FOODS ANIMAL PRODUCTION. 



157 



The food value of forage corn, H. P. Armsby {Pennsylvania Sta, 

 Rpt. 1892, pp. 22-31). — A study of the iuliuence of variety, rate of seed- 

 ing-, aud time of liarvestiiig .forage corn upon digestibility and yield. 

 In thick seeding- 1 kernel was planted every C in.; in thin seeding 

 1 kernel every 18 in. The varieties grown were a local dent variety 

 and Breck Boston Market Ensilage, a variety which at the station 

 barely reaches the glazing stage before frost. 



The following table gives a summary of the yields i)er acre of digest- 

 ible matter secured in 181)1 and 1802: 



Dujcsfihlv matter in lit iu- needed and thick-seeded earn eiit at different sfafjes. 



stage of iiiaturiTy. 



Digest- 

 Digest- ible uon- Total 

 ibie albii-l albumi- digestible 

 niinoiils. noid mat-' matter 

 ter. 



1891. 



Tbiu-seeded dent Silking 



Do I Glazing 



Do Nearly mature 



Thick-seeded dent I Glazing 



Tbin-seeded Breck I Dented and liardenin f 



Thick-seeded Breck 



1892. 



Milk 



Tbin-seeded dent Silked 



Do Glazing 



Do I Mature 



Thick-seeded dent ; do 



Tliin-seeded Breck i Hardening 



T'hick-seeded Breck Just past milk stage. 



Pounds. 

 82 

 136 

 209 

 200 

 215 

 314 



132 

 140 

 237 

 16-1 

 111 

 110 



Pounds. 

 916 

 2,677 

 2,873 

 4,337 

 3,776 

 6,180 



1, 821 

 2, 729 

 3,676 

 4,863 

 3,998 

 4,479 



Pounds. 

 1,008 

 2.813 

 3,082 

 4,537 

 3,991 

 6,494 



1,953 

 2,809 

 3,913 

 5, 027 

 4,109 

 4,589 



Nutritive 

 ratio. 



1:11.9 

 1 :20. 5 

 1:14.5 

 1:23.1 

 1 :18. 1 

 1 :20. 3 



1:13.4 

 1 :19. 5 

 1:16.2 

 1:30.9 

 1 :36. 5 

 1 :41. 4 



" Influence of maturity. — As the corn crop approaches maturity there is a very rapid 

 iuciease in the yield of dry matter per acre, while the digestibility of this dry mat- 

 ter appears to increase slightly, rather than to decrease as in the case of other crops. 

 The yield of total digestible food by the fully mature crop was from two to three 

 times as great as that by the same variety in the silking stage, and (in 1892) 36 per 

 cent greater than at the time the ears were glazing. 



^'Influence of rate of seeding. — The thicker seeding in these experiments produced in 

 everj^ instance a greater yield both of dry matter and of digestible food. The effect 

 on the digestibility of the crop varied somewhat in the different experiments, but tlie 

 digestiljility seemed to lie intluenced more by the relative maturity of the crops than 

 by the rate of seeding. 



"Influence of variety. — Of the 2 varieties used, the large covu gave the greater yield 

 of both dry matter and digestible food than the small corn cut at the same stage 

 of maturity. When cut at the same time, the small corn, being more mature, gave 

 a relatively greater yield of food, which in one case exceeded that of the large 

 variety." 



Experiments -with corn fodder, T. F. Hunt and W. H. Cald- 

 well {Fennsyl iHuiia Sta. Rpt. 1892, pp. 34-43). 



Synopsis. — An experiment as to the best stage for cutting green corn fodder, as shown 

 by the butter fat produced when the fodder was fed to cows. The results favored 

 cutting when the corn was medium mature — leaves beginning to dry, husks 

 green, and kerneLs mostly dented. Pound for pound the corn fodder in thi.s stage 

 was found to be equal to good timothy hay, although only about four fifths of 

 the fodder was eaten, and the lot on hay made a gain in live weight. 



