North Branch democrat. [volume] (Tunkhannock, Pa.) 1854-1867, 1862-08-20
If armer's G0 | II 1T
TOPPING CoRN--sAvING FODDER.


Though it is not cutie in the perform This
part of the labor of raising and securing crop of
rorn yet it will do no harm to think about and com
pare our former practice with the result of the
foI$ ana fairly tried experiments here introduced
I lnl in Evans Rural Economist the following ex-
tracts said to be taken from a report to the Kent
'oDniy, Delaware, Agricultural Society, by b. c.,
upon the effect of topping corn, &C. and quite
proportion of old raisers are still in the habit of
following this old custom, and some though few, of
F0rngest ones, try the same, they arpropri
ate.
~ b9n reported the last experiment on this sub
eet, thought would not trouble myself or the So
cietyswih another experiment of the kind but hav-
ing piece of very corn and favorably situated
for full and fair demonstration of the facts Of the
case was induced give it more trial, which,
in my mind, has established the fact that no por-
:ionrf the fodder can be taken while green without
material injury to the corn: and that when the fod-
der fully rnatured, the tops may be taken with very
little .oSs of grantees than two per cent.
.IAe order of this experiment was the same as last
YEAR alternate sections of two each, repeated
several times to the amount Of an acre, as follows
no. l. Left standing, made one hundred baskets
par acre, which when sheed, weighed thirty-t three
Pdur Is each equal to fy-nine bushels and ory-six
pounds.
. No2. Topped without hlading, made one hun
dFed baskets, which weighed thiry-three pounds,
equal to ifty-eight bushels fifty two pounds
10. g. Cut by the ground made ninety-six bask-
cts which weighed thirty pounds each, equal to
dst six bushels thirty-two pounds
'SNo. 4. Topped and stripped, made ninety baskets
~hi:h weighed thirty-three and one-haf pounds each
equal to ffty-tw bushels thisteen pounds
No. 8. Topped without stripping Sept 18th, made
eighi ynine baskets, which weighed thirty-two and
onehalf pounds each, equal to fftyone bushels thir
teen pounds.
The fodder on all the above, except No 5, was
gathered on the 9th of Septembr, when fully ripe ;
some of the blades dead No. 5 was cut on the 18TH
twelve days earlier, while green, though fodder say
ng vas general in the neishborhood at the time 1t
viii be by comparing it with No (which is of
tl.s same class but cut twelve days later-that No
Z made four hundred and eighteen pounds or about
seven and one-haf bushels per acre more than No s.
Had The blades been gathered as the same time, 1
have 10 doubt the loss in grain would have been more
than doubled This shows the ruinous waste of gath
en2g fodder before the is ripe"
These several lots were put into bag, each with
their number attached and when carefully dried were
hand shelled, and then weighed giving the above re-
suits These experiments need no more comparing or
Fent lating to teach their import, viz That no part
Of The stock fodder be removed while the crop
3-waturing, and particularly while rpening, without
decreasing the amount of corn, to an amount which
Ia.
dcr he subject fairly before doing in the future
I haye thought often upon this subject, and inqur-
ed Of many concerning its advantage, but the most
gsaetory answer was, the old raiSers used to
2dfaost always top their to let in the sun, and
E4lher. used to his. We'll here was some what oe
IN argument to be sure, yet it die not satisfy my
doubts about the prgpriety Of the practice hence
vas aeyer tried--Furmer.