CHAPTER XII 



INDIAN CORN AND THE SORGHUMS FOR FORAGE 



I. Indian Corn 



Indian corn, the imperial agricultural plant of America, produces 

 under favorable conditions from 10 to 25 tons of green forage per 

 acre, containing from 4,000 to 10,000 lbs. of dry matter. When 

 grown in a dense mass but little seed forms, and we have a rank grass 

 which cures into a bright, nutritious, coarse hay. If the plants grow 

 some distance apart, a large yield of grain results, with excellent 

 forage as a secondary product. Were a seedsman to advertise In- 

 dian corn by a new name, recounting its actual merits while in- 

 geniously concealing its identity, either his claims would be discred- 

 ited or he would have an unlimited demand for the seed of this sup- 

 posed novelty. 



To fix in mind the manner in which corn grows and elaborates food 

 for animals, before proceeding with the further study of this crop the 

 student should review the study of an acre of corn given in Chapter 

 I. The importance of corn as a cereal has already been discussed in 

 Chapter IX. 



Corn as a forage plant. — The entire fresh green corn plant may be 

 fed as a soiling crop, it may be ensiled or cured as fodder corn, or the 

 grain may be removed and the remaining stover used for feed. As 

 shown later, ensiling is by far the most satisfactory means of pre- 

 serving the entire crop as forage. 



The term com fodder or fodder corn is applied to corn plants, 

 either fresh or cured, which have been grown primarily for forage, 

 with all of the ears, if any, originally produced. Shock corn and 

 bundle corn are terms used for fodder corn which carries much grain, 

 but which is fed without husking. Corn stover is the term applied 

 to cured shock corn from which the ears have been removed. The 

 terms fodder and stover are also applied to such crops as the sorghums. 

 For example, kafir forage is called either kafir fodder or kafir stover, 

 depending on whether or not the heads have been removed. 



Like the corn grain, corn forage is low in crude protein compared 

 with carbohydrates and fat. As shown in Appendix Table III, the 

 nutritive ratio of corn silage is 1 :15.1, and that of fodder corn 1 :15.7 

 to 1 :17.1, while corn stover has the very wide nutritive ratio of 1 :21.0 

 or over. Hence, these roughages should be supplemented by feeds 



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