486 



FARMERS' REGISTER— ON GATMlSRING FODDER. 



article of food for cattle in winter. Cases of this 

 nature, may at first sight, exhibit some seemingly 

 plausible reasons for pursuing this system, on the 

 Jaw of necessity; but a little reflection will easily 

 adduce proofs that the general necessities of these 

 cases do not require any such heavy sacrifice. 

 Any farm generally, capable of producing a tolera- 

 ble crop of corn, will also, in most cases, produce 

 an ample supply of corn, and other grasses for the 

 support ol'a stock of cattle on the farm throughout 

 the season, and at the same time be the means of 

 improving and ameliorating the condition of the 

 Eoil. 



As a means of coming to <an exact knowledge 

 of the extent of the injury which the farmer in- 

 flicts on himself, and the community at large, by 

 adopting so ruinous a system, it would be necessa- 

 ry to make various experiments in different sec- 

 tions of the country. JEx|>eriments of this nature, 

 I am aware, have been repeatedly made; but it is 

 in the power of every farmer to try the experi- 

 ment for himself — it can put him to very little in- 

 convenience, and no extra expense. Suppose a 

 portion of the corn field of any convenient or wish- 

 ed for extent, be selected for tlie experiment, on 

 ■which, the corn is all equally good; divide this 

 into five equal divisions, containing each the same 

 number of hills and stalks on a hill: fiom the first 

 division of this selected piece oi'corn let the fodder 

 be pulled and the tops cut, as generally done; 

 from the second, pull the fodder from the whole of 

 the stalk, but do not cut off the tops; from the 

 third, pull the fodder from the stalk only so far up 

 as the ear, leaving the tops as in the preceding di- 

 vision; fi-om the fourth, at the time when it is usual 

 to cut off the tops, cut the stalk even by the ground 

 with all its leaves, and top on, and set it up in 

 small quantities together; — (this part of the experi- 

 ment would, I think, clearly prove that at this 

 stage of the growth of the corn, that the leaves and 

 tops are a much more important conservative part of 

 the plant than even the roots;) and in the fifth di- 

 vision leave the whole entire on the ground until 

 the corn is perfectly matured — and when such is 

 the case, pull the corn from all the divisions on 

 the same day, and carefully weigh the product of 

 each separately. Probably some more eligible 

 method might suggest itself to some of your rea- 

 ders — however, I think some general experiment 

 such as the above, would at once show the imper- 

 fection, and consequent loss to the farmer of the 

 present system of pulling fodder and cutting tops. 

 The sooner it is exploded the better for every 

 farmer. a. n. 



From the Farmer and Gardener. 

 New Lebanon, Camden County, N. C. } 

 September 26//(, 1834. 5 



# # * # * 



I cut the tops of a piece of corn above the first 

 joint in the following manner. 1 began with the 

 first row, left the next, cut the third, and so on, cut- 

 ting every other row through the piece. This was 

 done when the corn was soft — say when it would 

 answer to roast. In about two weeks I cut ano- 

 ther piece in the same manner, and watched the 

 result. At the time my corn of the first piece was 

 fit to take the fodder from, as we term it here, 

 (meaning the blades or leaves,) I found it was as 

 green as any part of the field, and there was no 

 perceptible difference between th« rows where the 



tops were cut, and those that were left uncut; but 

 not exactly so with the second piece. In this, the 

 blades on the cut rows Avere somewhat drier than 

 those on the uncut. At gathering time, we could 

 not perceive any dift'erence in the corn; but I waa 

 not as particular as Mr. Clark. If I had been, 

 l^erhaps I might have found much more difference 

 than I observed. (I very nmch admire his mode 

 of managing the experiment.) I continued the 

 aboAe exfieriments for three years, and found the 

 result the same — since that lime, I have only cut 

 the tops to feed my horses with, in a green state, 

 finding it so ditFicult to save the tops in our wet sec- 

 tion ot country. 



Most respectfully yours, 



PHINEAS SANBORX, 



[We present above, opinions both for and against the 

 common practice of stripping the leaves and cutting' 

 oir the tops of corn, while the plant is still green and 

 full of sap. The experiments of Mr. Sanborn were 

 made with so little care and attention to accuracy, (aa 

 he seems fully sensible of,) that they are but Httle to 

 be relied on — or rather, are entirely inconclusive. 

 This we regret, although his opinion is opposed to that 

 which we have several times expressed. The commu- 

 nication of our correspondent A. N. would have been 

 far more valuable, if he had made and reported the re- 

 sults of some of the experiments which he proposes — 

 and we request of him, and of others, to make careful 

 and varied experiments the next season. He was pro- 

 bably prevented, as we were, from doing this the last 

 season, because it could not have been done so as to 

 present correct results, and such as may be expected 

 in general. The long and severe drought of August 

 had more or less burnt the leaves of the plants gener- 

 ally when the gi-ain was not more mature than is usual 

 when fodder is gathered— and therefore, drought serv- 

 ed to cut short the growth and filling of the grain, just 

 as gathering fodder might have done — and leaving 

 plants untouched, would have been attended with much 

 less benefit than under different circumstances. The 

 greatest injury must occur when the season is favorable 

 to the most perfect maturity of the whole plant. 



Preceding the extract which we have taken from 

 Mr. Sanborn's letter, he had stated that when "stalks 

 of com are broken off at the first joint above the shoot, 

 before the corn, or even the cob ,is half made," instead 

 of being barren, or nearly so, "that these stalks gene- 

 ralty have the best ears on them. I have sometimes 

 pulled out the tassel when I could but just see it, but 

 never knew a stalk to be barren in consequence of it.' 

 Of the first of these facts, our observations do not fur- 

 nish either confirmation or denial — though our impres- 

 sions were that the stalks broken off early by violent 

 winds, were not so productive. The latter fact we ful- 

 ly admit — but draw from it quite a different conclusion. 

 The tassel is provided by nature (not as the leaves are, 

 to elaborate and prepare the sap for feeding the plant, 

 and to gather other aliment by absorbing carbonic acid 

 gas and water from the atmosphere, but) merely to 

 produce the fecundating farina, which is afterwards 

 scattered by the winds, and falls upon and impregnates 

 the ••silli," or female blossoms of the plants. This fa- 



