148 FORAGE CROPS 



tains very much less crude fiber. A good crop of 

 corn should yield about three tons per acre. 

 A mistaken idea is that the thicker the corn is 

 seeded, the larger will be the yield of food per 

 acre, and in many instances the corn is sown 

 broadcast or planted exceedingly thick in the row 

 with this notion in mind. While the forage will be 

 a little more digestible and a little richer in pro- 

 tein under this treatment, the yield of total 

 nutrients per acre is usually very much less than 

 if planted in the ordinary way and tilled, since the 

 thick- seeded crop will be likely to suffer from lack 

 of moisture, and it is much more exhaustive per 

 unit of dry matter on the fertilizer constituents of 

 the land. It is not a desirable practice to broad- 

 cast corn unless for hog pasture, or as catch- crop, 

 and even then the advantages are not always 

 apparent. 



Sweet corn dry fodder 



As already pointed out, sweet corn is an excel- 

 lent source of nutrients, because it does not grow 

 quite so coarse as the ordinary field varieties, and 

 because it is very palatable and contains a highly 

 digestible form of carbohydrates. As in the case 

 of other fodders, if grown primarily for dried 

 fodder, the seeding should be relatively thick, so 

 as not to permit too heavy earing, although the 

 presence of ears is not so undesirable as in field 



