166 INDIAN CORN CULTURE. 
forms the most valuable source of an econom- 
ical carbonaceous food we have. _ 
It has long been known that the grain of 
Indian corn is a most valuable food for domes- 
tic animals. It is generally. relished by farm 
animals and imparts a quality to meat, milk 
or butter which ranks it among the most, if 
not the most, important common feeding-stuffs 
at our command. During recent years it has 
been well established, also, that the mature 
plant, independent of the seed, has a high food 
value, either green or as dry fodder. 
Rations illustrated —Without attempting 
any elaborate discussion of the merits of Indian 
corn as a food, and presenting a large number 
of feeding rations, the balance of this chapter 
will be devoted to a few illustrations of rations 
and to demonstrating its importance when fed 
on the farm under certain conditions. Many 
different combinations of foods might be dis- 
cussed, with corn as a part of each ration, but 
the space to be occupied here will not admit of 
this. The purpose is rather to note the desir- 
able and undesirable use of corn as a food in 
common practice, so that a brief amount of 
space will be devoted to corn as a food for each 
class of farm animals. 
Horses.—In that part of the country where 
corn forms a prominent grain crop, as in the 
Central West, and in much of the Southern 
