FIELD, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN CROPS 143 



grape vine and expect it to mature a full crop of fruit ; neither can 

 this be done with corn. If, however, the stalks be left in the field 

 until the grain is mature, the forage loses much of its value. 



It has been found most profitable to cut the whole stalk before it 

 is quite ripe. The leaves and stalk then continue to feed the grain 

 and mature it without much loss; thus both grain and forage are 

 saved. 



It is a laborious undertaking to remove the corn from these cut 



CULTIVATING CORN 



stalks, shuck or husk it, and cut the stalks for forage. Sometimes 

 the stalks are -fed whole, as ' sto'ver,' but there is much waste, 

 because their hard fiber keeps them from being fully utilized for 

 food. There are machines which remove and husk the corn and 

 cut or crush the stalks into a coarse hay which is a palatable and 

 nutritious fodder. 



Fertilizers. Some plants when they get half enough food ma- 

 ture half a crop. Corn, however, does not. When it is dwarfed 

 by poor soil, it produces either no grain or a small and inferior 

 crop. Therefore poor land should be improved by legumes, 

 manures, and fertilizers before it is planted in corn. 



