The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1905-04-15

u1ate the production OF milk mucn
more than the same forage would if
fed to COWS after being dried. 1t is
the same way with silage, for silage
contains all the natural juices of the
nlant, and it stimulates the production
of milk just the same as though the
plants were cut fresh and green in
the field for the cows.
Cows should never be fed exclusive
" on silage. They need some dry for
age to go with it; they need variety.
Besides this, silage is a carbonaceous
food and needs some more nitrogen
GUS food to go with it, to make we'll
balanced ration About 80, or at most,
40 pounds a day of silage is as much
as should be fed to each COW. It
should be fed from the top of the silo,
taking off about two inches in depth
from the entire surface each day, for,
if it is long exposed to the air, it will
ne damaged If the feeding COM
mences Immediately after filling the
silo-and this is a good way to do
there will be no damaged silage at all.
Care should be taken at each time OF
feeding to leave the surface smooth
and even, and not pick and stir it up
with the fork, for that will let in the
air and cause damage.
My way is to feed the silage ration
in two feeds, both night and morning,
and it is better to feed after milking,
because the peculiar OdOr of the Silage
might affect the flavor of the milk.
Cows, as we'll as other stock, have
a wonderful liking for silage, and | be-
lieve much of the success in feeding
it can be attributed to it's palatability.
They even prefer it, to certain extent
at least, to fresh cut forage, or good
grass in the pastures. l have seen
COWS in June when on good pasture,
which had been fed silage every day,
come to the gate at o'clock in the
afternoon and below and ask to come
to the barn and get silage, which they
would eat greedily and with apparent
pertinent tried of Offering COWS at the
same time corn cut fresh from the
field and silage that was put up the
year before. Every COW chose the
silage and ate that first. 1t is true
these COWS had been fed silage every
day all summer, and it may be the
habit of eating silage had something
to do with their preferring it, but they
surely WOulu uOL nave uOuo IL IL SlldS0
had not been pretty good feed.
There is no better and cheaper feed
to supplement short pastures, which
we are almost sure to have every
summer on account of drOuth or other
causes, than good silage. I know
some of the most successful dairymen
in the country who feed silage every
day in the year-winter as well as
summer.
l have never fed silage to beef cat
Tie, but it has been tried by some
farmers and at several of the expert
ment stations, including our station
at Madison. The reports are all fav-
orable, especially in the first stages
OF fattening. Large steers were fed
40 to so pounds daily, and they made
rapid growth. Of course the steers
were fed other forage with it, but the
succulent silage seemed to aid diges-
tion and cause a better assimilation
OF the food. The gain in weight was
put on at less cost than it could be
VIII. dry forage and grain alone. AS
the fattening period progressed the
amount of silage fed was somewhat
reduced, till near the end it is nearly
all left off so as to make the flesh more