Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1891-06-04
eNslLAes CORN.
The innnsnee Of variety and Of Rate o
seeding on the Weld.

IN9AEfN1G ACfNH
tn. inansnoe Of variety and Of Rate OF
seeding on the yisld.
In bulletin reporting results Of ex-
pcrimonts made at tho Pennsylvania
State College Experiment station, the
following Information Is givcni
'1n the early days OF cnsilage, thick
seeding aud early harvesting were the
rule. Later. when Il was pointed out
that the amount Of dry matter contained
in crop Of corn increased very rapidly
a. the crop matured, reaction against
this practice SGT in, and at present the
general drift Of opinion Is In favor Of
thin seeding and Of allowing the crop TO
become A. mature rs possible. some
authorities. indeed, say that the crop
should be- grown exactly like a crop Of
field corn. Fully matured corn, how.
ever. l. not well adapted for ensilage
since certain degree Of sncculence IL
required 70 cause the material 10 settle
and pack properly Ia the silo. with any
given variety Of corn, on the other hand,
1t has been shown that, " we harvest be
fore the crop reaches full maturity, We
sacrifice n considerable amount of dry
matter which would Otherwise have been
produced. In case It is desired to har.
vest corn while still somewhat imma.
iurc. two methods suggest Themselves
for counlcracting this loss, namely. thick.
or seeding and the use Of large growing
varieties.
There Il no doubt Whatever that o
greater gross yield eau be secured Ia
either u these ways or by combination
Of the two. Il IL claimed. however, that
This larger gross yield viii contain u 20
much smaller proportion Of real food
that there will b. no actual gain 81 food,
but only Of wood and water" This.
however, has been largely matter Of
opinion. Il has been shown by numor.
Gus experiments that thick seeding,
within moderate limits. enables us 90
produce more dry matter per aero. The
digestibiliiy u this dry matter. however.
that Ia it, content Of real food. has not
hitherto been determined. Tho expert.
menis described below were designed TO
contribute somo exact knowledge upon
this point
The plan was 10 grow the dent variety
used mere as a field crop, and alsoa large
variety which dos not ordinarily ma
turo here. 20 seed both varieties NJ two
different rates and 10 harvest Thorn when
they were considered III fer ensilagc. Il
was further attempted 10 determine tho
actual yield Of digosublo matter per
acre by weighing 'he yield aud deter.
mining ia digcstibility by sheep. by
most unfortunate misunderstanding,
however, the different plats received un.
equal amounts Of fertilizer, tho thick
seeded plats receiving most II Is not
thought that this error greatly Affects
tho results, but the conclusions now 10
DO stated must DO understood ~ subject
10 n possible error on this account. Sub
Jet 10 this qualification tho following
conclusions were rcachodi
Tho thick seeded corn reached nearly
tho saino stage OF maturity as tho thin
seeded. Cndcr these conditions. the use
OF twenty quarts OF seed per aero gayo
mn average yield Of Il per cent. more dry
matter than waa obtained by tho use Of
six and one.hAlf quarts per acre. The
dry matter Of tho thick seeded corn was,
on tho average Of both varieties. 81 per
cent more digeaiiblo than that of tho
thin seeded corn. The thick seeded corn
produced. on tho average Of the two va
rie,ics, IL por cont. morn digcstiblo food
per ncru than tho thin seeded corn. Tho
larger variety did not become a. mature
~ tho smaller, but contained fair pro-
portion Of cans, Tho larger variety pro.
duccd, on the average Of tho two rates
OF seeding, % per cont. moro dry matter
Per aero than tho smaller variety. Tho
dry matter Of the larger variety was. on
tho average Of tho two rates Of seeding,
" per cent more digoatlble than that u
tho smaller variety. Tho larger variety
produced, on the average Of the two rates
OF seeding. ~ per cont. more digcsable
food pr acro than did tho smaller va.
rety. In general tho results OF this
single experiment Aro strongly la favor
OF thicker seeding Of enalago corn than
h generally recommended aud Of tho usa
Of rather large growing varieties even
when these do not fully mature.