CATTLB. 349 



fours hours than an acre uncultivated and unstirred. As time goes on 

 and our forests grow less, this retention of moisture in the soil must be 

 carefully looked after. 



As soon as the weeder is stopped begin with the cultivator. Use some 

 kind so that the depth can be governed. Never put the cultivator down 

 over two or three inches, and two is preferable to three. If necessary 

 to go deep, do it while the corn is very small, for deep cultivation in- 

 jures the roots, and oftentimes one might better be in the house reading 

 the paper than cultivating corn and tearing off the feeding roots, check- 

 ing its growth perhaps to the extent that frost will catch it in the fall. 

 If any of you attended the Columbian Exposition and visited the exhibit 

 made by the department of experiment stations from Washington, you 

 were doubtless surprised to see a corn plant with the roots washed out so 

 that one could see the relative amount of root growth as compared with 

 the stalk. Major Alvord, who was in charge, told me that it had been 

 determined by careful experiment that there was more superficial area 

 on the roots of a corn plant than there was on the stalk, and he further 

 said in an ordinarily porous soil with the corn hills three feet and three 

 inches apart, there was not a single cubic inch of earth to the depth of 

 four feet that was not permeated with the fibrous roots. This will give 

 us some idea of the harm done bj^ putting our cultivator down six inches 

 deep, thinking that we are doing a grand job. Cultivate as often as 

 necessary. Using a two-horse wheel cultivator, taking two rows at 

 a time. 



Never cut the corn until it has begun to glaze. Here is where so 

 many have made the fatal mistake of putting up the corn before it was 

 ripe. There is a large increase in all the nutrients between the time of 

 tasseling and the ripening of the corn. An experiment at Cornell 

 showed that the feeding value of corn between corn in the milk and ma- 

 ture com was $14.00 for green corn, and $48.00 for the mature corn. 



In regard to cutting and filling the silo we must be governed some- 

 what by circumstances. Some farmers dont want a gang of men to rush 

 it through in two or three days; others want to do this way. So far as 

 the keeping of ensilage is concerned, it does not matter whether it is 

 done in one day or in one month, if it is filled continuosly until full. I 

 knew of a man who filled his silo alone; going out and cutting a load, 

 drawing it to the barn, putting the team in tread and cutting the load 

 into the silo. He was six weeks doing it and had good ensilage. 



Pack the corn into the silo, keep the surface level and thoroughly 



