378 



to be pulled, and for the ears alone to be harvested from an- 

 other set of rows. Circumstances prevented a test of the 

 effect of stripping or fodder pulling, but the other compari- 

 sons were carried to a conclusion. 



August 13, on a portion of the field the tops were cut 

 just above the ear. At that date the lower leaves had "fired" 

 too much to make good fodder. 



August 22 on other rows the entire stalks were cut, put 

 into large shocks and left until Sept. 12. 



A third set of rows remained undisturbed until Sept. 12. 

 On this last date the ears were pulled from all three classes 

 of plants, viz: (1) those not previously disturbed, (2) 

 those plants which had been topped, and (3) those stalks 

 which had been cut near the ground and shocked. 



Weather conditions were favorable to the curing of the 

 stalks. 



The following table gives the yields per acre both of grain 

 and forage on the plots differently treated : 



Yield per acre of corn and forage from different methods 



of harvesting. 



Methods of Harvesting. 



Only ears harvested 



Tops cut and ears harvested 



Entire stalks cut and ears afterwards har 

 vested.. 



Forage per 

 acre. 



~Lbi. 



00 

 3L2 (tops) 



2103 (stalks) 



Apparently both topping and cutting the stalks before 

 pulling the ears injuriously affected the yield of grain. 



We have next to consider whether the forage gained by 

 harvesting tops or stalks exceeded in value the grain which 

 seems to have been lost by these processes. 



With corn at 45 cents per bushel, tops at 50 cents per 

 100 lbs., and entire stalks with adhering blades at 25 cents 

 per 100 lbs., and assuming that the different plots were uni- 

 form in fertility, we obtain the following financial results: 



