Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-05-27
CORN lis a FORAGE CROP
nKRR Il R@uH.T or TWENTY YEARS,pV
PRiRaENUE IN vglNTERING STOCK. :
Advnntnwea 81 Close planting-Fodder n,
tectea bs Castles ktc.
px wArDo F. brown.

By WALDO r. BROWN.
The average yield Of hay for n.
United States falls a little below On
ton per acre. While good bright havs
the best iced for teams during sprno
work. and an occasional change of food /
grateful to al stock, / do not considers
necessary or economical TO feed hay q,
clusively al winter. During an experience
OF twenty years in wintering stock haye
been led to place . higher feeding yalus
on good corn-lodder than is accorded h
it by most farmers. / have been pleased
also to notice that the farmer who feed
the most fodder Is its strongest adyO.
cate. Some years ago / was visiting
prominent Shorthorn breeder Of Ohm
and he said 10 me: stThe most profit
able crop we grow is corn plarted about
twice as thick as usual. so as to produ0
abundance Of fodder and small ears"
think that fodder grown in this way Is
much better cattle food than hay, az
there Is enough grain among it to make
nearly perfect ration, and II does not
produce constipation, as hay does.
There are several advantages OF this
close planting, among which are:
smaller stalk, easier to handle and with
less waste; q larger proportion of blads
and husk, and small ears easily ml1R
Gated, and when eaten with the fodds
raised with the cud and remasticated
1t is superior in every way to the soft
favorless fodder grown from sowed CON
or that which is drilled so thickly as 10
produce no ears, and think it less
likely 10 lodge than corn with large
heavy ears, and certainly less than that
sowed or thiclxly planted, which rarely
stands up till cutting-time. The best
way to feed this is to FIRST run it through
d cutter, but I would not cut II short as
IL ie liable TO make the cattle have sore
mouths; would rather ont it two inches
long than less. We find no difficulty in
disposing Of the waste, however, when
fed long, as we scatter it in the boz.
stalls or barnyard and it is soon 50
thoroughly incorporated with the man.
ure as to give no trouble in turning or
loading.
have experimental considerably to
find out what proportion Of fodder is re
jected by cattle, and find the average
to be about one-third of its weight
This is after husking; If fed ears ana al
the percentage of waste would be nuch'
less. If the stalks are large the waste
viii sometimes exceed 40 per cent, but
II small il may be reduced to 90. As
corn is usually planted, when the object
is to grow grain instead of fodder. the
ears viii usually weigh more than the
fodder. BY the fodder / mean stalk,
blades and husks, when the corn is cut
near the ground. This win vary some
what In different seasons and with diff.
ferent varieties Of corn. In q careful
experiment extending over two years the
average weight on six plots Of corr
planted at the ordinary distance apari
was SO lbs. Of fodder to every 100 lbs
Of ears; and the extremes were II lbs.
and 113 lbs. of fodder to 100 Of corn.
In six plots planted twice as thick the
average was las lbs. Of fodder to 100 Of
ears, and the extremes LOT and $40.
In seasons when there Is an abundance
OF rain at earing-time the thick planting
will often give a heavy crop Of grain
The yield Of fodder from the six plcts
above planted At ordinary width aver.
aged 1904 lbs. per acre; and the ex
tremes we're 200 and s,77O lbs. The
yield Of fodder from the six close-planted
plots averaged 7,1O8 lbs. per acre, and
the extremes, 1868 and 1880 lbs
These weights were Of cured fodder.
just about twice as much seed was used
on the thick as on the thin planting
Bearing in mind that for each ton Of
fodder from the thickly-pIanted plots we
had about two-thirds Of ton Of corn
mostly soft and small ea-s-ycu will see
that we have large amount Of valuable
food from an acre. I think that the pat
the cattle eat Of corn fodder is fully
equal to hay Of good quality and that
when It Is fed ears and all it is veg
superior, for then it becomes fattening
ration. The experiments given above
we're made With the greatest care unda
the direction Of Professor Lazenby, at
the Ohio Experiment Station, and.my
be relied on as accurate.