Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-09-04
ECONOMICS WITH CORN.
:. McSparran in Country Gentle

HldN.J
The Importance of the corn crop to
the material prosperity of the United
States has been strongly emphasized
lately, when the hot, dry weather was
shriveling the western corn fields; and
statisticians are wildly estimating what
the shortage will be. and spectators
are doing their handling of the great
crop, and its sad shortage.
We farmers all hope that our western
brothers will find the shortage not alto
gether Il disaster, and that they Will
bravely make the best of it. The short
age will make corn dear to both buyer
and seller, and as the latter is the one
to be most considered, the advanced
price will have its compromising help
for the unavoidable short supply.
Many of us eastern farmers. feeders
and dairymen are in the buying class,
and While the price is likely to be too
advanced for us to be heavy buyers of
it, other feeds, such as the mills by
products, will no doubt move to a SYM
pathetic price plane. and to us dear
corn means dear commercial feeds III
we are wise enough to be forearmed be-
cause forewarned. we will use every
means to husband and safeguard and
utilize all the domestic supplies Of fod-
der and other provender against the
needs of the winter. Let not our solicit
tude for the winters feeding, however,
be so unwise as to affect the fall care
of our animals. for IL the cows and
young stock are kept we'll fed during
the autumn, their winter maintenance
will not be so expensive. 1t is good
animal husbandry to feed the hungry
COW the corn when 1t is green and sue
culent, rather than allow her to con-
tinue hungry by saving the corn to cure
for her winter feeding. Fat and thrift
are made most cheaply when the
weather is warm.
That the silo is the ideal method OF
caring for the corn crop. both as to the
cheapest method of harvesting 1t and in
preserving most perfectly and palatably
its food value, is outside OF controversy.
In addition to it's preserving the food
value of the corn crop far In advance of
any other known method, the silo makes
1t possible for us to use absolutely the
whole plant. down to it's lowest possible
cutting. From the silo, the big, heavy
butt of the stalk is as readily eaten as
the tender, smaller top.
/ know man in a neighboring coun-
| ty--a cow-to-the-acre man-who reject
ed corn harvester because 1t left stub
bles three inches high. He asserted that
the feeding value in those stubbles
would more than pay the extra expense
! of having the corn cut quite closely to
| the ground by hand That is one of the
new economics. The old wastefulness
1 is to leave two feet or more of stubble,
with its blades. standing in the field, to
be knocked off with pole when the
ground is frozen.
/ Half the feeding value of the corn
plant is in its stalk and blades; two
| thirds of the value of the stalk ia below
the ear, and half the stalk below the ear
is usually wasted.
1 II the farmer should have no silo and
Is mindful to secure all the provender
he may for winter. let him cut his corn
early, just when it is well glazed, and
before 1t has lost much of it's solubility,
and cut 1t close to the ground, husking
and storing both grain and slower as
early as possible. Let him cut or shred
the slower, and twelve-or better twen-
tty -four-hours before feeding pile,
dampen and cover 1t, and he will find
that he has done the best he can do
without silo
This may be untimely. this hot wealth
Ter but lest we forget" let the dairy
man not waste his valuable feed and
animals by trying to improve their
health out in the cold next winter.
/ Lancaster County, Pa.