EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 433 



SOME EXPERIMENTS IN CORN RAISING. 



CLINTON D. SMITH. DIRECTOR AND AGRICULTURIST. 



Bulletin 154.- Farm Department. 



SUMMARY. 



The yield of corn is dependent in no small degree on the quality of the 

 seed, which should be selected before the corn is cut, having regard to the 

 size and character of the stalk as well as to the ripeness and type of the 

 ear. When the season is especially favorable for thoroughly maturing the 

 ears, enough seed to last at least two years should be gathered, com- 

 pletely dried out before frost, and stored in a warm, dry place. A differ- 

 ence of 11$ in the yield of dry matter on two adjacent acres was noted in 

 favor of the crop grown from well ripened seed over the yield from seed 

 grown in a wet, cold season. 



For the silo, the corn may well be planted in drills about three and 

 one-half feet apart and with kernels from two to six inches apart in the 

 row. In a very wet season a heavier crop may be harvested from plots 

 drilled with a grain drill, every tube sowing, but the greater yield of pro- 

 tein and other valuable nutrients was found in these experiments to be 

 in the crop planted with less seed per acre. 



Frequent cultivation prevents the evaporation of moisture from the 

 soil and secures its retention for the use of the corn plant. 



When the corn is ripe or nearly so, the dry matter which the crop con- 

 tains is found, about one-half in the ears, less than a third in the stalks 

 and one-fifth in the leaves. About one-half of the total protein content of 

 the plant, 58$ of the albuminoid nitrogen, 54.7$ of the N. free extract 

 and but 17.4 per cent of the ash elements are found in the ears. In the 

 case of sweet corn 52$ of the total dry matter, 63.74$ of the protein and 

 60.56$ of the N. free extract were found in the ears. Of sorghum the 

 larger share of the total weight in dry matter is found in the stalks; but, 

 on the other hand, 45.56$ of the protein is in the leaves, a little more than 

 a third in the tops and less than a fifth in the stalks. These experiments 

 go to show that in harvesting either of tbese forage crops attention should 

 be given to the preservation of the leaves and stalks, since they contain 

 so large a proportion of the nutritive ingredients. 

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