Green Forage Crops 261 



be relied upon altogether, as the largest yield of succulent 

 food is dependent upon a rapid and continuous growth, 

 and hence the supply of plant-food must be relatively 

 much greater than is the case when the cereals are grown 

 for their seed. That is, forage crops, because succulence 

 is a factor influencing quality, must, as a rule, be grown 

 quickly, and in order that large yields may be obtained 

 in a short period of time a relatively greater abundance 

 of plant-food must be at their disposal than when the 

 growth is distributed through a longer period. Be- 

 sides, larger amounts of all of the food constituents 

 are required for the production of the same amount of 

 dry matter to the acre than when grown for the mature 

 crop, because the dry matter of the mature crop is richer 

 in the constituents derived from the air and poorer in 

 those derived from the soil, than the dry matter of the 

 immature crop. 



Maize (corn) forage. 



A valuable forage crop of the first group is maize 

 (Indian corn), because it grows quickly, is well adapted 

 to a wide variety of soils and climates, is extremely palat- 

 able, and is capable of producing large yields. The 

 fertilization which has been recommended for the field 

 crop is less desirable than one which furnishes a greater 

 proportion of nitrogen, because of the greater need of 

 this element, and because it encourages a larger leaf and 

 stalk growth ; and the greater the proportion of these in 

 a corn crop, the richer will be the dry matter in the im- 

 portant compound protein, and nitrogen is the basic 

 element in this group of nutrients. 



When the crop is grown on good land on clover sod, 

 which has been liberally manured, the fertilizers applied 



