CHAPTER XIII 

 GREEN FORAGE AND HAY CROPS (Continued) 



I. ANNUAL FORAGE CROPS 



Indian Corn (Zea mays). The proportion of corn grown espe- 

 cially for forage in the United States and fed either green, cured, 

 or as silage is relatively small, although increasing with every year. 

 A fuller discussion of this crop will, therefore, be given under 

 " Cereals/' Chapter XVI. 



When grown for forage, Indian corn is planted thicker than 

 when grown for the sake of the grain. The difference in the amount 

 of grain and fodder secured by different methods of planting is 

 shown by experiments conducted at the Illinois station. 1 In 

 these trials dent corn was planted on a rich prairie soil, in rows 

 three feet eight inches apart, with kernels from three to twenty- 

 four inches apart in the row. The following table shows the main 

 results obtained: 



Results of Planting Corn Kernels Different Distances Apart in Rows 



We note that the highest yield of good ears, seventy-three bushels 

 per acre, was obtained when the grain was planted twelve inches 

 apart in the row, and that this method of planting gave the smallest 

 proportion of stover (cornstalks) to ear corn. On the other hand, 

 the largest yields of stover and of digestible substances per acre 

 were secured when the kernels were planted three inches apart in 

 the row, and the yield of nubbins per acre was also largest in the 



Bulletin 13. 



105 



