Lower coast gazette., 1910-12-17

some Of these molds are quite
poisonous and are presumed to
develop the blind staggers or
meningitis that occasionally be-
comes epidemic in some sections.
In the West, on the other hand.
there are different reasons fol
harvesting corn as they do. The
cattle feeders who have large
areas in corn at times put the
cattle directly into the corn fields,
having them arranged in sec.
tons and allowing the cattle and
the hogs to complete the harvest
for themselves. Whether this is
Wasteful or not, does not bear
upon the question that we are
now considering. The standard
way in the West to harvest corn
is to cut it at the ground line and
to gather it in large shocks and
leave these shocks in the field,
and the corn is frequently not
actually husked and carried in
the ear to the corn cribs until
after the snow is on the ground.
In most sections Of the upper
West it is necessary to DO this in
order to get the corn dry enough to
keep, the corn there also mold
ing if.moiSt, while there was any
moisture in the cob. AS their
season is not as hot as ours, the
corn does not seem to moture
quickly enough to justify its be-
ing gathered and housed at once
and therefore the shocking in
the field becomes an essential
feature.
In the West this shocking of
the corn in the fields concen-
trates into moderate compass
immense quantities of the corn
shocks and has led to the inven-
ton of a shredding machine,
somewhat similar to the thresh-
ing machine which will covert
the corn and stalks into a fine
hay-like forage that is a valuable
stock feed, fully as valuable as
; the commOner varieties of hay
and certainly sufficiently valu-
able to justify the expense nee
essary to secure and house it for
stock feeding purposes. This
has become a very important fea-
ture in the corn culture Of the
West and thousands of tons of
shredded corn stalks are thus
utilized for forage, the corn be-
ing brought to the machine in
the shucks. the machine husking
them, discharging the corn into
the waiting wagons and blowing
the shredded cornstalks. and
shredded corn husks into the
stable lofts with blowing' ma
chimes, just as our rice thresher.
men now blow the rice straw
away from their machines when
in operation. I'll"
In a recent article in the
BREEDERS GAZETTE, which is
perhaps the best authority in the
West on stock raising and the
economics of stock feeding, it is
indicated that in a reasonably
dry fall the shredding may begin
in November. as soon as the sap
is fairly we'll dried out of the
stalks and ears When the ears
are dried enough to store safely
in the crib, the stalks will be dry
enough not to mold in the NOW
in cool weather. It says, further,
that corn in the shock seldom
dries out quite as early as stand
ing corn. AS Louisiana is be-
coming a great corn producing
state the time has come for US to
consider whether or not it will
be wise for US to save the great
crop of corn stalks that now goes
annually to waste. Where cow
peas are planted in the corn
fields, and they always should be,
the matter of gathering the corn
stalks would become somewhat
complicated. Ordinarily they
would be pulled from the ground
with peavine rakes and hauled in
with the peavine hay, aiding
somewhat as they would in keep