416 



MAIZE 



MAIZE 



Subsequent care. — The subsequent culture of corn 

 for silage is essentially the same as when the crop 

 is grown for ripe grain. Inasmuch as more seed 



Fig. 635. Skeleton view of a corn-cleaner. 



per acre is used and it is planted in drills instead 

 of hills, greater use can be made of such cultural 

 devices as the smoothing harrow and the 

 various weeders, because the destruction of 

 an occasional corn plant is a less serious 

 matter. 



Harvesting and en- 

 siling. 



Corn should be 

 put into the silo a 

 few days before 

 complete maturity. 

 In general, the 

 proper stage will 

 have been reached 

 when the lower 

 leaves of the plant 

 are turning yellow 

 and some of the 

 earlier ears are den- 

 ted. It is possible to 

 make good silage 

 from corn that is 

 fully ripe, but the 



coarser parts of the stalks are less palatable and 

 the grain may be so hard that much of it will pass 

 through the animal undigested. On the other hand 

 there is no other stage in the 

 growth of the corn plant when 

 the quantity of nutrients is being 

 increased so rapidly as during the 

 ten days just preceding full ma- 

 turity, and the ensiling of corn 

 too early results in very serious 

 loss. Probably it will be better to 

 err on the side of too great ma- 

 turity than to put the corn in the 

 silo too green. 



While there is doubtless one 

 best time to put corn into the 

 silo, yet there is fortunately a 

 considerable range of conditions Kg. ^ 



Pig. 637, Sectional view of a cylinder com-sheller. 



within which corn may be ensiled with excellent 

 results. If put in very immature and without par- 

 tial drying, it will become excessively acid and will 

 sometimes develop disagreeable flavors. It is a 

 mistake to ensile corn in this condition, for the 

 amount of nutrients is very much less than at a 

 later period. Sometimes, however, it may be neces- 

 sary to handle late corn in 

 this condition when frost is 

 at hand. For example, south 

 of Pennsylvania, in the truck- 

 ing and canning sections, ex- 

 cellent crops of silage corn 

 are often secured after a crop 

 of garden peas, but the corn 

 may lack maturity when frost 

 comes. Corn that is over-ripe 

 or even badly frosted and 

 dried will make good silage 

 if there is a fair amount 

 of moisture remaining. The 

 less water in the corn when 

 cut, the more serious the surface loss will be. 

 When very dry, silage is almost free of acid, but 

 it tends to spoil by white mold. It molds . 

 a long way down from the surface and near 

 the corners of a square silo, or where, for 

 any reason, it fails to pack tightly. 



Corn has occa- 

 sionally been put 

 into the silo with- 

 out any shredding, 

 by laying the stalks 

 compactly, shingle 

 fashion. It is pos- 

 sible to make a very 

 iine quality of silage 

 in this way, but the 

 care and difficulty, 

 both in putting in 

 and in feeding out, 

 has led to the aban- 

 donment of the 

 practice. The corn 

 is nearly always cut 

 or shredded into the 

 silo. Ordinarily, the 

 finer it is cut the better the results, owing to the 

 more intimate mixture of the grain and leaves 

 and the more compact settling. 



Skeleton view of combination force -feed sheller. 



