SHOCKING CORN FODDER 373 



SHOCKING OF FODDER CORN. Much loss is usually en 

 tailed by shocking corn fodder in a careless, slipshod manner. It is a 

 common sight to see from 25 to 75 per cent of the shocks in a field 

 nodding their heads and sprawling about upon the ground. Such 

 work is due to carelessness and may be easily overcome. Shocks 

 should be made of good size so that little loss from leaching and 

 weathering is entailed. It is best to have two men working together, 

 so that they may assist each other in getting the shock started, as 

 this is the important point in good shock making. If very green the 

 bundles should be allowed to lie upon the ground after cutting so as to 

 permit of some curing before shocking. This should not be allowed to 

 go far enough to cause the leaves to becorrie brittle. 



If the corn is fairly ripe it may be shocked as soon as it is cut. 

 The shocks should be set in an upright position, and the tops well com 

 pressed together with a quarter-inch rope which has a ring or hook 

 m one end. A shock to stand well must be braced from all sides 

 and when the bundles are set up the butts should be placed down with 

 some force and not thrown at the shock in a careless manner. A jack 

 may be used to advantage in getting the shock started. A shock 

 should contain from 30 to 40 bundles, depending somewhat upon the 

 size and dryness. 



In commenting upon his method of shocking corn, Mr. John 

 Gould, in writing to the Ohio Farmer in the fall of 1904, says, "The 

 bundles as delivered by the harvester are left on the ground a short 

 time to cure out and then the job commences. First, a bundle is laid 

 on the ridge of a row, as that is usually a trifle raised above the level. 

 Another bundle is then laid exactly crosswise of this, and this adding 

 of crossed bundles goes on until the "X" is four or more feet high, as 

 this "X"-making goes on the tops and butts of the bundles are'reversed 

 so that the top is always covering a butt below it which makes a per- 

 fect roofing in the angles of this." 



When a shock is well put up it should stand a whole year without 

 any lodging. If well closed at the top little loss will result from 

 penetration of moisture and the fodder when taken out of the shock 

 will be fresh and green in color. 



YIELD. Four tons of cured corn fodder is a good yield for an 

 acre. Almost one-half of the weight will be in the ears. That pro- 

 portion varies with the season, stage of maturity, variety, and thick- 

 ness of planting. 



With thick planting the yield of stover is greater, also the propor- 

 tion of stover to grain. In a test at the Illinois Station, corn planted 



03) 



