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Fortieth Annual Report of the
stover you will find the silage way ahead. Now, as to the function
of water In silage, there is a difference apparently, between the juice
which is put in with the green corn and the water put onto the silage
from the well. That Is due probably to the fact that the water you
put in with the silage contains a large amount of sugar. It is a good
thing to put water on the silage because you must fill up the space, and
in that way you avoid fire-fang and getting wrong acids in your silage,
because it prevents the development of bacteria. Where there are no
bacteria there can be no decay.
Mr. Everett: Most practical men agree with you that silage is fine
feed, and that it utilizes the corn without waste. Taking all these
things into consideration is not a silo one of the most economical
things that a farmer can have on his farm?
Prof. Norgord: It certainly is. The question is often asked, "Is it
not wasteful to put corn ears into the silo?" I believe it is the most
profitable means of taking care of the corn. Experiments have been
conducted where stalks without ears were put into a silo, and stalks
with ears into another. When the silage without corn was fed they
also fed corn in the shape of corn meal. In the other case there was
no corn fed except that in the silage, so it was an actual test. They
found that one acre of corn, grain and stalks put in as silage, was
just as good as one and a quarter acres of corn stalk silage with the
corn from it fed as meal. That shows you that the silo is the most
economicar way of using cornstalks and the corn as well, and there-
fore I believe that the silo is the most economical building that we
can have on the farm. There is not a farmer in the state of Wisconsin
who under any consideration can afford to be without one, that is, a
farmer who is producing milk,' and I believe it is almost true of other
stock as well.
Mr. Everett: Can you tell how many silos were built in Wisconsin
during the last year?
Prof. Norgord: I could not tell the exact number, but traveling
over the state, I believe you will conclude that they have increased
at least one-half.
Mr. Scribner: The gentleman said that those who had waited
two or three weeks in cutting corn had practically the best silage.
We tried to put our corn in the silo when it was glazed over. If I
should wait two or three weeks after that, I don't think I would get
any better results. With us, too, we find where the stalk is sufficiently
green we don't need to put on any water.
Prof Norgord: I don't want you to get the impression that you
i               will get the best silage if you wait until your corn is ripe,
betause
that means an increase in the crude fibre, and that Is lem digestible,
LL
k
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