Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1859-10-21
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Agriou1t1r e.
HINTS ON HARVESTING CORN.

Agrioultu ur e..
--- ~ T. y
HINTS ON HARVESTING CORN.
Owing to the defciepcy of meadows or hrti-
fetal grasses, it has long been the practice in
the Southern States to strip off the green leaves
Of The Indian corn and cure them for f6dder.-
The leaves below the ears are hrst rem6yed,
and Immediately afterward the stalks above the
ears are cut, and, together with the lower
leaves, are cured and stacked ai Esd
! This time-honOred practice is now Hcondemn-
ed by the ablest Writers in the South. ENu-
merous experiments have been made, ana show
a loss Of grain from the operation @Df.fFKom-
as Marise, of Nelson, Va, found that 8 rows
Of corn, extending through the field, left with
out removing the fodder, produced II II bar
rels of measured ears; while fslofigeide Of this
strip, rows a on each side) stripped and
topped as usual, gave onlyl bartels-a DIFF
ference Of nearly 2 per cent. W. s. F6ntaine,
of Virgins, found that the practice entailed
loss Of 8 barrels per acre Edmond Rufin, of
Virginia one of the earliest and ablest Of
American agricultural writers, strongly CON.
demns the practice. In an able essay on the
subject he well says:
So long as the leaves Of corn are green and
succulent, and have not begun to fade and
whether below or above tile eats; they still CON
tinUe to furnish nourishment to the grain, and
are necessary to its perfect filling 4 y
" As the ordinary mode of taking off all the
leaves kills the corn plant Immediately ofcourse
the stalk might be cut off at the same time,
with no more injury to the filling of the grain.
But both processes would be Injurious There
fore, the cutting down should be delayed until
the leaves generally have ceased, or are about
ceasing, to supply nourishment to the plant
This safe time may be known by the first ap-
pearing of either Of two indications. One is,
when ALL or nearly all of the leaves below the
ear have lost, or are fast loosing their green
color, and are mostly yellow, or dry, Or even
if the lower leaves remain mostly green, it is
safe to cut down the stalks if the shock which
encloses the ear is beginning to turn Hellowish,
which is safe indication of ripeness"
Stripping off the lowerl leaves is rot prac-
ticed at the North but the allied practice of
topping has still few advocates. The argu-
ments against the one hold good against the
other. II. Stratton, of Winfield, Mass, says
in this town both ways have beenthoroughly
tested and the prevailing crtihiob uOw,is that
cut UP corn is not ouly. thessqfesf but that the
yield is from FIVE to ten bushels per acre more
than when topped.H A Vermont farmer gives
it as his opinions that in topping heavy crop
of corn there is 2 loss, in the extra labor, and
in the loss OF fodder and grain, amounting to
from five to ten dollars per acre. sss
Albert Todd, of Rhode Island, says Il at
has been my practice, for several years past,
to cut up AND stock my CORN in the. field as -
soon as it. becomes thoroughly. glazed The
first year that l commenced cutting M my
corn, | only cut up part of my field /; the re-
mainder topped the stocks after the old fash.
i0ned way. [ tried this new, method merely
for an experiment, as | had very little faith in
it, and on harvesting | found that the corn
ent up at the root was not only fit for harvest
ing earlier, but the corn was equally as sound,
and the smaller ears were sounder. i did not
find neaf Sd much ''hog corn" ., This is gener-
ally the case in cutting up corn at the roots,
small ears just in milk will mature better than
those left standing after the tops are cut If
stalks are taken from the ears before the corn
is toIeraby glazed, souud corn may not be ex-
pected, whereas corn cut up at the bottom, in
the same condition will generally become
hard"
cut up close to the ground, and either tied up
in bundles or placed loosely in large Shocks,
In the former case, two rows are taken, and.
about six hills placed together on the ground
to be tied by the binder following. From five
to eight of these bundles are placed in a Stock
and bound round with one or two bands at the
top. If properly stocked, the corn can be left.
in this way for weeks or even months; but it
is better to commence husking as soon rs the
corn is dry.
Stocking without binding iut5 bundles is,
we think, more expeditions method A good
way is to take seven rows cut Up three on
each side, and form the stock on every third or
forth hill on the center row This gives from
twenty-one to twenty-eight hills id stock.
The hill around which the stock is formed is
left standing for a support, aud is easily cut.
at the time of husking. The top Of the corn is.
grasped with the left hand and cut off at
blow with the right and unless very large, by,
commencing on the outside row, the hills can
be cut up and carried to the stock at once--
the whole being done in far less time than it
takes us to describe it. @alt
The stock is tied, bound at the top with.
suckers, or rye straw-or il you are a poor
cutivator, with weeds. .o-
Cutting up corn in this way, though heavy
work, is to US with good hook and spirited
one of the pleasanteSt of harvesting
operations As soon as the ears are well dried.
the corn may be husked, and the stTlks lied up
in bundles and set up again in large stocks
where they can remain till sufficiently dry TO-
stack. ~ mi
1t is well to draw few stocks mud stand,
them up or the barn floor, where they can be
husked on rainy days. s, ..st-r. :.
Corn stalks are quite valuable AS fodder, y
well cured, and the corn was cut b fere twas ~
iured by the frost. They are, howeyeE ;oft@n
mildewed and rendered comparatively fsfaeicSs
by being stored away in a large bay whey not
dry. An occasional layer ol dr.
straw would do much to prevent and ifa arg
sack was filled with chaif or cut siraS, salt
bundles placed round it in the midae ,ot ii
hay or stack, pulling up the saek as,9ou n
cend. it would leave kind OF chia,Hes Jar ,ur
which the moisture wo'd ascend aud pssg ,,,.F
n-S . E.S,as uJ',,'1Vn as - :" s01 dang
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