36 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



the tops of the corn earlier than the rest, cure them sepa- 

 rately, and get them housed before the remainder of the crop 

 is touched. Some farmers who have only a small quantity 

 may make it a practice to feed it without drying. The corn 

 and butts are then harvested together, and the ears are 

 husked at once to prevent heating. Some people, however, 

 husk their corn from the stalks in the field before they are 

 cut, throwing the ears into carts, and carrying them directly 

 to the bins. 



All this is different from ways that are adopted in other 

 localities in neighboring counties : there the whole stalks 

 are cut at the ground, with the ears on them, and are 

 strongly placed in well-ventilated stooks, where they can be 

 fully exposed to the drying influence of air and wind. This 

 is done when the ears have become well glazed. When well 

 dried, these whole stalks are taken to the barn to be husked 

 and separated. 



I find this latter method most recommended by writers on 

 agricultural subjects ; and reasons are advanced why it will 

 produce the best quality of stover. These reasons are ex- 

 plained by the following, taken from L. F. Allen's " Ameri- 

 can Farm-Book : " — 



" If there be no danger of early frost, the corn may be suffered to 

 stand until fully ripe ; though, if the stalks are designed for fodder, they 

 should be cut when the grain is well glazed, and this should be done in 

 all cases when frost is expected. Scarcely any injury occurs, either to 

 leaf or grain, if the corn be stooked, when both would be seriously 

 damaged from the same exposure if standing. The stalks of corn 

 should never be cut above the ear, but always near the ground, and for 

 this obvious reason : the sap which nourishes the grain is drawn from 

 the earth, and, passing through the stem, enters the leaf, where a change 

 is effected analogous to what takes place in the blood when brought to 

 the surface of the lungs in the animal system ; with this peculiar differ- 

 ence, however, that while the blood gives out carbon, and absorbs 

 oxygen, plants under the influence of light and heat give out oxygen, 

 and absorb carbon. This change prepares the sap for condensation, and 

 conversion into grain. But the leaves which thus digest the food for the 

 grain are above it, for it is while passing downward that the change of 

 sap into grain principally takes place. If the stalk be cut above the 

 ear, nourishment is at an end. It may then become firm and dry ; but 

 it is not increased in quantity ; while, if cut near the root, it not only 

 appropriates the sap already in the plant, but it also absorbs additional 

 matter from the atmosphere, which contributes to its weight and per- 

 fection." 



