570 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec 



CORU-STALKS FOK FODDER. 



There is scarcely a New England farm that does 

 not produce more or less Indian Corn — a crop 

 beautifully ornamental in the fields, and as rich 

 and life-sustaining as it is beautiful. The farmer 

 would scarcely feel that his harvests were com- 

 plete without a bin of the golden ears. No other 

 grain can be so universally and acceptably em- 

 ployed. It serves both man and beast. No bread 

 is more gratefully received upon the breakfast ta- 

 ble than the corn-cake, slightly crusted, orange- 

 brown, sweet, delicious ! Or the smoking loaf of 

 "brown bread," hot from the oven, tempered with 

 rye meal and, if of the highest order, a portion of 

 those yellow globes that grow near to the ground 

 among the upright corn. Or the "flannel-cakes," 

 light yellow, tender, and surpassing even the best 

 buckwheat. Or the "hominy," coarse or fine, as 

 fancy dictates, or the brimming dish of "hasty pud- 

 ding," like golden sands from the river, whose cu- 

 linary steam encircles the great pitcher of milk 

 standing by its side ! It is no wonder that the poet 

 could sing through many pages, of the excellencies 

 of this rich and gladdening grain — the crowning 

 glory of our autumnal harvests. The bosom of the 

 farmer swells with honest pride, as, with his 

 friends, he looks upon the ample reward of his 

 labors in the full granaries of this bountiful crop. 

 There seems to be no other grain which the ani- 

 mals that ai'e dependent upon us so much relish 

 as this. In a cooked or vmcooked state, in the 

 kernel, or ground into meal, it is always eagerly 

 eaten. Horses are abundantly sustained and per- 

 form constant and hard labor upon it. With a 

 quart per day, cows increase their flow of milk, 

 and also increase in flesh. Fed sparingly to hogs, 

 in connection with less nutritious food, they grow 

 rapidly and assume large frames, and if fed plen- 

 tifully in the form of meal, lay on flesh and fat at 

 the rate of one pound to two and a half pounds 

 per day — and they seem never to tire of it. Poul- 

 try enjoy it vastly, and will generally leave all 

 other grain for the bright Indian corn ! It is a 

 universal favorite — wild animals, such as bears, 

 raccoons and squirrels, all being fond of it, as well 

 as the crow, blue jay and other birds. 



Indian corn is, also, a pleasant and convenient 

 crop to plant, cultivate and harvest — and when 

 harvested, easily kept, without loss, except from 

 unimportant depredations by rats and mice. If 

 in a suitable place, winter's cold or summer's heat 

 does not afl'ect it, and after it comes from the mill 

 and is properly cooled it may be kept sweet and 

 good for months, if in a dry place. It is, in truth, 

 the "staff of life," this beautiful Indian corn ! 



But the grain is by no means its only excellence. 

 The average product of the mowing fields of New 

 England is about one ton of hay per acre — not 

 more than that, perhaps a little less — while the 



average product of the stalks and husks of our 

 cornfields must be at least double that quantity — 

 and this is a gain that is scarcely looked for in 

 the cultivation of the crop — the eye of the hus- 

 bandman being steadily on the shining grain. 

 Nevertheless, the fodder of the crop is an impor- 

 tant item, and we think is not yet properly appre- 

 ciated. But in order that it shall be acceptable to 

 stock it must be, 



1. Secured with its rich juices retained. 



2. Preserved from rust, mould, and partial de- 



composition, and 



3. Properly prepared before it is laid before the 



stock. 



In the first place, the tops of corn are too often 

 cut and thrown upon the ground, where they re- 

 main for several days, scorched by each return- 

 ing sun, and dampened by the dews of each suc- 

 ceeding night, or intermediately soaked by the au- 

 tumnal rains. They are then tied into bundles — 

 often quite too large — and shocked or stooked, 

 and stand upon the ground, uncovered, through 

 an indefinite nuniber of weeks. At the close of 

 this process, there can be little left that is nutri- 

 tious and attractive. Nothing seems to extract 

 the valuable qualities of plants from them so rap- 

 idly, as contact with the ground after they have 

 been cut. What the precise process is, we are 

 not able to say, but long observation has con- 

 vinced us that such is the fact. Corn, or other 

 plants, cut and laid upon the stone wall, or upon 

 rails, where it is kept entirely from the ground, 

 will retain a lively green color, and its natural fra- 

 grance for weeks longer than that laying upon the 

 ground. This fact is probably noticed every year 

 by hay-makers. It cannot, we think, be entii-ely 

 owing to the free circulation of air about the 

 plants that are elevated, as they are as often wet 

 with showers or dews as those on the ground. 

 They undoubtedly dry more readily, but that alone 

 will not account for the striking difl'erence that 

 exists between them. The soil evidently has a 

 power of securing to itself whatever of a nutri- 

 tious nature comes in contact with it, and of hold- 

 ing it in reserve for the growth of future plants. 

 Chemical changes, also, are undoubtedly going on 

 more rapidly in the moist plants near the ground, 

 than in those more elevated and dry. The 

 first defect, therefore, in securing corn fodder, is 

 in the slovenly and wasteful manner in which it is 

 sometimes done. 



The second is in packing away for winter use. 

 Where fifty bushels of corn per acre are harvested, 

 the stalks are usually rank, quite stout, and full of 

 juice, and it is no small labor to dry such so thor- 

 oughly as to prevent rust or mould, if they are put 

 away in large amount together. We have observed 

 that cattle will eat corn fodder readily that is 



