The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1915-06-04
ROOTS AND SllAGE.
Comparison Of the Two In Rations For
Milk Production.

MIX FToduction'
Prepared by Ontario Agricultural col
lcge.l
IN the first place. IL may be noted
that the Maine, Pennsylvania. Ohio
and Ontario experiment stations COM
pared the yield of dry matter per acre
from roots and corn. Maine obtained
3,11J pounds of dry matter per acre
from Swede turnips and $3.50 pounds
from fodder corn. Pennsylvania OBJ
tanned 4.5JI pounds of dry matter per
acre from mangels and 6,T63 pounds
per acre from corn, Ohio 5000 pounds
dry matter per acre from mangels and
G,O00 pounds from corn and Ontario
5,034 pounds dry matter from mangels
and S,135 pounds from corn.
So far as yield of dry matter per
acre is concerned it will be noted that
corn shows a marked advantage over
turnips and mangels. BY dry matter
Is meant what Is left after all the mois-
ture of the product has been driven of
by heat.
The Ohio. Pennsylvania and Yer.
mont stations compared the dry matter
Of corn silage and roots for milk pro-
duction. The following, taken from
Feeds and Feeding. shows results from
these trials:
Milk from a hundred pounds Of dry
matter in corn silage anu root rations:
Ohio station, 1889, root ration gave
50 pounds of milk, silage ration gave
GO pounds of milk; Ohio station, 1890.
root ration gave 50 pounds Of milk.
silage ration gave 60 pounds Of milk;
Ohio station, 1891, root ration gave 62
pounds of milk, silage ration gave 66
pounds of milk; Ohio station, 1892.
root ration gave 50 pounds Of milk, ST.
lage ration gave 76 pounds of milk;
Pennsylvania station, root ration gave
81 pounds of milk, silage ration gave
50 pounds of milk; Vermont station.
root ration gave 113 pounds Of milk
silage ration gave 119 pounds OF milk
From the above results it will be seen
that in every case but one the dry
matter in the rations containing silage
proved more effective in the produc-
ton of milk than the dry matter In
the rations containing roots. 1t is
difficult to explain why such should be
the case unless the dry matter in the
silage rations was underestimate.
At the central experimental farm of
Canada turnips proved more expensive
and not much more effective than corn
silage for milk production.
The Cornell station found that one
pound of dry matter in mangels is
slightly superior to one pound of dry
matter In corn silage; also that one
pound of dry matter in mangels is
equal to one pound of dry matter in
grain and that mangels may replace
half the grain ordinarily fed in
ration composed of grain, mixed hay
and siage
At the Copenhagen station very eX-
tensive trials 20 to show that one
pound of concentrates in the form of
grain, bran and oil cake Is equal to
ten pounds of mangels; also that for
cows one pound Of dry matter i'm roots
is equal In feeding value to one pound
of Indian corn, mixed grains, or three.
fourths pound Of cottonseed meal. 1t
was also shown that the water con-
tent of the milk was not increased by
the liberal feeding of roots.
The results of tests quoted above are
not exactly uniform, yet they all point
to one thing-namely, that for dairy
cows the dry matter OF roots Is not
different in feeding value
from the dry matter In other foods.