The Mena weekly star., 1918-08-08
SHOCK TIE CORN
 STALK PROMPT THY
This Is Very Important On uplands.
 Where Forage Is Always Big One.
By L. W. Osborn, Assistant Agrono- mist, Arkansas Experiment Station, Fayetteville. Ark.

To get the most out of the corn crop the stalks in every cornfield should be cut and shocked in the next few weeks to prevent shortage of forage for wintering live stock. This is very important on the uplands where the forage question is always big one. It certainly should be done by those farmers who expect to feed cattle this winter and do not have silo capacity for their corn crop.
 Cut at Right Time.
 If the stalks are cut when the husks are turning yellow and the ker- nels are indented, practically no re- auction in yield of grain will result. Even if cutting is done when the ker- nels are not quite mature the value of saving the forage will doubtless compensate for the slight reduction in yield which occurs when cutting is done at that stage. The conditions of extreme drouth which prevail in many sections this year make the forage question imperative. Corn which is being fired seriously by drouth he'd best be cut early enough to save the foragei otherwise the crop may be an entire loss.
 use Corn Binder f Possible.
 The greateest laborsaving imple- ment for harvesting corn fodder is the corn binder. With this implement seven or eight acres may be cut in a day and it's use is almost indispens- able when large fields of corn are to be harvested. Small acreages may be cut economically in the usual way with the common corn knife. For best results each shock of corn should be large enough to stand erect in all sorts of weather A shock which Is too large is likely to twist and fall and to result in molding of some of the immature ears in the center of the shock. A shock which is too small exposes a large part of it's for age to sun and rain. A shock rang ing from four to five feet in basal diameter is satisfactory. Begin the shock by using a shocking horse" which is a three-legged pyramid about four feet high, tvo legs of which are almost erect the other being about eight feet long. A shock may be started by tieing together the tops of four hills of plants which are not cut for support. Great care must be used in eqnalizing the bundles oa each side of the shock to prevent twisting and falling.
 Before completing the shock should be tied with binder twine about three feet from the top. The shocw should first be drawn together. using three quarter inch rope with a hook or ring in the end to make slip knot About ten days or two weeks later when the shock is dried out and the plants have settled together, the shocks should again be tied in the same way. The corn should stand in shocks about month before 1t Is dry enough for shredding.
 Don't Pull Fodder.
 Labor conditions at the present time make it less economical than before to top" or "pull'' or strip fodder. since the amount of foragp obtained in this way is not sufficient to pay for the cost of the operation. At the same time the reduction in yield of shelled corn due to the fact that the topping and pulling is done when the corn is immature. makes this practice the least desir- able of all. Cutting and shocking the entire plant permits the utilization of the entire vaiug of both grain and forage.
 Take Care es Gu. and Shocked cesn
 on Time.
 Under the warm. humid conditions which prevail in the cotton belt, it is essential that corn which has been cut and shocked be taken care of within few weeks after 1t has been shocked. If allowed 10 remain in the open in the fall and winter there is big loss in dry matter and de- terioration in the quality of the for age The method of handling the corn fodder will vary according to the equipment on hand. If shredder is available the best plan Is to shred the fodder. Shredding is an advant- age in many respects; the ears are removed from the stocks, shredded forage is easily handled either in the stack, in the barn or in the manure and greater amount of forage is eaten by live stock. If a shredder Is not available, the fodder may be hauled in and stored under shelter or it may be ricked, out in the open, Tn long stacks and preferably topped out with some finer hay which will shed rain.
 Husk Corn in the Field and Avoid
 WeeviI.
 All corn should be husked in the field and the wagon box should be sn divided that the badly infested ears can be kept separated from the sound cars. A box should be attached to the rear of the wagon body to re ceieve ears selected for seed. In collecting the seed ears in the field be sure to select those with tight husks and well covered tips. Corn of this kind if selected one season after an