PRESERVATION FOR STOCK FOOD 



/j / 



The five stations last named are not in the area known as chap 

 the Corn-belt. XV. 



Hunt i i ) concludes that 12 tons per acre of suitably ripened 

 maize is a good yield, and that 8 to 10 tons is a safer estimate 

 when calculating how much land should be planted to provide 

 silage for a given number of animals. Messrs. Hutchinson 

 and Shaw, Standerton District, Transvaal, calculate their 

 average yield at about 9 tons per acre. 



696. Food Value of Weeds.— There is always a certain 

 amount of food to be obtained off the maize lands, from the 

 late crop of weeds. Some of these, especially black-jacks 

 (Bidcus pilosd) and the sweet-grasses (Clitoris virgata and 

 Panicum Icevifolium), are undoubtedly nutritious, but it would 

 not be sound or profitable farming to allow the maize crop to 

 become weedy for the sake of the food to be obtained from 

 the weeds. 



697. Forms in which Maize can be Preserved for Stock- 

 Food. — Maize is used for stock food in the following forms : — 



(1) Maize stover. 



(2) Maize fodder. 



(3) Green maize forage. 



(4) Maize silage. 



(5) Maize grain and grain-products. 



The value of maize grain for stock food is discussed in 

 the previous chapter ; in this chapter we shall deal with the 

 other parts of the crop. 



69S. Relative Composition of Maize Stover, Fodder, Silage, 

 and Grain. — The relative composition of maize grain, silage, 

 fodder, and stover is shown in the following table ("No. 

 CXXIVj, compiled by Henry (1), from the results of 194 

 American analyses, i.e. 99 of silage, 35 of fodder, and 60 of 

 stover. A comparison is also made with the average of 208 

 analyses of maize grain. 



Hunt (1) calls our attention to the fact that the average 

 composition of the water-free substance of the sixty samples 

 of maize stover is almost identical with the average composi- 

 tion of sixty-eight samples of timothy hay, except for a some- 

 what higher percentage of fat in the latter and a corresponding 

 higher percentage of nitrogen-free extract in the maize stover. 



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