Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


cially and a second lot was cured naturally in small shocks. The
naturally cured hay was cut into three-fourths inch lengths prior
to feeding, so as to have both hays of equal fineness for the di-
gestion trials.
 Two dairy cows in the digestion trials were fed with the arti-
ficially dried C. intermedia hay, while two others received that
cured naturally. The first trial was of 25 days' duration (15-
days preliminary and 10-days experimental). The kinds of hay
were reversed and the cows were used in another trial which
consisted of a 10-day preliminary and a 10-day experimental per-
iod. They failed to eat sufficient C. intermedia hay harvested at
this stage of development to maintain their body weights. Sub-
sequent analyses of these two hays showed that the crude fiber
contents were higher than is desirable for feeding purposes. Be-
cause of inconsistent and irregular feed intakes, two cows' rec-
ords on each hay were discarded.
 The composition of the forage and coefficients of digestibility
obtained under these conditions are given in Tables 11 and 12. It
is well to consider again that the feed intakes of these four cows
were too low, and that consequently the metabolic waste and ir-
regularity of feed intake and excretion rendered these coefficients
of digestibility unreliable. The significant point is that C.
intermedia, harvested at a stage of development when its fiber
content is excessive, is not desirable for use as feed for livestock.

TABLE 11.-COMPOSITION OF Crotalaria intermedia HAY AND SILAGE USED IN DIGES-
 TION TRIALS AS COMPARED WITH OTHER STANDARD FEEDS.
 Crude Crude Nitrogen-free Ether
Roughages Moisture Protein Fiber Extract Extract Ash
 percent percent percent percent percent percent
C. intermedia hay
 artificially dried 8.3 10.0 38.8 37.8 2.1 3.0
C. intermedia hay
 naturally dried 6.6 10.1 45.0 34.4 1.2 2.7
C. intermedia silage 72.9 3.3 12.5 8.3 .8 2.2
Alfalfa hay, average
 of all analyses* 8.6 14.7 29.0 36.4 2.0 8.3
Corn fodder, medium
 moisture* 17.5 6.7 21.7 46.9 2.1 5.1
Oat straw* 10.4 4.0 36.1 41.2 2.3 6.0
 *Taken from "Feeds and Feeding," 20th edition, by F. B. Morrison.