30 VERMONT DAIRYMEN'S REPORT. 



A farmer has use for all the brains he possesses in securing his 

 hay crop in good condition at minimum cost. 



If the farmer owns a farm having a light soil, sensitive to 

 drought, he should make more of a specialty of corn for the 

 silo. The first and more important crop of hay is made of 

 unmade between the first of May and the middle of June. If a 

 " spell of dry weather" occurs, the crop will be a light one. 

 Corn on the other hand extends over a longer period of growth, 

 and will withstand the dry weather better than grass. In grow- 

 ing corn, one must use as little hand labor as possible. An 

 early campaign should be begun against the weeds. First use 

 the weeder as soon as the weeds make the slightest showing, 

 and keep it going until the corn is six inches high, and then fol- 

 low with the fine tooth cultivator. Do not letup on the weeds. 

 It is the early farmer that catches the weeds, as well as the 

 early bird that catches the worm, and it is the early weed as 

 well as the early bird that gets caught. 



THE QUANTITY OF CORN TO GROW. 



An average acre of corn should give five cows twenty 

 pounds of ensilage a day for seven months, and if grass was 

 the main crop I should plan to grow at least an acre of corn for 

 ensilage for every five cows. 



If the farm was not naturally suited to grass I should grow 

 sufficient to give each cow forty pounds per day for at least the 

 same period. This would be two acres of corn for every five 

 cows. On my grass farm I would probably feed some fifteen 

 pounds of hay daily in addition to the ensilage, while on my 

 corn farm seven or eight pounds of hay besides the forty pounds 

 of ensilage. 



HOW TO HANDLE THE CORN CROP. 



Your own experiment station has conducted such an excel- 

 lent series of practical experiments on this point, that it is 

 hardly necessary to go into the matter in detail. I believe in 

 the silo. I think it is the best way for the dairyman to handle 

 the crop. The animals eat the silage clean, and enjoy it, 

 especially during the long winter when they can get no green 

 feed. We should endeavor to prevent the corn from souring as 

 much as possible. The way to do this, aside from packing it 

 tightly, is to allow the corn to mature as much as possible. I 

 like to have the ear well in the dough and beginning to harden, 

 before cutting. You will get the largest amount of the least 

 sour food by this method. One problem that confronts the 

 farmer is how to get the corn into the silo with the least amount 

 of help. The nearest solution I can suggest for this problem 



