Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1895-10-04
CORN AS A FODDER CROP.
How and When to harvest Tits Man
" agement Litter Cutting.

Two things must be kept in view il
harvesting corn--viz, its grain and it
fodder value. Often one must suffer a
the expense of tho othor. Too early cut
; ting is as bad as too late. The value O.
/ corll fodder in order to be most nutrition
and palatablc to stock of all kinds doe.
not, however, depend entirely on the
! proper time Of cutting but on the care
and manner in which it is handled after
cutting. If the season is far advanced
and weather damp, smaller shocks must
be made than if the weather is dry. The
larger the shocks can be made without
danger Of molding the better fodder vii
keep. An Ohio correspondent Of The
Practical Farmer gives his mode Of har'
vesting. He writes:
For cutting I prefer jack Or corn.
horse. Take two pieces Of board about 4
feet long for legs, and one 10 feet long,
to one end of which nail the legs,
spreading them at the bottom sufficient
to make it stand. a crosspiece can be
nailed on to hold them stiff and in
place. A number of holes should be
bored in the long piece through which a
long thin stick is put to keep the corn
from falling on the start. The different
holes will accommodate corn Of differ
ent height. When the shock is finished,
remove the cross stick and draw the
horse ahead in place for the next shock.
This does away with carrying corn
cutter to cut standards in husking time.
To make good shock Of corn work
around it. If all Of one side is cut first,
leaning position is obtained, the ef-
fects of which become more apparent
the longer it stands. Fodder will be-
come musty in such shocks. Cut around,
set up straight and solid in the center.
and tie we'll, and fodder will keep
sweet. The number of hills that consti-
tute shock Of corn depends upon the
crop. In corn that will husk 100 baskets
per acre, eight hills square make Il
good shock, which think is sufficiently
large to work to good advantage. If cut
larger, time is lost in travelling the dis
tance to carry the corn.
If shock is we'll put up and properly
tied, it will stand straight until huslzed.
To tie q large shock OF corn take good
five-eighths Of oil inch rope feet long;
put a ring in ono end, such as you get
ut amy harness shop, about 3 inches in
diameter; at the other end fasten a pin
10 inches long by / ID inches thick, by
boring a hole in the head just large
enough to admit the rope; fastcn with
Il 1,or l,S Il II
or ond; stick shis pin il tho shock Of
corn pass around with the other end !;
slip the pin through the ring and draw
the shock rs tight as you please. BY
sticking the pin i'll the shock again it
will hold its position until the shock is
tied. then rcme,ve the rope. This may
seem good f7;aal Of fuss to some, but it
will not take a smart man US long TO do
it as l am telling it. A pair of good
strong arms are lest, Us long as they can
reach. When shocks are beyond reach.
this rope is the best thing.
AS soon as urn is we'll dried out it
should be husL cd, the fodder tied in
bundles, these set in punches of about
rs bundles each set up straight, firm on
che ground and tight together. When
enough is husk:d for stack, a good
plan is to st ack the fodder, as winds Of
ten make sad havoc with it. My way Of
is this: About 100 bundles are
set on the ground in an upright posi-
ton, as nearly round as possible. Build
the stack OH top of this by first placing
several bundles crosswise in the center.
In laying around care must be exer-
cised in the first several rounds to have
all come out the same distance, or it
will settle the stack one sided. A foun-
dation Of 100 bundles will hold about
700 bundles, to make it of ordinary
height. By making larger more can be
put in ono stack, but prefer about that
size, as we usually haul in the barn and
cut and feed from there AS the stack is
carried up little drawing in will give
more and more slope until it comes to a
point, which should be securely tied. A
stack of this kind, we'll made, will
stand and keep sweet until the follow
Ing May, as nothing but butts are ex-
posed to the weather and the ground.