The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1874-10-14

In several articles, editorial and
.on,r;hnted by practical farmers,
~ Eme,fcan Rardl Home. last fall
a-@od mon farmers the e~xpediehcy
If securing their corn stalks as soon
es thew are sufficiently cured, instead
of leaving them exposed, nearly the
entire autumn. to the c~hangeabie
weather ofthat season. Deeply I'M
messed with the Importance Of the
subject. we return to it in time Tor
,hose who may be prevailed upon to.
try some other way, to be prepared
for action.
The stalks from an acre Of good
corn. secured in the best condition,
we consider worth from IS to $40, in
season when good timothy viii com
mapd $50 a ton. Some would prob
oblv value tbom higher than our out
side figures, while others would rate
them lower than q minimum esti-
mate. How much the stalks would
depre.iate in value, if left standing
unbusked il the field Cor two or three
months after being cut up, We viii
not undertake to say; we would not
pay hall price for them. Who would
think Of leaving hay exposed IN the
cock for several weeks-and Is hay
any more susceptible to injury from
the weather than the leaves OF
cornstalksy
In our Articles last fall plans we're
suggested for securing the stalks De-
fore they were injured, all having
mere or less merit. We thought that
if farmers could not so arrange their
work as to husk their ogn corn as
soon as the stalks are sufficiently
cured for housing or stacking, they
had better follow the old fashioned
system Of topping their corn, and by
drawing that portion of the stalks as
soon as cured. Save the better part
of the fodder in its best condition.
Mr.. Ives. Of Batavia, makes it a
point to hire his corn husked early,
even though be is oblidged to give
one-eighth Of the corn for huskins,
believing that it is more profitable to
allow that price than it would be TO
have il husked for nothing late IN the
season. This, in our opinion, is the
best wav to meet the difficulty. Let
farmers become duly impressed with
the importance Of husking their corn,
and securing their fodder early-say
DON after the FIRST Of October-and
then no more think Of delaying il a
month or two longer, than they
would think ofpostponing the cutting
of a field Of grass that was in the
proper condition on the first Of July,
until the frs; Of August. WIN farm
ers say that it is impossible to hire
labor enough to husk It thus prompt
"? They manage to obtain labor
enough to do their hayiDg and bar
vesting, and they can use for husking
a class Of laborers too weak for the
heavier work Of harvesting and hay
ing.
We have thus far only dwcit on
the injury suffered by the stalks from
exposure, but the corn itself is injur-
ed by wetting and drying, swelling
and shrinking, and freezing and thaw-
ing, only in a less degree. We be-
lieve that a crop Of corn, cut up in
the first week in September, and
husked and cribbed the FIRST week in
October, would be worth ten per
cent. more, either for feeding or mar
keting, than if allowed to stand in
shock until in November.
We doubt whether farmers attach /,
sufficient Importance to the principle !
Of feeding their stock palatLble food. f.
They seem to think that if they offer !
their stock food containing the ingre- !
dents which they require for repair :
ing the wastes Of the system, and
forming fat and muscle, and starve
them inty eating it, they are practic-
ing a true economy, not taking into I
account the philosophical fact that
as well as human animals, /
must enjoy their food to fully digest
aud assimilate it. {
When human beings look upon I
food that is agreeable to them, their
mouths water--to use the expression 7
is, their salivary glands are {
engorged, prepared to commence Wig T
orously the first work Of digestion,
and undoubtedly, though less appa- I
rent, the glands which secrete the f,
and other juices employed in ,
digestion are excited by the happy
nervous condition which attends the +,
Of palatable food. W. /
reason to believe that animals
are affected in the same way-in 4,
fact, we have all observed how a dogs !
mouth will water when be is watch.
ing with eager expectation some /
tempting food, and we may r~easona-
suppose that our domestic ami S
mails will extract a great deal more T.
punishment from agreeable than dis :
agreeable food. If these theories are
correct, farmers should not only see :
hat their stock have an abundance ,
# nourishing food, but that that they &
lage it in the most palatable condi- 1
ion.