616 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



hill that had to be climbed to reach the cutter. It is difficult to explain 

 in any other way the difference in cost of 17 cents a ton at these two 

 farms. 



CEOPS USED. 



At farm No. 22 a 20-acre field of alfalfa was ready to cut at silo-filling 

 time. The owner tried the experiment of putting the green alfalfa in 

 the silo, mixing it with corn. The alfalfa was cut with a mowing machine 

 and raked into windrows with a 2-horse hayrake. One man with a team 

 was set to hauling the alfalfa while three were hauling corn. It is not 

 a difficult matter for one man to put on a load of this green stuff alone. 

 The man who did this work would bring in five big loads a day^ estimated 

 at two tons each. The three men and teams hauling corn, with two 

 loaders in the field, would draw from 35 to 40 loads in that time. The 

 silo was an extra large one, over 38 feet in diameter, and so the two 

 crops were quite evenly mixed. 



Corn alone was used at all of the other farms. There is considerable 

 difference of opinion as to the relative value of different varieties of corn 

 for silage. Some farmers grow very large southern kinds that do not. 

 mature grain in latitudes as far north as Michigan and Wisconsin. 

 Others prefer the ordinary dent sorts which produce a large percentage of 

 grain. The total amount of digestible matter per acre is about the same, 

 whether it is a large ensilage corn or the ordinary field variety, the 

 difference in bulk being mostly water. Some farmers combine the two 

 by planting one part of some large southern variety and two parts of 

 common field corn. This is said to make a very satisfactory silage. 



CONDITION OF THE CROPS WHEN CUT. 



A few years ago it was thought necessary to ensilage corn in an 

 immature state in order to have it keep. This made a sour silage with 

 a strong pungent odor. The consensus of opinion now favors letting 

 the corn go until the grain is fully matured. In ordinary seasons there 

 is a period, lasting but a few days, in which the corn ears are ripe and 

 the leaves and stalks are green. This is the ideal time for putting it in 

 the silo. If the corn is allowed to mature beyond this stage water should 

 be added to the cut material at filling time to prevent "fire fanging" of 

 the silage. The results of many chemical analyses show that the food 

 materials in the corn plant increase very rapidly as the plant approaches 

 maturity, and do not reach their maximum until it is fully ripe. Most 

 feeders prefer the silage made from mature corn because it contains less 

 acid and possesses a milder odor than it does when cut in a greener 

 condition. 



EQUIPMENT HARVESTERS. 



With the price of labor high and help difficult to obtain it becomes 

 necessary to take advantage of all the labor-saving machinery possible. 

 The corn binder has come to be almost indispensable at silo-filling time. 

 Most of the farmers whose work is described herein own their own 

 harvesters. The others were able to hire them. 



The cost of cutting corn with a machine is about the same as when 

 it is cut by hand and laid in small bunches on the ground. But there is 



