The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-08-24
sEAsoNAsLE HINTS.
 Corn Fodder.

Corn Fodder.
 It is strange to me that our farmers pay so little attention to saving cut corn for fodder. and why they continue the practice of only stripping of the blades instead of cutting up the whole crop. is a mystery to me. for surely more than half of the feeding value is left In leav- ing the stalks with part of the blades left on. Why not cut up the whole crop at once and shock? I made a careful study of cutting and shocking corn the past season, but at the time when the work should have been done we had so much wet weather that 1t was hard to arrive at any definite conclusion. How ever. I believe, from what I have seen of tn practice here or in the south gen orally, that the greatest trouble in cut ting and shocking corn is that we have too much winter rain to allow the corn to stand out in the shocks through the winter. The fodder seems to turn black after being rained on for some time, so that in order to keep the fodder bright and fresh and in the best condition for feeding 1t would be best to prepare sheds and haul the fodder in and store in these
 
 course require a little more work and expense, yet one would be fully repaid for the outlay, for bright, well-cured fod- der corn Is equal to the very best of hay and many cattle growers prefer 1t for feeding to cattle especially. But, to get the best results the crop should be cut at just the right time. The practice of cutting up corn in the west is to cut when the grain is passing out of the -nff orr 1 dfo and at 4ah Inc q q the grain will not shrink or be damaged by cutting and shocking the stalks. Un- less there is a very severe drouth the fodder will remain green on the stalks up to this time. so that there Is no loss by the lower blades being burned before cutting The same practice. l am sure, could be successfully carried out here. Another practice with western farmers is, that when they find a crop of corn so badly damaged by drouth that there is no hope for a crop of grain, they cut and shock the crop and make the most they can from 1t. Of course fodder or this sort is not near so valuable as IS that of the mature crop, but it is far better than nothing. Now, our drouth has so damaged our crop of corn In tnis section that there Is but little, If any hope for it to make any grain, and so the next best thing to do, in my opinion, Is to leave the crop stand until the blades begin to dry, then rush the work of cut ting and putting up in shocks. The shocks should be made as large as possi- ble, but not so large as to prevent the fodder curing through and through, in stead of heating. The cutting up of the corn crop In the west Is also great saving of time for the work is generally done when time is most plentiful and the shocks are left standing in the field until all the fall work Is done. When the winter comes the corn Is shucked out and hauled in and the fodder bound up, if cut by hand. and left convenient for hauling in and feeding as needed. In most of the west, or in the great corn belt, the fodder can be left out all win ter and be fed as needed. This gives the farmers a great advantage, for the win ters are generally long and they have more time in the winter for this work than they could have at any other sea- son. Our southern farmers also have plenty of time in which to haul in their corn fodder and store where 1t will be protected from our winter rains.
 To get the best results from feeding corn fodder, it Is necessary to provide good racks so that the stock can not pull the fodder down under foot and tramp over it; or the fodder may be chopped up fine, whjc. is still better plan. With plenty of good corn fodder and rye pasture, stock can be wintered cheaply. I have noticed many fields of corn which, it seems to me, need cutting up for fodder. In fact, unless they are cut and saved, I can not see what can be got out of them in any other way, for there are no ears and not enough fodder to pay for stripping, but If the crop was saved by being cut they would make considerable feed. So far as the work Is concerned, I should rather cut and shock the corn than to pull the fodder. Cert ainly. nothing should be allowed to go to waste this season that can be saved for feed for feed of all kinds will be scarce and high. Of course, we have sections of the country where there are fine crops and there will be plenty and to spare from these favored sections, and there will be grain and hay shipped I here in abundance, as our market may demand, but the question is, can our peo- pie afford to buy all their feed, and what are our farmers making this season to pay for this grain and hay shipped here While the farmer may be compelled to have to make some arrangements for buying a part of his feed, yet he can greatly reduce the feed bill by saving everything he can at home and by pro- viding an abundance of good winter pas ture for his stock. While on the subject of corn fo,.~er I wish to say that 1t will pay farmers well to plant corn for the purpose of producing crop of fodder only. Plant thick, and cut and cure the same as sorghum hay. When managed this way and properly cut and cured, it makes fine feed,-and besides, nothing is produced cheaper on the farm.
 Saving Hay.
 Perhaps. 1t Is only a waste of time now, to be giving any instructions on how to cut and save hay, for there has been but little hay grown this season. yet there may be some crops. and any way, the matter of how and when to cut and save hay may be of general interest. especially as regards pea-vine hay, for there are some fine crops of peas being grown for hay in many localities. There are two extremes in cutting hay. Some wait too long and allow the crop to be- come too ripe, while others cut too green, | and in both eases there Is much loss of | feed or feeding value of the crop, which Is greatly injured. Sorghum, which is now so largely used for hay, should be allowed to reach that stage when 1t has stored up a good amount of saccharine matter. Sorghum should be grown in rows and cultivated when young, and should be allowed to head before cutting The seed should be in the dough or hardening stage when cut. It will be best to cut and bind sorghum the same as wheat or other grain and shock. Managed this way there is but little trouble or labor in saving the crop There Is not very much value in the blades of the sorghum and one good, wel-matured crop will give more good valuable feed than will several crops cut green. Sorghum hay, cut before it heads, is of little value for feed German millet and all other grasses