CORN AND THE SORGHUMS FOR FORAGE 



159 



merely carrying animals thru the winter. For fattening animals, 

 dairy cows producing heavy yields of milk, and horses at hard work, 

 a more accurate measure of its value is the net energy it supplies. 

 Yet, even on this basis the stover furnished one-fourth the net energy 

 of the crop. This shows clearly the loss of animal food which occurs 

 each year when unnumbered acres of corn stover are allowed to decay 

 in the fields. 



Corn silage. — Indian corn is pre-eminently a silage plant. The 

 solid, succulent stems and broad leaves when cut into short lengths 



Fig. 45. — Large, "Well-made Shocks of Corn Lessen the Wastage 



To lessen the loss from weathering, corn fodder and stover should be placed 

 in large, well-made shocks. Even then a greater loss usually occurs than when 

 the corn is ensiled. 



pack closely and form a solid mass which not only keeps well but fur- 

 nishes a product that is greatly relished by stock and is consumed 

 with little waste. Altho with enlarging experience the use of other 

 crops for silage is increasing rapidly, by far the greater portion of 

 all the forage stored in silos in this country is corn. The use of 

 corn silage has practically revolutionized the feeding of dairy cattle 

 over a large part of the United States, and is fast becoming almost 

 equally important in the feeding of beef cattle and sheep. Thru its 



