122 Feeds and Feeding. 



meal proved more acceptable than pore com meal. Stockmen 

 quite generally report favorably on its use. (539, 633, 849) Since 

 the nutriment in the corn cob is small, it is not easy to understand 

 why this compound meets with general favor, especially as the 

 cost of grinding is considerably increased. It has been suggested 

 that pure com meal lies heavy in the animal's stomach, and 

 while in this condition is not so readily attacked by the juices of 

 digestion. On the other hand, the particles of cob when asso- 

 ciated with the meal cause the mass to lie loose in the stomach, 

 in condition for easy digestive action. 



159. Weight of corn and cob. — Aside from its water content, 

 com shows a very uniform composition for different regions of our 

 country. While the moisture in old corn ' varies little from 12 

 per cent., it may reach 20 and even 25 per cent, for ear corn 

 freshly husked. Corn carrying as much as 20 per cent, water will 

 not keep if stored in any considerable quantity. At the Kansas 

 Agricultural College, Sheltoni placed 200 pounds of ear corn, 

 which had been ripe fully six weeks before it was husked, in a 

 box which was placed in a crib of com with corn all about it. In 

 July, eight months later, the com weighed 187.5 pounds, showing 

 a shrinkage of 6 per cent. 



At the Illinois Station, ' Morrow reports three years' investi- 

 gations as showing that 1,000 bushels of ear corn, medium 

 varieties, shrunk 115 bushels, or 11.5 per cent., between the time 

 of gathering and when thoroughly air-dry. Corn husked Novem- 

 ber 1 required 70 pounds of ears of early, 73 pounds of medium 

 and 78 pounds of late maturing varieties to yield one bushel, or 

 56 pounds of shelled com. 



At the Kentucky Station, ' Scovell found that com placed in a 

 loft November 17, shrunk from 7.4 to 18.3 per cent, in weight. 



About one-fifth the weight of well-dried ear corn of the better 

 varieties consists of cob; that is, 70 pounds of well- dried ear corn 

 will yield 56 pounds of shelled com. 



160. The pellagra corn disease. — Among the rural population 



of northern Italy there occurs a peculiar, fatal disease called 



» Rept. Prof. Agr., 1884. 

 * Bui. 13. 

 ' Rept. 1889. 



