164 Feeds and Feeding. 



must be impressed with the folly of him who so carefully performed 

 his work. It is true that when fed in this manner some corn passes 

 thru the animal unbroken, but feeding trials have shown that, de- 

 spite such waste, there is often little or no profit in husking the 

 ear and reducing it to meal. Part of the shock corn can be husked 

 to furnish tlae extra forage required by the cattle. A little study 

 will determine the amount of grain the shocks carry, so that the 

 feeder can properly adjust the ratio of grain to roughage. Because 

 our ancestors laboriously husked corn and afterwards divided with 

 the miller for grinding, is no reason why in these days of high- 

 priced labor we should continue husking corn for cattle, when these 

 animals have all day in which willingly to perform the work, 



217. Dry fodder corn. — Corn grown and cured as forage consti- 

 tutes a coarse hay of high feeding value, since only a portion of the 

 nutrients has gone into the ear. Dry fodder corn is more palatable 

 and nutritious than stover, which has lost much of its substance to 

 the grain produced. Thickly seeded corn bears small, palatable 

 ears which are easily masticated. When grown for coarse hay and 

 carrying some grain, corn possesses a feeding value not as yet ap- 

 preciated by most stockmen. Overlooking its splendid qualities as a 

 hay plant, we have become accustomed to growing this grass for the 

 grain it yields, and using the roughage as a sort of straw to be eaten 

 or wasted as accident determines. (435, 664) 



218. Corn stover. — The forage which remains after removing the 

 ear from shock corn has a higher feeding value than is usually con- 

 ceded. Stover produced in the northern portion of the corn belt 

 is superior in nutriment and palatability to that grown at the 

 South. As soon as fairly well cured and freed from external moist- 

 ure, stover should be placed under cover or stacked, rather than left 

 to deteriorate in the field. Waters of the Missouri Station^ found 

 as the average of experiments covering 4 years that moderately thin 

 yearling steers lost only 33 lbs. each when wintered on whole corn 

 stover alone. This shows that whole corn stover will nearly fur- 

 nish a maintenance ration for such animals. (436, 545, 665, 764) 



219. Shredded stover. — When shock corn is husked by machinery 

 the stover is usually shredded at the same operation. Shredded corn 

 forage is easy to handle, and the waste is in better shape for bedding 

 and manure. At the Missouri Station^ Waters found shredded 

 stover slightly inferior to whole stover for steer feeding. It is prob- 

 able that shredding stover or running it thru a feed cutter will pay 



^ Bill. 75. - Loc. cit. 



