4U GRASSES OP IOWA. 



The amount of fodder f)roduced is very large and it is of excel- 

 lent quality. It is one of the best grasses for soiling pur- 

 poses. A related grass, Andropogon sorghum var. halepensis, 

 is the Johnson grass so well known to southern farmers. 

 While Johnson grass is a valuable forage plant, it is decidedly 

 objectionable where alternate husbandry is carried on, as it is 

 almost impossible to remove it. It has been tried in this state, 

 and on the Colleg3 farm at least it does not persist. The cold 

 wiaters kill it. 



Teosint [Euchlivna me.vicana, Schrad) is a native of Mexico 

 and Central America and in recent years has been distributed 

 by many seedsmen. Small fields of it may be seen here and 

 there in the state. It is a stout leafy annual growing eight to 

 twelve feet high and in the variety usually planted tillers, so 

 that a a enormous crop may be produced on an acre. It re- 

 sembles corn in many respects. It produces a fine quality of 

 forage and is an excellent plant for soiling purposes. 



Maize. The value of Zea mays, L., (Maize or Corn) as a soil- 

 ing crop has long been recognized by agriculturists. Large areas 

 in Canada and in our northern states are cultivated solely for 

 fodder purposes and the areas used for this purpose in Iowa 

 are constantly increasing. A large amount of forage is annually 

 being wasted in this state. In 1895 the acreage of corn in Iowa 

 was 8,648,804 acres.* Probably not one-tenth of the corn fod- 

 der was saved. The value placed on corn fodder is about 

 three dollars an acre, so that the annual corn fodder product 

 in Iowa is worth about 830,000,000. Labor-saving machinery 

 is revolutionizing the corn fodder question and the best farm- 

 ers are now relying on corn fodder for coarse forage. It is 

 poor economy to husk the corn and leave the stalks remain. 

 Although cattle may obtain some forage for a few weeks, it is 

 of poor quality, much of the digestiole nutrient substances 

 being lost when corn remains standing in the field. The 

 drouthy year of 1894 indicated to the Iowa farmer the great 

 value of corn stover. Before many years the larger propor- 

 tion of our corn stover will be saved and the farmers of Iowa 

 will add many million dollars to the wealth of the state. Dur- 

 ing the year 1900 it was not an uncommon sight to see more 

 than half of the corn fodder saved for forage in central Iowa. 



In another connection I have called attention to the use of 

 Cat-tail grass {Pennicetum typhoideum) which is a well known 



♦Census of Iowa for the year 1895. 



