268 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Slade. Is not early-cut hay more palatable than late- 

 cut hay ? 



Mr. Sanborn. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Ware. There is one point which I would like to 

 have explained, if you please. You have said, that after the 

 time when corn is usually cut for ensilage, which is when 

 the kernel is just about mature enough for boiling, there is 

 considerable growth of material, and increase of nutrition : 

 none of us would doubt that. But the point I want to come 

 at is, whether the additional growth that occurs after the time 

 when it would be naturally cut for ensilage does not draw 

 more largely on the fertility of the soil to make that growth 

 than the portion that is grown previous to that period ; that 

 is, in maturing the seed, does it not draw more largely from 

 the fertility of the soil than it does up to that time ? 



Mr. Sanborn. I think I will convince the gentleman 

 that it does not. The plant will have more of the albumi- 

 noids, so called, at the time of flowering ; that is, it will have 

 a greater percentage than at the time of complete maturity. 

 The element that costs the farmer the most to supply to his 

 land is nitrogen. The albuminoids have nitrogen in themr 

 they do not increase so fast after flowering as before. 

 The carbohydrates do increase rapidly, the materials of 

 which come from the air and water. Therefore the growth 

 between bloom and maturity is made relatively more from 

 the air than from the soil. Then again, in practice, if 

 it did, I should care nothing about it, because our purpose 

 is to take from the soil all that is possible. We very often 

 speak of cropping the soil, not exhausting it. My purpose 

 in farming would be to exhaust the soil as rapidly as pos- 

 sible. If I could take off all there was in the soil in one 

 crop, I should be very happy to ; and I would put back as 

 much as I had taken off the next year. 



Mr. Slade. A gentleman says, " I have been raising 

 fodder-corn, cutting it at a certain period, and feeding it. 

 Why should I not let it stand and mature, and, after it has 

 glazed, cut it up and stack it, and then store it? I would 

 get clear of husking, which is very expensive, and get clear 

 of many other items of expense." How would that do ? 



Mr. Sanborn. That question has received considerable 

 attention. The great trouble is, that, as you very well lmow» 



