274 Bulletin 135. 



the packing which the soil must receive in after tillage, will so 

 compact the sub-surface soil that harmful conditions will be pro- 

 duced. 

 Plantiyig of Com for Forage and the Silo. 



When the silo first came into general use it was believed that 

 the corn with which to fill it should be planted thickly either in 

 hills or drills and that the quality of the produce was in no way 

 depreciated in value by being grown thickly. A too common 

 practice now is to raise sowed corn, the claim being that it pro- 

 duces a larger amount of forage per acre and that though planted 

 so thickly that no ears can form and mature, yet the valuable food 

 constituents which would go into the ears if formed, in this case 

 go into the stalks. Some of the most observing farmers have 

 noticed that sowed corn is quickly affected by drought, that before 

 growth is half complete the lower leaves are usually parched and 

 burned. There are so many plants growing on the soil that the 

 moisture supply is entirely inadequate to meet the demands being 

 made upon it. As has been mentioned, corn is a sun plant and 

 grow to perfection only when the sunlight permeates to every part 

 of its structure and corn grown largely in the shade as is sowed 

 com, though it may produce a large gross amount, yet the product 

 is deficient in those volatile oils which so largely determine the 

 quality of the food. The protein, the most valuable constituent, 

 is deficient as will be seen by reference to the table giving the 

 analysis of corn. 



During 1895 and 1896 experiments were conducted to determine 

 the relative feed value of corn planted in hills, drills and sown 

 broadcast. The variety of corn used was Sibley's Pride of the 

 North. The soil was gravelly loam and had been for years sub- 

 jected to a four years' rotation, consisting of wheat, meadow 

 (clover and timothy), corn and oats. During the winter of 189-2- 

 4 the land was given a top dressing of stable manure, about ten 

 tons per acre. In the spring of 1894 the land was fitted, and 

 planted to corn. After the corn was removed the land was plowed 

 in the fall and gang plowed in the spring and the three one twen- 

 tieth acre plats to be compared were planted May 2 and 3, 1895 to 

 Sibley's Pride of the North. Plat 31 was planted in rows 3^ 

 feet apart with hills 3)^ feet apart in the row and 4 kernels to the 



