CULTIVATED CR0P8 



87 



Com for Silage. — When silos were first used corn was 

 put into them quite green. It was found that this silage 

 was very sour, and sometimes animals did not Hke it, or, if 

 they did eat much of it, it did not agree with them. It has 

 been found, since silage came into more common use, that 

 corn must be really ripe or mature when it is cut and put into 

 the silo, if first-class silage is to result. Now farmers 

 usually grow for silage just the same variety of corn that 



Figure 36. — A good stand of corn for silage. 



they grow for ears. They plant it at about the same time 

 in the spring, and cultivate it in the usual way. Corn for 

 silage is generally planted about 50 per cent more thickly 

 than for ears. It is more commonly planted in drills than 

 in check rows. It may be planted in check rows, if desired. 

 Time to Cut. — The most important thing about getting 

 good silage is the time of cutting the corn. There are no 

 reliable rules to go by, because in wet years conditions are 

 quite different than in dry years. In wet years the ears 

 of corn may be entirely ripe, while the stalks and leaves 

 are still green. In dry years the stalks and leaves may be 

 quite dry before the ears mature. A crop of corn increases 

 in feeding value up until the time it is mature. It is, there- 

 fore, desirable to have the corn mature when cut for silage; 



