7 o8 MAIZE 



CHAP, shelled ears. It is recommended by the School of Agricul- 

 XIV - ture, Middelburg, Cape Province, that, after husking, the ears 

 should be allowed to dry in the hock for at least two months, 

 until thoroughly dry, before grinding. 



Maize-and-cob meal can be ground on the farm by machines 

 specially constructed for the purpose; 1 they are driven by 

 horse- or ox-power, or by oil, gas, or steam engines. Where 

 cheap power is obtainable, it is obviously desirable to grind up 

 the nubbins for stock-food, instead of shelling them off with 

 the bulk of the crop. 



665. Maize-cob Charcoal, — Where maize cobs are burned 

 for fuel, the ashes should be saved for the pigs (IF 688;. 



Maize cobs are plentiful in many parts of the country. 

 Henry (1) states that where pig-feeding is largely practised, 

 they can serve no better purpose, as far as needed, than in 

 producing charcoal for use in the feeding pens. The follow- 

 ing directions for reducing maize cobs to charcoal are given 

 by Theodore Louis fi), "a breeder of high repute in the 

 north-west " : — 



"Dig a hole in the ground 5 feet deep, 1 foot in diameter 

 at the bottom, and 5 feet at the top, for the charcoal pit. 

 Take the maize cobs, which should have been saved in a dry 

 place, and starting a fire in the bottom of this pit, keep add- 

 ing cobs so that the flame is gradually drawn to the top of 

 the pit, which will thus be filled with the cobs. Then take 

 a sheet-iron cover similar to a pot-lid in form, and over 5 feet 

 in diameter, so as to amply cover the hole, and close up the 

 burning mass, sealing the edges of this lid in turn with earth. 

 At the end of twelve hours you may uncover and take out a 

 fine sample of corn-cob charcoal." 



Charcoal so produced may be fed directly or, better still, 

 compounded, as directed by Mr. Louis, in the following man- 

 ner : — 



" Take 6 bushels of this cob charcoal, or 3 bushels of 

 common charcoal, 8 lbs. of salt, 2 quarts of air-slaked lime, 1 

 bushel of wood ashes. Break the charcoal well down with 

 a shovel or other implement, and thoroughly mix. Then take 

 \\ lbs. of copperas and dissolve in hot water, and with an 

 ordinary watering-pot sprinkle over the whole mass and then 



1 These machines are now stocked in South Africa by Messrs. Malcomess 

 k Co. and other leading agricultural implement dealers. 



