de-
termine the relative value of green fodder
corn, dried fodder corn and ensilage Ex-
pertinent having demonstrated that 400
pounds Of green corn yielded 100 pounds of
dry matter containing 6.32 pounds of ash a
comparison was made between it and the
weight of dry matter in the ensilage and
feld-oured stalks. While 100 pounds of the
dry matter Of green corn yielded .32 pounds
of ash, 50 pounds of the dry matter of the
ensilage and S2S of the field-cured stalks gave
the same result During the process of
feld.caring, therefore, 400 pounds of green
corn lost III pounds Of what, under circum-
stances, would make dry matter, while 400
pounds OF green corn packed in a silo lost Is
pounds of the same. Neither the feld-cured
corn nor the ensilage suffered loss of pro-
teine fat or fibre, but the loss fell upon the
class rbohydrate-sugar, starch, etc,
which includes the least valuable ingredi-
ments of folders 1t is admitted that quite
as much of the dryable matter of green corn
was preserved, by that experiment, by field
curing as by packing in a silo, and the feed
ing qualities were not considered.
Four cows we're selected, and for sixty
uh1b lIbhAtu hllhb III III IthDbGA1. 1ub uEhN
twenty days they were fed on twenty pounds
of dried corn fodder three pounds of wheat
bran and thirty pounds of brewers grains,
containing of total digestible food, 0.GO
pound fat, 2.57 pounds proteine and 11.iG
pounds carbohydrates. This quantity WAS
ration made up for each 1000 pounds of live
weight. The next twenty days the daily ra-
ton for two of the COWS was the same as
during the first period, but the other two
were fed ensilage instead of dried fodder
corn. For each 1000 pounds Of live weight
this second ration was fifty pounds ensilage,
three pounds wheat bran and thirty pounds
brewers grains, containing O6O pound fat,
2.G2 pounds proteine and 11.72 pounds car
bohydrates. The ensilage ration was then
fed to all the COWS during the next twenty
days.
The dried fodder corn was well cut and
prepared, and after the first day or two, was
eaten without waste During the second
period the COWS seemed to be unable to eat
all the harder pieces of ensilage, but the
waste was trihing The experiments seemed
to show that dried fodder corn, when cut
and crushed, is eaten quite as readily and
with as little waste as ensilnge. The cows
were MIXED twice daily, the milk weighed
and record kept. The average yield for
each COW was 1877 pounds for the sixty
days. The average yield for the first twenty
days, when all of them were fed on dried
fodder corn, was 463 pounds fractions omit
ted, and the average yield during the second
period of twenty days for the two cows fed
on fodder corn was 575 pounds, and for
those fed on ensilage, $40 pounds For the
next period (third), when all of them were
fed on ensilage, the average was 45l pounds.
The total yield of milk for the first period
was 1858 pounds; of the first two COWS fed
Ir,ripo uaonnA YNaripd
pounds; of the second two, fed entirely on
ensilage, 741, and of the whole, fed on ensi-
lage during the third period, 1865 pounds
Passing over the chemical analysis of the
milk, we give the summary of the facts
shown in the above experiment, as stated by
the director, which are: First-That whe n
the green corn was dried in stacks the loss of
food was less than it was when packed in a
silo. Second-That dried corn-fodder, when
cut and crushed, is eaten as readily and
with as little waste as ensilage. Third-In
three cases the yield of milk was not in
creased when ensilage was substituted for
dried corn, but in one case ensilage caused
an increase of eighty. seven pounds of milk
| in forty days. Fourth-In the mixed milk
of the two COWS fed on fodder corn, ensilage
caused no increase in the yield of the total
solid matter of the milk, while in the milk OF
the second pair it caused a gain Of 81 pounds,
OF per cent
Reasoning from the above experiment,
the superior value of ensilage as q substitute
for fodder corn, well cut, crushed and suita-
bly, prepared, is not fully established. While
ensilage will find many advocates, and de-
servedly SO, it is pleasant to notice the full
fillment of the theory advanced in this col
umn few months ago, which was that the
value of corn fodder was underestimated
and that few farmers properly prepared il
for feeding to stock. The method of prepar
alton then given is identical with the COURSE
practiced at the New Jersey Experiment Sta
ton in arriving at a knowledge of its merits
Gs compared with ensilage. The principa
| point to be noticed in preserving fodder in &
silo is that all that goes into it is cut into
very short lengths and made as fine as posi-
BILE. If the movement in favor OF ensilage
leads our farmers to properly prepare feed i
will be benefit from that facs alone. Tt
those who have no silos it is again recon
mended to cut and crush fodder corn as al
important article of food. The system Of
feeding from the stack or rack is wssteful. -
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