Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-06-05

mORE DISCUSSION or wHm CnRN.
STALKS QUESTION


New NJ. Bnli. 81 Massachusetts. aInnaass
aho CsEnsAnlM - EodaeE.
Perhaps your readers would Ike to
know how We manage the oornsEaIk IL
fodder here in the Connecficut Valley.
No farmer raises corn enough FOR home
consumption; the crop Is limited to say
i've 10 twenty acres pag farm. We think
much Of orr fodder grasses. hut the
cornntaIks mot ensilaged corn or corn
fodder are carefully saved, Ia this way
When the corn kernels have glazed over,
and while the stalks ere Jet IN full vigor
with some green leaves, they are cut,
laid ii bundles, bound with wisp Of
straw. or with Che stalks themselves,
carried into shocks Of eight or twelve
bundles, fastened together at top and
left 20 cure. II this work Is all finished
before frost. the stalks are 90 valuable "a
the best prairie grass that can be
housed, ton for ton. The labor Of cut
ting and shocking takes the labor Of .
man three days per acre; less than this,
in some cases. After the corn has
Eipened in the shock six weeks, husking
begins. This Is done by men who board
themselves and husk in the field into
piles. These are gathered, measured
and paid for, 5 cents per bushel Of ears.
AS soon as the corn IS husked, the ears
are housed, the stalks pitched upon the
wagon, and often slowed away IN the
peak Of the barn for lack Of other hous-
ing room. The tieing in sheaves allows
Of this handling, and the sheaves are
light when the ears are Of. Some stack
in large ricks in the field and draw to the
barn as they are needed in winter. In
feeding, the best method seems to be to
feed the whole sheaves to the animals in
the manger or feeding.places, and once
q day gather up the uneaten stalks
(Which are a small proportion), run
these through cutter and use them for
bedding. can get as much and as
good milk from cornstalks, oat hay, corn
meal and cottonseed meal, with some
cabbage leaves, turnips or something Of
that kind thrown in, as from the best
hay; and SO I am anxious to save the
cornstalks, which are sold in Massachu-
sets at from So to So per ton delivered.
have fed very many sweet cornstalls,
having some ''nubbins" Of corn on, they
are eaten clean and are equal to the best
hay. I harvested nearly three tons Of
sweet cornstalks from one acre Of rich
garden land last fall; some hills had ten
stalks and suckers growing in them.
You could hardly walk through the
rows. which were three by three feet
Every Farmer should Have 4 workshop %
DO Jobs In 81 a Rainy Day.
! Mechanical ingenuity does not come
to every farmer. There are those who
are possessed Of excellent intelligence
and yet who have not enough Of
mechanical skill to make q respectable
milking-stool. Such farmers are from
necessity compelled to employ q me-
chanic for every little job that demands
attention. On the other hand, there are
those who are possessed of great In
genuity and are skilful in the use Of
tools. This is faculty that Is not
wholly acquired, and yet il can and
should be cultivated so far as possible.
Every farmer should have workshop
in which little jobs Of work can be done
on rainy days. This should not only
be supplied with good selection Of
tools usually required, but also with
materials such as are likely to be
brought into use. The room need not
Of necessity be large, but Of sufficient
size for convenience. It should be
systematically arranged so that al tools
should have their appropriate places.
These should comprise saws, chiseIs,
augers, bitstock, bits, hammer, az, shop
hatOhet, planes, wrench, files, and many
others which il Is unnecessary TO men
ton. In the line Of stock there should
be q supply OF o variety of nails and
screws, bolts Of various kinds and sizes,
tacks, wire and leather, and various
kinds Of lumber and pieces Of wood as
would be called into use. With these
at hand the farmer can many times save
not only journey to q mechanic. but
bin which, with each addition IN the
course Of the year, would be consider
able. Frequently the loss Of nut or
the breaking of . bolt necessitates
journey to the blacksmith shop if no
Rnnsllw IL "A hand. Int IL the farmer has
. supply, he has only to replace the
missing or broken part and his work
progresses undisturbed Il time Is
money, then the farmer Is benefited in
avoiding unnecessary journeys for re-
pairs. At oil events, ne can il he win
spend the time 50 saved Ia rest OF
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