GRAIN AND ITS CULTIVATION. 153 



the grain is well glazed, and this should be done in all cases 

 where frost is expected. Scarcely any injury occurs either 

 to the leaf or grain, if the corn be cut and stocked, when 

 both would be seriously damaged from the same exposure it 

 standing. 



The stalks of corn ought never to be cut above the 

 ear, but always near the ground, and for this obvious reason. 

 The sap which nourishes the grain, is drawn from the earth, 

 and passing through the stem, enters the leaf, where a 

 change is effected, analogous to what takes place in the 

 blood when brought to the surface of the lungs, in the ani- 

 mal system ; but with this peculiar difference, however, that 

 while the blood gives out carbon and absorbs oxygen, plants, 

 under the influence of light and heat, give out oxygen and 

 absorb carbon. This change prepares the sap for condensa- 

 tion and conversion into the grain. But the leaves which 

 thus digest the food for the grain are above it, and it is while 

 passing downward, that the change of the sap into grain 

 principally takes place. If the stalk be cut above the ear, 

 nourishment is at an end. It may then become 'firm and 

 dry, but it will not increase in quantity ; while if cut near 

 the root, it not only appropriates the sap already in the plant, 

 but it also absorbs additional matter from the atmosphere, 

 which contributes to its weight and perfection. 



Corn must be perfectly dried in the field, and after this, 

 husked and carried into an airy loft, or stored in latticed or 

 open barracks. The stalks may be housed, or carefully 

 stacked for fodder. Many of our western farmers allow 

 both grain and stalks to stand in the field till wanted for use, 

 when they are fed in an adjoining enclosure. This is* a 

 wasteful practice, and can only be justified by the. very low 

 price of grain. Where labor is not relatively too high, it is 

 better to grind or crush the corn and cob, and cut the stalk ; 

 then mix all together, dampening and slightly salting the 

 mixture some time before feeding it. Could a comprehen- 

 sive machine be invented for grinding the whole mass of 

 stalk, husk, cob and grain together, it would save much of 

 the food, and the labor both in preparing and digesting it. 

 When fodder is high, the stalks and leaves will repay the 

 expense of cultivation. 



Preparation of Corn for a distant market requires that 

 the grain be not only well cured, sound and dry, but that it 

 be properly kiln-dried. This expels the moisture, and de- 



