The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-09-23
SAVING The CORN CROP.
The Advantage Of Cutting and Shred
ding Over Present Method Of Fodder
Pulling.

Another corn crop has reached maturity,
and the question OF how best 10 save 1t pre-
seuts Itself. Formerly this was not a ques-
tlon, AZ there was only one way OF saving
this crop that was, TO pull the fodder when
ripe, and let the corn stand on the stalk tii
later: at q convenient season IT. was pulled
md hauled TO the crib. No doubt the larger
part OF the corn crop OF the South Will oe
saved In this way this year, and perhaps Tor
some years TO come. There IL another way OF
saving corn, and In some Instances. where
storage room Is Ut hand, IL may prove 70 pe
the better plan. This Is, TO cut down the
: s re i e thu sss' f1 Qen'1 AVER re i It is sSfaolentiy Dry, il
/. shredded u run through a corr 2Tps cutter, t tne
Iheh be stored In the barn In bulk, or baled
II oaled, Of course none can be stored 10 q
limited barn space. + ,ch one Will nave 10
decide which way IL best. There are not
many s%hredders In the country yet. They
may become a common thing very soon as
common az grain threshers.
AS already suggested, II there Is not much
old way Of iodder-pulling. There are several
tnipgs to consider in conn ectiop with shock
Ing and shredding. One 10 the question OF
what damoge the corn WI s sGsssia tio III i leS
in the shock until dry enough 10 shred, II may
require SIX weeks exposure TO the weather;
or even longer. II ls evident that II not very
carefully shocked, 1t may sustain serious In
iury In that time, especially II there 10 much
rain. If a large low barn or shed 10 avallaole
in which 10 store the whole stalks, the corn
can be hauled and stored there In q very snort
time after quitting, thus reducing the lepgtn Of
time 1t will be necessary TO leave II exposed
in the field. This will perhaps be the right
way 10 handle corn that 10 INTENDED 10 De
shredded. So that, II one has a large. 1oomy
shed, or can construct one cheaply, In Wnlcn
to but the corr In q week or two alter cutting.
it will probably be economy for them to shred
their corn, II there is much raised. 1t can be
left In the field until th1roughly cry .,b and IN
machine. II there Ia no place OF THIS klno IN
which 10 store the partially dry corn, u ID
questionable whether IN this climate ~ IL
by the shocked corn may. be considerable
Some years 1t would be much more than 9TH
ers, depending on the rainfall. However, II
carefully and hrmiy shocked y 2 IN large aa &c h s.a sazi.
O sly considered. This will be
by further experience.
All of the farm resources should Re care
fully utilized. II by cutting the corn we can
nearly as good as fodder, which may be con.
sidered the standard of excellence. then this
plan should be adopted. Those who nave
tried It say the stock eat nearly all the slower,
rejecting only the extremely rough parts,
which 60 to form bedding in the stalls An
other advantage Of cutting the corn 10 the
The ground, too, 10 left in better form for an
other crop, as the stalks Will be out OF The
way.
These are some OF the advantages OF CUT
ting and sbrcdding corn. It 10 realized that
there are difficulties to be met With. as there
are In the old way OF f~odder-pulling;, IL
shredding wins It's way into favor, It will be
on its merits and not otherwise. Practical
men are slow to adopt fnpovstions until they
are tried and proved on their merits. Thls Ia
the method Of harvesting corn In the corn
belt. There is perhaps not quite 30 much
rain there as here. It seems that all the corn
stalks produced in the South could be put TO
a better use than to be burned or cast away
into gulIies, when we consider the labor IL
tax en- 10 raise them. Whatever is worth rails.
Ing should be worth saving. II the corn
stalk contains as much nutriment as the
blades, then by not saving them we are losing
half Of the forage we have raised. Before
shredders we're known, II was difficult to use
the stalks, as they are hard and unpalataole.
By running them through these machines,
they are rendered palatable. We cannot al.
ford to lose them II they are valuable.
They are worth something II plowed under
on the fields where they grew, but II 1t Is true
that they make good food for farm stock, they
would he far more valuable II utilized In this
way. Economy and thrift should be the
watchword on the farm. Then 1t would not
be long before Southern agriculture would
be on the up grade which leads to property
and q better life. Some have attained this
already, but It remains true that much Of the
farming Is not hat II should be.
Thos Tolbert.