150 FORAGE CROPS 



and northeastern states, the corn is usually cut 

 and shocked, and when the ears are dry enough 

 to crib, the corn is husked and the stalks are re- 

 shocked in the field until cured, and then either 

 carted to large stacks or stored in the barn. This 

 is an economical method of curing and saving the 

 crop. In the South and parts of the West the 

 practice is merely to "top" the stalk, and the 

 leaves and stalk below the ear, with the husks, re- 

 main standing in the field. This practice results 

 in a large waste of valuable material. In many of 

 the western states, only the ears are removed from 

 the standing corn and the stalks are not harvested; 

 the only value gained from the stover is that which 

 may be secured by the animals following the busk- 

 ers, and even then probably not one -third of the 

 food is utilized. 



Another source of loss of fodder, even though 

 the corn is husked and the stalks shocked, occurs 

 when the shocks are left in the field until they are 

 needed for food. By this method great losses 

 occur, due to the mechanical removal of the leaves 

 by weather, to changes in chemical composition, 

 and to the removal of a large proportion of the 

 best of the material by wind- and rain-storms; 

 besides, the rain and snow soak the outer parts of 

 the shocks, and these parts become frozen, not 

 only rendering them unpalatable but making it im- 

 possible to remove the entire product to the barn. 



