FODDERS AND STOVERS 261 



Corn Stover. — As previously stated, corn stover refers 

 to the entire corn plant after it has been cut and the ears 

 husked out. The average chemical composition of corn 

 stover as determined by analyses made in the corn-belt is 

 as follows : water, 17.0 per cent ; ash, 6.3 per cent ; crude 

 protein, 5.6 per cent ; crude fiber, 28.0 per cent ; nitrogen-free 

 extract, 42.1 per cent; and fat, 1.0 per cent. As in the 

 case of corn fodder, the method of storage has considerable 

 influence upon the chemical composition. Thus, the water 

 content may vary from 10 per cent in the case of stover 

 stored in the barn, to 55 per cent in the case of stover al- 

 lowed to remain in the field. As in the case of corn fodder, 

 exposure to rain and snow will cause a considerable loss of the 

 most digestible nutrients of the stover. 



The feeding value and possibilities of corn stover are usu- 

 ally underestimated. Especially is this true in the central 

 and western parts of the corn-belt, where only a small per- 

 centage of the corn crop is cut. As a matter of fact, the stover 

 contains from one-fourth to one-third of the feeding-value of 

 the entire corn crop. 



Corn stover ma}^ profitably furnish from one-third to 

 one-half of the roughage when fed with clover or alfalfa 

 hay to fattening cattle. It may furnish a large part of the 

 ration of stock cattle which are being wintered without 

 making any gain. Also, it may form a large part of the ration 

 of breeding cows and breeding ewes. For milk cows it has 

 about the same value as timothy hay and should be used in 

 onl}" limited amounts. Corn, linseed meal, and corn stover 

 will produce fair, though not maximum, gains with fattening 

 sheep. It may be fed also to horses, especially in winter, 

 when they are not at hard work. For this purpose, it has 



