HARVESTING AND STORAGE 



453 



CHAP. 

 XI. 



The experiments conducted by several other stations show- 

 general agreement with these results. 



In some instances, however, the yield of the whole plant 

 has been found to decrease slightly in weight of water-free 

 substance, during the last one or two weeks of development, 

 doubtless because of loss of leaves. 



The plant, exclusive of the ear, may decrease materially in 

 weight, owing to translocation of material to the grain. At 

 the Iowa Station {Bull. 21) this decrease was found to equal 

 17 per cent of dry matter during the three weeks from the 

 time most of the ears were dented (but leaves and husks still 

 all green) until the plant was entirely ripe. This was perhaps 

 partly due to loss of leaves, but chiefly to translocation of 

 material. 



When the maize plant is in full tassel it has developed 

 one-third to one-half its weight of water-free substance. 

 When it is in the roasting ear stage three-fourths to four-fifths 

 of its dry matter has developed ; when at the silage stage it 

 has developed from three-quarters to nine-tenths of its dry 

 matter {Illinois Bull. 31, p. 361 ; Michigan Bull. 154, p. 

 283 ; Cornell Bull. 4, p. 52). The greatest rate of growth in 

 height precedes that of the development of dry matter 

 {Hunt, 1). 



The increase in percentage of starch and of soluble carbo- 

 hydrates is rapid during the development of the ear, and there 

 is a coincident decrease in proportion of crude fibre. After 

 ripening there is a considerable loss of dry matter from the 

 fodder, partly due, no doubt, to loss of the lower leaves in 

 drying off. The Iowa Station found that two months after 

 ripening, under ordinary field conditions, the crop had lost 

 about one-half of the dry matter and more than half of the 

 feeding value. 



