196 FEEDS AND FEEDING 



to 1 :17.1, while corn stover has the very wide nutritive ratio of 1 :21.0 

 or over. Hence, these roughages should be supplemented by feeds 

 rich in crude protein. Corn forage is fair in phosphorus and high in 

 lime, compared with corn and the other cereal grains. 



294. Thickness of planting. How thickly to plant corn for forage to se- 

 cure the highest feeding value, has been studied at several experiment 

 stations. The following table shows the results secured at the Illinois 

 Station 1 where corn was planted on good prairie soil from 3 to 24 

 inches apart in the row, all rows being 3 feet 8 inches apart : 



Results of planting corn kernels various distances apart in rows 



Good Poor Stover Stover Total Net 



Distance between ears ears per for each digestible energy 



kernels in row per per acre Ib. of nutrients per acre 



acre acre corn per acre 



Bu. Bu. Tons Lbs. Lbs. Therms 



3 inches.. 13 46 4.8 3.6 6,218 5,062 



6 inches 37 39 3.7 



9 inches 55 22 3.1 



12 inches 73 16 3.0 



15 inches 63 11 2.9 



24 inches.. 49 6 2.5 



.9 5,980 5,137 



.5 5,539 4,854 



.3 5,593 4,939 



4 5,180 4,538 



5 4,207 3,644 



With the kernels but 3 inches apart in the row there were 46 bushels 

 of " nubbins," or poor ears, and only 13 bushels of sound ears per 

 acre. This thick planting gave the largest returns in total digestible 

 nutrients per acre, but did not quite come up to the 6-inch rate of 

 planting in yield of net energy, which measures the value of the crop 

 for animals being fed for production. (78-80) With this close planting 

 there were 3.6 Ibs. of stover for each pound of grain. The largest yield 

 of sound ear corn was secured by planting the kernels 12 inches apart 

 in the row, or about 12,000 kernels per acre, which should produce 10,000 

 good stalks an acre. From this the returns were 73 bushels of sound and 

 16 bushels of poor ears per acre, with only 600 Ibs. less digestible matter 

 than from planting the kernels 4 times as thickly. 



These trials, confirmed by the work of other stations, teach that when 

 the stockman is seeking to produce grain, with stover secondary, he should 

 plant the kernels at such distance apart as will allow each individual 

 plant to produce full-sized ears. No general rule can be given as to the 

 amount of seed to be planted per acre. This varies greatly and is 

 determined by local conditions. One must know accurately the capacity 

 of his land for corn, and seed accordingly. Where the crop is grown for 

 silage for animals being fed for production, such as dairy cows or fatten- 

 ing steers and sheep, the corn may be planted somewhat more thickly 

 than when grown primarily for grain. However, these animals need 

 considerable grain, and therefore the plants should be given enough 

 space to develop good ears. If the silage were to be fed to such animals 

 as beef breeding cows or stocker steers, being merely maintained over 



'111. Bui. 13. 



