THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 588, 26 July 1913, Page 7

THE RURAL WORLD.

THE MAKING OF ENSILAGE

M. Pasquay haa deduced some valuable faotJ in relation to the feeding of ensilage. It was found that maize fodder, green, has a feeding value equal to 22 per cent, of that of hay; rye, 38 per cent.; green grass, 34 per cent.; bright wheat straw, 48 per cent In a good forage ration for a milch cow the ration of nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous matter should be as 1 to 5, or even a* 1 to 4.s—the young animals weighing from 250 to 3001b, as 1 to 3.3: for animals of 450; for oxen in absolute repose, as Ito 8. Maize forage cut greenjdoea not meet this requirement, as it Bhows a proportion of 1 to 9.24. The maize mixed with straw as at Crecay aproximates the standard, showing a proportion of Ito 4.81. Its increased percentage of fatty matter represents also a great advantage, being six times greater than in the green maize. M. Goffart finds that preserved fodder is sufficient without any other fodder to keep his animals in fine conditon. M. Howette, of the department of Yonnc. has found by experience that the maize should be cut for preservation in silo? as near as possible to its maturity, when it is more nutritive, the ears more developed, and the watery element less predominant. Being finely chopped before pitting, its fomentation in the silo will soften it and render it as palatable to animals as freshly cut maize. He has been able to keep stock upon it to the end of May, and once to the end of July, the fodder being in a condition but imperceptily changed from that of its primary fomentation in the silo. Some question baa been raised as to the propriety of feeding silo spoiled in the pits, but while no indications of injury from feeding have been developed, it is justly considered that it is more valuable as a plant food than animal food. Hence it is thrown on the manure pile. The fodder preserved with straw at Cercay show a remarkable reduction in its percentage of water in Btrivw. It also shows a saccharine element three times greater than that of green maize, whilst that preserved at Bertin free from straw retains but a fourth of its original quantity. The Cercay fodder also tripled the amount of azotised matter in the green maize, finding a large supply in the associated straw, while in the Bertin specimen it waß slightly increased. Again, the Bertin fodder decreased its proportion of non-azotised matter, while that of Cercay borrowed largely from the straw. Both kinds of fodder enlarged their proportions of fatty matter—-that of Bertin less than 50 per cent., and that of Cercay sixfold. Of crude cellulose, the Bertin shows a slight decrease, while the Cercay about doubled its percentage; the proportion of ael: increased twofold in the Bertin, and nearly sevenfold in the Cercay. The maize was mixed with half its quantity of straw. As a result of his investigations M. Grandeau came to the conclusion that the combintion of straw with maize added very considerably to the nutri> tive value of the fermented fodder. In a subsequent statement M. Grandeau explains that the specimen called green maize in his analysis was partly deßsicated by contact with air and sun heat. This would more particularly affect items prcentage of water. From a specimen freshly cut he obtained by analysis the following percentages: —Water, 86.20; sugar, 0.43; azotised matter, 0.90; non-azotised matter, 7.67: fatty matter, 0.18; crude cellulose, 3.67; ashes, 0.95. The transformation of the buried fodder embraces two importiant elements of advantage—first, the transformation of a part of the starch and cellulose, into sugar; and second, the enlargement of the azotised matter by a destruction of a portion of the fecula of the cellulose.