128 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



silage than that made from Hungarian grass, or millet, cut 

 when just beginning to show the heads. Yet, all consid- 

 ered, the one favorite, most successful and almost universal 

 crop for ensilage, is maize or Indian corn, — the great agri- 

 cultural plant of America. Corn, as a crop for ensilage, has 

 conspicuous and unrivalled merits, — adaptation to a variety 

 of soils, ease of cultivation, rapid and luxuriant growth 

 resulting in a product per acre far exceeding any other 

 plant, ease of handling and quality in preservation. For 

 quantity I would recommend the tall Southern, or Virginia 

 " horse-tooth" corn, white and semi-flint. The best quality 

 of ensilage is claimed for the larger kinds of sweet corn, but 

 unless great care is taken, the product resulting will be 

 very acid. For general economy, the common field corn of 

 the neighborhood is, perhaps, as good as any. If one 

 wishes to make a crop of corn (grain) and also a crop of en- 

 silage, and does not care to have the ears go to the silo, there 

 can be little doubt about it. The crop can be raised in the 

 usual ways, in hills or drills, the ears plucked from the 

 stalks while " in the milk," and of course, without husking, 

 and thrown in small piles, or spread a foot deep under a 

 shed, to cure, and the stalks then cut and ensiloed. In this 

 way, the usual crop of ear corn can be obtained and from 

 six to eight and sometimes ten tons of ensilage to the acre, 

 and the ensilage thus made usually comes as near to being 

 " sweet" as any I have ever seen. 



Ordinarily, however, a special kind of corn will be spe- 

 cially grown for ensilage, to secure the greatest possible 

 tonnage per acre. For this purpose select a strong soil, in 

 good heart, and manure heavily with stable manure, broad- 

 cast or in the drill. I prefer manure broadcasted, plowed 

 in lightly if green, and if well composted harrowed in after 

 plowing. Get suitable seed, and plant in drills from '2\ ft. 

 to 3^ ft. apart, according to size of corn, condition of soil 

 and mode or facilities of cultivation. Hand labor must be 

 avoided as much as possible, and maybe entirely superseded 

 on good land, until the cutting. The plant should grow 

 from three to five or six inches apart in the row. The aim 

 is to have every plant receive light and air enough to grow 

 rapidly and reach maturity, if allowed time. The quantity 



