CHAPTER IV 



FORAGE AND SOILING CROPS 

 By Frederic W. OLDE>rBxxRG, B.S.^ 



*' Forage crops" includes those plants that are grown pri- 

 marily to be fed whole, either green or cured, to live stock. Not 

 only does this include the grasses, millets, clovers and alfalfa, 

 but soy beans and cowjDeas, corn and sorghum and any other 

 crop when used in this wa}^ 



Soiling is the term used when the croj) is cut green and carried 

 to the animal. When the finer stemmed plants are cut and cured 

 the resulting produce is called hay. Curing does not mean 

 merely drying, but that under proper conditions a slow fermen- 

 tation takes place, due to the presence of enz^mies in the plants, 

 which gives hay its characteristic aroma. In the North the term 

 * 'fodder" is used in connection Avith the corn plant Avhen cut 

 and fed mtliout removing the ears, and ' ' stover ' ' Avith the ears 

 removed. In the South the term fodder is applied to the dried 

 tops and leaves taken from the standing corn before it is fully 

 matured. Both terms are also used in connection with sorghum, 

 kafir corn and other coarse-stemmed plants. 



Distribution. — Owing to the fact that * 'forage crops" include 

 such a wide variety of plants adapted to various soil and climatic 

 conditions, they are widely distributed over the United States. 

 According to the census of 1909, these crops occupy fully one- 

 half of the cultivated land. However, in some sections of the 

 country they are much more important than in others. In New 

 York and the New England states fully eighty to ninety per cent 

 of the improved land is given over to pasture, hay and forage. 

 This is due to the excellent markets for hay furnished by the 

 big cities and by the dairy interests. In the West, while the 

 percentage of improved land is small, more than forty per cent 

 is occupied by hay and forage. In the Lake States, while the 

 acreage is large, the part occupied by the forage crops is small. 

 In the South the forage crops occupy only five per cent of the 

 improved land. 



Varieties. — Timothy and clover mixed is the principal forage 

 crop in the northeastern part of the United States from southern 

 Virginia and Kentucky northward, and east of the Missouri 

 river (see Fig. 1). Corn silage, which is classified as coarse 



^ Maryland Agricultural College. 



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